Industry News

Developed in 2015 by researchers from CSIRO, ASPIRE is an online marketplace that intelligently matches businesses with potential remanufacturers, purchasers or recyclers to find new purposes for waste materials working towards the circular economy for Australia. Dr Melanie Ayre, research scientist at CSIRO’s Data61, said that since its launch, ASPIRE has diverted hundreds of different waste streams from landfill, including batteries, e-waste, metals, organics, polystyrene, ferric chloride and timber pallets. “Almost 80% of Australia’s waste is generated through commercial, industrial, construction or demolition activities,” Dr Ayre said. “We developed ASPIRE in response to rising costs of waste management, and to redirect waste to more productive uses.” Cameron McKenzie, ASPIRE’s newly appointed CEO, said the online marketplace has seen an impressive uptake amongst businesses, state governments and local councils in Victoria, but that a national network was pivotal in tackling the widespread waste crisis. “Around 300 businesses are using ASPIRE,…

The event was attended by more than 180 industry leaders from manufacturing businesses across Australia, as well as representatives from manufacturing technology suppliers, government and industry bodies, universities and research organisations. AMTIL CEO Shane Infanti has been with AMTIL since the very beginnning, and he noted that the association’s 20th birthday coincided with a strong resurgence in Australian manufacturing. “It’s great to be celebrating 20 years of AMTIL at such a positive time for our industry,” said Infanti. “There’s been a lot of pessimism in recent years with the GFC and the car industry closures, but right now we’re just seeing exciting stuff going on all across the sector. So tonight’s event isn’t just about looking back on 20 years of AMTIL; it’s about looking forward to what I think is a very bright future for Australian manufacturing.” AMTIL is the peak national body for the precision engineering and advanced manufacturing sector in Australia. The association was founded on 11 August 1999, following the…

The resources sector plays a big role in Australia’s economy. Iron ore, coal and natural gas were ranked first, second and fourth respectively among the country’s exports by value for 2017-18. The sector that is key to extracting these and other resources – mining equipment, technology and services (METS) – is another source of national strength. Dating back to 1859 here, it has not stood still and its technical leadership is globally renowned. An Austrade paper from 2016 notes that while Australia may not design and manufacture big capital items such as draglines and earthmovers, its METS companies “lead the world” via “time and effort in the area of innovation”. The sector is valued at $90bn, based on research in 2013 by industry body Austmine. Exports totalled $15bn, R&D spend amounted to $4bn, and the workforce numbered 386,000. “The Australian METS sector continues to develop its reputation on a global scale and is of vital importance to the domestic economy,” says…

It has been more than a year since China’s Government implemented the National Sword policy which would go on to have significant impacts across the global recycling sector. The policy set restrictions on the contamination levels of plastic waste, unsorted paper and textile materials, meaning China would only accept materials with a contamination level of 0.5% or less. From the 1990s up until 2013, global wealth manager Credit Suisse says it was cheaper to transport recycled materials by ship to China than it was to domestically transport by truck or rail in its 2018 report, The age of plastics at a tipping point. One particularly difficult waste identified in the report was modern food packaging, which use layers of different polymers as well as other materials like aluminium and ink layers that need to be separated before sorting if they are to be reprocessed. “Food packaging is also often contaminated by its contents, requiring screening and washing,” the report notes. “Councils also have different requirements…

AMTIL has been working on putting plans in place for the development of the Export Hub, and these are now starting to build momentum. Phase One – Get ready The first stage of the Export Hub has involved setting up its governance structure, with an advisory committee and financial management system put in place, and the appointment of an Export Hub Manager and Export Hub Coordinator. Industry engagement will be done through four mechanisms: Primes and OEMs will be approached to identify their critical key supply chains and encourage them to work with the Export Hub on aspects as networking, business improvement programs and trade mission activity. Key partner organisations such as the Entrepreneurs’ Programme, the Industry Capability Network, the Australian Rail Authority, and Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) will be invited to suggest relevant companies. AMTIL Members in these supply chains or who wish to access them will be encouraged to be involved. Other companies who find out about the…

Now in its ninth season, the ATC is a national competition to recruit, spotlight and promote commercially attractive SMEs to a global audience, providing a platform for recognition, mentoring and acceleration support and an avenue to meet potential partners and investors. This year 33 semi-finalists have been chosen from a pool of 206 entrants, comprising of high-growth potential companies from across Australia. Victoria is represented by: AgriNous, Aspire, Navi Medical Technologies, Tournicare and Unpackaged Eco. Having been staged in Sydney for almost a decade, the 2019 national awards and finals will be held in Melbourne thanks to welcoming sponsors and hosts: the Victorian Government’s Department of Jobs, Precincts & Regions (DJPR) and Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DEWLP). Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment & Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio remarked: “We have an international reputation for fostering innovation in new energy and environmental technologies here in Victoria. Chargefox electric vehicle charging stations are capable of delivering up to 400km in 15 minutes,…

The alfred AI solution, powered by Microsoft Azure, helps the company analyse and process more than two million orders per year and better serve its 250,000 global customers. alfred is already helping tkMX optimise its logistics network – allocating materials to the right location much faster, minimising transport volume and enhancing usage of the company’s transport capacity. Axel Berger, Head of Digital Transformation at tkMX, discussed how alfred is changing the business. AMT: Tell us about alfred and why tkMX developed it. What business challenges were you facing? Axel Berger: We are a wholesaler, so data insights and data algorithms are possibly one of the strongest levers we have to improve our business. We had a lot of data that we weren’t using before, for three main reasons. First, we didn’t really have the expertise to work on specific data science topics – we had…

Four of the seven activity indexes in the Australian PMI expanded in July (readings below 50 points indicate contraction in activity, with the distance from 50 indicating the strength of the decrease). Despite falls in sales (down 8.1 points to 42.7) and production (down 3.6 points to 48.3), a return to positive territory for supplier deliveries (up 4.8 points to 51.9) and a stronger new orders index (up 3.2 points to 53.0) suggest manufacturers are gearing up for more production in coming months. The exports index improved again in July (up 1.5 points to 54.6), with strong overseas demand for Australian consumable manufacturing products such as food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, vitamins and cosmetics. Three of the six manufacturing sectors expanded in July (according to trend data), with the gap between the expanding and contracting sectors growing in recent months. Food & beverages (down 0.7 points to 59.2) and building materials, wood & furniture (up 1.3 points to 63.7) led…

Despite businesses in Australia having a legal requirement to comply with their State’s workplace health & safety (WHS) laws, more than 100,000 serious workplace injuries still occur every year. These range from mental stress, to trips and falls, to collisions with objects. A leading auditing and training organisation in occupational health & safety is alerting organisations to commonly overlooked workplace practices that are risking the health and safety of their employees. SAI Global is a global risk management provider that has audited and trained thousands of organisations seeking to meet the ISO 45001 international standard for WHS, in addition to the workplace health & safety acts and regulations in their own state. SAI Global recently released a list of the seven workplace hazards commonly overlooked by employers: Heavy workloads…

This is the third-generation version of Creaform’s patented metrology-grade scanner. Its launch marks more than 15 years of innovation in technology to meet the evolving needs of the manufacturing and engineering industries. The HandySCAN BLACK has been designed for professionals who need an effective and reliable tool to capture accurate dimensional measurements of physical objects. HandySCAN BLACK combines high-performance 3D scanning with a sleek, ergonomic design. Its distinctive simplicity and portability advantages are a staple of Creaform’s product line. As the company’s flagship portable metrology-grade 3D scanner, the HandySCAN BLACK sets the standard for measurement, regardless of size, material or complexity, within seconds anywhere. Features include: 4X resolution: Fine details and large volumes are captured thanks to the unique and versatile combination of improved high-performance optics and multiple blue laser technology. 3X faster measurement speed and instant mesh: The larger scanning area features 11 blue laser crosses that take up to 1,300,000 measurements per second, ultimately cutting down the time between…

Registrations for Asia-Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition (AIMEX) 2019 edition are now open, with more than 6,000 mining industry professionals and an additional 2,000 exhibitor personnel set to take over Sydney’s Showgrounds across three days from 27-29 August. More than 500 exhibitors are expected take part, with the likes of Contitech, ESS Engineering Services, Alfagomma, Cummins, Hitachi and Volkswagen already signing up to participate in an event that brings together mining industry leaders and decision-makers from across the world. Steve Cummins, South Pacific Director of Mining, Oil and Gas Business, will be taking part with one of those exhibitors: global technology leader Cummins. He believes involvement in AIMEX during Cummins’ own 100th anniversary year was very important and that they are proud to be involved in the exhibition as a major player in the mining industry around the world. “A pioneer in power systems technology for 100 years, Cummins has the total power solution for the mining industry,” he added. “High horsepower Quantum engines to…

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the roundtable demonstrated the Government’s commitment to manufacturing and willingness to work with all stakeholders to grow the economy and create more jobs. “Australia’s manufacturing industries are a vital element of our economy, they’re a big employer and producer of products and services,” Minister Andrews said. “Manufacturing creates value across the economy through its demand for research and development, design and engineering services, production, logistics and after sales service. “The Morrison Government is determined to build on our strengths, grasp new opportunities, and create high value jobs for Australians.” The meeting discussed ways to enable the transformation of Australia’s traditional and emerging manufacturing industries, to build the industry’s competitive advantage, and help Australian manufacturers thrive in global markets and value chains. Improving the uptake of technology, developing the skills of the workforce, increasing manuacturers’ export focus and enhancing productivity were also key points of consideration. The…

South Australia is home to major defence companies such as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Saab Australia, as well as several emerging space start-ups, including Fleet Space Technologies, Inovor Technologies and Myriota. The state capital Adelaide is home to the Air Warfare Destroyer project and the Future Submarines project, which promises to deliver 12 Attack Class submarines to the Australian Navy to replace its Collins Class fleet. Satellite research centre to advance Aussie space industry The Australian space industry has received a $245m injection with the launch of the Cooperative Research Centre for Smart Satellite Technologies and Analytics, headquartered at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. The national SmartSat CRC will bring together a $190m cash and in-kind investment from 82 industry and research partners with a $55m pledge from the Federal Government over seven years. The $245m in funding for advanced telecommunications and intelligent satellite systems makes the SmartSat CRC the biggest space industry research collaboration in Australian history. Bid…