Month: September 2021

Additional benefits for global organisations to choose to manufacture here include access to Australia’s generous Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI), especially if they plan to commercialise the results of R&D programs in Australia. Informing them of and promoting their potential access to cash refunds or general tax benefits could help secure the work for Australia when other jurisdictions are also being considered. Australia’s generosity to companies that undertake business here will in turn help bolster its medtech and life sciences manufacturing expertise through promotion of Australia as a destination for R&D and manufacturing. There are several scenarios where Australian manufacturing activities could be subject to an RDTI claim for overseas companies looking to set up an Australian presence to contract with local manufacturers. There could be…

The Offshore Energy Infrastructure Bill could permit the construction of the 2.2-gigawatt Star of the South wind farm off the Gippsland coast in Victoria’s south-east. The Bill could also enable construction of the Marinus Link interconnector between Victoria and Tasmania, as well as windfarms in areas like Gladstone, Newcastle and Wollongong. “The only way to ensure that these massive wind turbines meet Australian Standards for reliability, quality and safety is to award the fabrication contracts to local Australian companies,” said Geoff Crittenden, Chief Executive Officer of Weld Australia. “Local fabricators comply with internationally recognised Australian Standards and are certified by the relevant Australian authority. The Star of the South and Marinus Link interconnector projects alone are worth $10bn combined and are expected to create 10,000 jobs. According to Crittenden, a procurement policy that mandated local content would see that $10bn reinvested back into the Australian economy. It would also create thousands of jobs in regional…

The investment will deliver far-reaching benefits by enhancing research commercialisation, supporting the creation of future industries and jobs, accelerating the attraction of international investment, and building access to global supply chains. The funding will support investment integration to maximise impact in three core areas across the Monash Technology Precinct by June 2022, including: Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC): Expansion of MMIC’s presence to a new node at Clayton, allowing the scale-up of medicine manufacturing capability, and support for clinical trials and growth of exports and jobs. UP-LINK university partner collaboration space: A platform at the heart of Clayton campus that will drive manufacturing innovation and modernisation. This will provide industry with early access to Monash research and talent pipelines. In addition, incubator and start-up facilities will support commercialisation and spinouts, enabling entrepreneurial activity across the precinct, and creating new businesses. oNKo-innate Headquarters: A biotechnology research and development facility to accelerate the development of cancer therapies, enabling target identification, validation, and subsequent development, manufacturing and commercialisation of cancer treatments.…

Workers compensation insurer Allianz has released data revealing workplace mental health injuries are on the rise – with active psychological claims increasing by 5%, for the last financial year. In addition, Allianz found 69% of Australian employees surveyed have not had a conversation with their employer about their mental health since the start of the pandemic. This trend remains unchanged compared to 2020 (69%). Allianz claims data showing that the average cost per active psychological claim is around 3.5 times that of active claims for physical injuries. COVID-19 has not only raised concerns about employee mental health, but also the lack of strategies that organisations have in place to support employees, with 43% of those surveyed saying their workplace has not introduced new mental health initiatives since the start of the pandemic. The Allianz research of Australian employees and senior managers across industries shows that while both employees and employers agree there are challenges in the workplace, they also see a disparity between their challenges. Experiencing worries or concerns with balancing work…

A partnership between UoW, Lithoz and Objective3D allowed the remote installation of the high-resolution ceramic printer to occur, which will be used for a broad range of applications in the development of bioprinting hardware. The printer was purchased by the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) Materials Node, which is based at UoW, for use at the Translational Research Initiative for Cellular Engineering and Printing (TRICEP). TRICEP works with research institutions and industry to develop innovative technologies using 3D bioprinting. Dr Johannes Homa, CEO of Lithoz, said the project highlighted the importance of agile working: “We are world and industry technology providers for ceramic 3D printing systems and materials, and have been working in research and industry for more than ten years. After the past year, it has become clear to us just how critical flexibility in the manufacturing world is, and we are very happy that this remote installation has been a success.” The investment from ANFF will give TRICEP a highly flexible means of customising and producing…

AMT: How long has Alspec been in business and how has it evolved over the years? Clinton Matthews: We’ve been in business for over 45 years with distribution facilities located across Australia. We have multiple businesses within the group and have in excess of 500 employees nationally supporting our customers. We have in-house design and NATA-accredited testing facilities assisting in the development of new aluminium window and door systems supporting the building sector. We are big on R&D, we invest in our people and technology to deliver exceptional service across our supply chain.   AMT: What prompted you to invest in the Hänel system? CM: Our main problem was capacity within an existing facility, in conjunction with labour productivity – the time it was taking to fulfil orders through the picking process. Traditionally we would store small components in traditional key lock racking systems, and we were looking for a way to increase productivity and the storage capacity of our facility. We have not had the system long and…

Innovation to commercialisation in years, losing your IP in minutes A business may develop a strategic approach, or just strike it lucky in finding an unexpected technological breakthrough. To progress from this point, requires further research and development, securing government grants and tax breaks, and maybe applying for patents in Australia and overseas, with an eye on potential overseas markets. Hopefully before too long commercialisation creates further growth and opportunities. Many start-ups and established corporations alike strive to achieve success, after the ‘sweat and tears’ of enduring many late nights of endless research and experimentation. The creators of innovation might work in an informal setting, like a start-up, made of a collection of friends and family members with a shared vision of making that imagined product a reality. Or in a large corporation, with the formal procedures, protocols, sign…

Melbourne-based Kesem Health develops and commercialises a digital health medical device and develops artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solutions in the field of urology. Current methods of assessing patients with urinary dysfunction are time-consuming, expensive, and space-intensive. The current standard of care compromises clinical outcomes and increases the costs associated with diagnosing urinary dysfunction. The solution is the iUFlow, a novel, patented, fully automated, and easy to use bladder monitoring device, implemented on a smartphone platform. The iUFlow device is designed and priced to be used over a period of 48-96 hours as required by the patient’s urologist. The challenge The project entailed the design and manufacturing of multiple components to further tune the design of iUFlow, utilising additive manufacturing principals of multiple parts of the iUFlow product. This is due to the complexity of the design, which is difficult to achieve by going directly to injection moulding. In addition, the costs and processes involved with a typical injection moulding set-up presented a significant barrier to entry. Therefore, it was deemed risky, as well as…