Month: June 2026

A new $600,000 collaborative research project involving Austal, Curtin University and the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC) aims to help Australian manufacturers identify where additive manufacturing can deliver the greatest commercial and operational value. Over the next 18 months, the project will develop a practical framework that enables manufacturers to assess components against operational, commercial, technical and regulatory requirements. The goal is to provide a consistent methodology for identifying the most suitable applications for additive manufacturing and addressing one of the key barriers to broader industry adoption. Initially focused on the maritime and defence sectors, the framework is expected to deliver benefits well beyond these industries, helping manufacturers reduce lead times, strengthen supply chains, improve productivity and support Australia's sovereign manufacturing capability. For Austal, the project represents a shift from individual additive manufacturing applications to a scalable, strategic approach that supports better investment decisions and long-term capability development. The research will also draw on Austal's experience as the prime contractor for the United States Navy's Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence, bringing valuable international expertise to the project. Curtin University will…

**This story originally appeared in the April 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** Australian manufacturers are curious about AI. Dabbling with chatbots, adding plug-ins to familiar software and experimenting with prompts. What most of them haven't done is make it work. The reason, says ARM Hub founder and chief executive Professor Cori Stewart, is almost never the technology. "You can create an AI agent in an hour," she says. "The problem is, if it's not connected to data that works, it's meaningless. People get to a proof of concept, roll it out across the organisation, and inevitably it falls over because it hasn't been set up for success." Stewart leads one of four government-backed AI Adopt Centres in Australia, helping manufacturers and SMEs move from curiosity to commercial deployment. She's seen the pattern repeat: companies invest in AI tools while ignoring the data infrastructure those tools depend on. "What really matters to an organisation is to start to see itself as a data organisation," she says. "We can harvest that data brain to work harder for the…

**This story originally appeared in the July 2026 edition of AMT Magazine** In opening the recent and successful Australian Manufacturing Week, I was pleased to deliver an address about the changing ‘face’ and future of manufacturing. Technology and innovation are transforming manufacturing as we have known it. I took the opportunity to share my views on how Australia can embrace the future. I began with the truth as I see it about Australian manufacturing. Manufacturing will not die. It’s too important. But it will transform. Indeed, it is transforming. We are a nation of builders. We’ve built railways across deserts. We’ve built cities on coastlines. We’ve built industries that fed the world, powered the region, and shaped our national identity. And now we are called upon to build again — not just infrastructure or products, but a new future for Australian manufacturing. A future that is smarter. A future that is cleaner. A future that is globally competitive. A future that is unmistakably ours. It will be built on flexibility, not scale. Because right now, manufacturing is not just changing — it is transforming at a scale the world…

Of all the benefits that collaborative robots, or cobots, bring to the modern workplace, increased productivity tends to be the main driver, Graham Williams, regional manager for Vectis Automation says. “We have a three-to-four times typical increase in production output if we’re going from manual welding to robotic welding – and that can be as high as 10-12 times if I’m going from manual TIG Welding to cobot MIG welding,” he says. “We had a customer that was doing about a 4m long weld, and it would normally take them about eight hours manually – and they trimmed that down to about 45 minutes with the cobot.” But almost more important than this, Williams says, is the morale boost it offers to the workforce – the possibility of a robot taking on the least comfortable and most repetitive tasks. “If I can have a cobot start with that, it’s going to increase my satisfaction coming into work every day – because I don’t have to do that thing I used to hate doing; the cobot does…

The Australian manufacturing sector is approaching a significant energy transition as the economics and capabilities of battery storage continue to evolve. According to Paul Morrissy, Senior Manager, Renewable Solutions at RACV Commercial Energy Solutions, the shift has become noticeable in enquiries from businesses. “Two years ago, the vast majority of our sales activity was solar only. Today, battery storage features in a growing proportion of discussions, either as part of new solar projects or as retrofits to existing sites,” he says. This trend, he says, reflects wider momentum across the industry. “Businesses are no longer asking if batteries make sense, but how and when to deploy them. As economics continue to improve and operational use cases expand, RACV expects battery storage to become a standard feature of commercial and industrial energy systems over the next five years.” This move comes as falling system prices, regulatory changes and shifting energy pricing patterns converge to reshape the economics of storage. “The most significant has been the rapid decline in costs of…

With a long history as an industrial gas supplier to Australian businesses, BOC and its parent company Linde are investing in new technologies to help lift productivity and improve safety. Richard Fowles, manufacturing gases application manager for BOC South Pacific, says that recent changes to Australian welding fume exposure standards has put a focus on new technologies. “We released a range of prevention line shielding gases that are proven to lower fume emission rates for gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux cored arc welding (FCAW) and metal cored arc welding (MCAW) of carbon and low alloy steels,” he says. “We are also using advanced gas mixing and analysis to enable doping of shielding gases to ppm levels, and facilitating the continuous analysis of these on-site gas mixes to ensure compliance with AS/NZS ISO 14175.” Fowles adds that BOC has been investing in research and development to drive improvements in both productivity and health and safety. “This includes the use of alternative fuel gases for heating and cutting applications, welding…

The list recognises leaders from across the manufacturing ecosystem whose influence extends beyond their own organisations, contributing to important conversations around policy, technology adoption, skills development, and long-term industry growth. Of particular significance for the AMTIL community is the inclusion of AMTIL CEO Lorraine Maxwell. Lorraine's recognition reflects both her personal contribution to the industry and the important role AMTIL continues to play as a leading voice for Australia's advanced manufacturing sector. For AMTIL members, this acknowledgement reinforces the value of belonging to an association that actively advocates for the industry's interests, supports capability development, and helps manufacturers remain connected to emerging opportunities and industry developments. The timing of this recognition is particularly relevant. Manufacturers today face a rapidly evolving operating environment, with businesses balancing productivity improvements, digital transformation, skills shortages, sovereign manufacturing priorities, and the transition to more sustainable production practices. In this environment, industry leaders play a vital role in…