Industry News

For many AMTIL members, and other organisations involved in manufacturing technology, employees will have access to sensitive client, product and/or supplier information. Employees will also often have access to confidential processes and techniques, equipment details, pricing information and typically for more senior employees, information about strategy and business direction. Where this information could cause damage to an employer should it fall into the wrong hands, there are likely to be legitimate grounds upon which an employer may seek to protect it. While employees will be bound by a series of implied contractual and statutory obligations in relation to the protection of confidential information, the extent of these obligations can be unclear. Without a properly tailored clause in an employee’s employment contract, there is likely to be significant doubt about the scope of the implied contractual and statutory obligations. Further, Australian courts…

The result continues the longest unbroken period of growth for the Australian PMI since September 2006, now at 11 months. As in April, six of the seven activity sub-indexes expanded in May, although most eased from last month. The exception, once again, was the employment sub-index (down 3.4 points to 45.6). Five of the eight manufacturing sub-sectors expanded (that is, above 50 points in three-month moving averages). Food, beverages & tobacco (down 8.8 points to 65.3) and wood & paper products (up 1.9 points to 67.7) remained in strong expansion, as did petroleum & chemicals (up 5.4 points to 59.9). Printing & recorded media (up 4.1 points to 49.7) and machinery & equipment (up 2.8 points to 50.6) both stabilised, while metal products (up 0.2 points to 44.1) and textiles, clothing & other manufacturing (down 3.9 points to 47.1) contracted in May. The input prices sub-index increased by 5.9 points in May to 63.2, reversing the easing in input price pressures…

Now in its sixth year, the Competition has established itself as Australia’s premier technology accelerator. The Australian Technologies Competition identifies, mentors and profiles Australia’s leading technologies with global potential. Over the last five years, the Competition has generated over $250m dollars in investment and project opportunities for Australian SMEs. It has attracted over 700 entries and 125 companies have so far benefitted from the mentoring program. The Business Accelerator Program provides access to expert mentors and connections to investors, customers, specialist advisors, grant programs and international markets. In 2016, the Competition is collaborating with the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Centres to help focus the benefits towards Australia’s priority sectors and deliver growth to more companies. This will expand the reach of the eligible technologies to include Medtech, Biotech and Cyber Security. In addition, the Competition retains its links to its environmental origins through the Smart Cities, New Energy and Global Development Awards. The Program is also supported by a diverse range of partners including: Industry Associations such as the Facilities Management Association, AustMine,…

Mine ventilation management systems are rarely a simple amalgam of gas analysis technology and supporting instrumentation. Hazards controlled by mine ventilation include: flammable gases, oxygen content, temperature, fumes, toxic gases, asphyxiants, dust and humidity. There is no universal “silver bullet” solution. Individual sites have unique features, and most demonstrate unique behaviours. A successful solution is more than the combination of components, systems and services. Mine ventilation must be planned precisely, with performance carefully monitored to enable continued improvement. A typical mine ventilation circuit offers a variety of tools to enable the control of the underground environment. Efficient performance of ventilation fans, airways and flow regulators is essential. Uncontrolled airflows in a ventilation circuit can severely compromise any ventilation system, regardless of its capacity. A sound mine ventilation strategy should include acquisition of accurate, timely data. Systems to continually monitor gas composition in underground mines have become commonplace over the last decade. Real-time gas monitors, extractive gas analysis (tube bundle) systems and gas chromatographs ensure…

There’s been plenty of gloomy news surrounding Australian manufacturing in recent years, but we saw a welcome bright spot last August, an Adelaide-based firm won a supplier contract with Northrop Grumman. Mincham Aviation will manufacture aircraft structure components for the first low-rate production lot of the US Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV). The contract is recognition of a company that over two decades has established itself as a specialist supplier to the aerospace and defence sectors, held in high regard both nationally and globally. However, the company has faced its share of setbacks in that time. As Managing Director and founder Darryl Mincham jokes: “There’s a saying in aviation. How do you make a small fortune in aviation? Start with a large one.” Darryl spent 10 years in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as an aircraft maintenance engineer, where he built up a wealth of experience across aerospace design and manufacturing. On leaving the RAAF in 1996, he set…

The push of the Turnbull Government into the policy of innovation is to be congratulated and supported. It is early days for policy definition, which we know is still evolving, and accordingly it would be premature to be a critic. So in the spirit of ‘contribution’, there are some issues to be suggested by a team who have embraced this need for change and innovation for over 10 years. This is not a new economic theory to overcome the Chicago School or Marx’s theories. It is part of ISO 9000 and extolled by the management guru W. Edwards Deming in the 1950s. Constant improvement and adaptation are known to the best manufacturers in the same way Wheaties are an athlete – you have them for breakfast. In the Hunter Valley, the business organisation Hunternet is the only business association that has the word on its website, and has done so for over eight years. Ten years ago, its then-CEO John Coyle embraced the need to bring…

Modern IT technologies are set to reinvent the manufacturing industry and turn factories into digital enterprises. Since the introduction of advanced software and disruptive technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), cloud computing and social media, manufacturers have managed to keep up with the escalating expectations of the modern consumer and remain competitive. These advances have seen the growing introduction of robotics in the workforce to assist in managing business efficiency. Some tech enthusiasts even project a new era of “lights out factories”, which can largely operate without the need for human engagement. And so this raises a number of questions: will this reliance on automation be a positive trend for manufacturing or will it bring with it unexpected risks? Can manufacturers rely too heavily on automation and fall into auto-pilot complacency? These are certainly questions with no easy answers, but they deserve further consideration. Ever-evolving automation The current state of shop floor automation has changed drastically over the last five years. IT capabilities…

Victoria State Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis announced the opening of applications at Parliament House on 23 May, addressing commissioners from Victoria’s global network of trade and investment offices and representatives from some of the state’s best export companies. This will be the 37th year of the Governor of Victoria Export Awards, which celebrate the innovation and hard work of exporters across a range of sectors – providing a great opportunity for companies to raise their domestic and international profile. They are open to Victorian exporters across a range of nationally recognised categories including: agribusiness, business services, creative industries, digital technologies, eCommerce, education and training, environment, health and biotechnology, manufacturing, minerals, energy and regional development. There are a further three Victorian-specific categories made up of the Victorian Exporter of the Year, Victorian Export Award for Innovation Excellence and the Victorian Women in International Business Award. Winners of the national categories are automatically entered into the 54th Australian Export Awards as national finalists with the opportunity to grow…

The ABB robots are part of an $80m investment in six new production lines at AstraZeneca’s North Ryde, NSW facility. A further two lines are currently being installed and validated. The pharmaceutical company, which has been manufacturing in the Sydney suburb for more than 50 years, recently completed installation of the six new lines. Each of the six existing production lines has the capacity to produce 65m units per year of AstraZeneca’s asthma medication, called Pulmicort Respules. Each line features a 4010 Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) with purpose-built finishing and packaging system known as Respules 4010, culminating in a case packing and palletising cell which utilises an ABB IRB 4600 robot. Once all eight lines are in operation, AstraZeneca will have the capacity to produce 520m units per year of the Pulmicort medicine. World-first system Plans for AstraZeneca’s North Ryde upgrade commenced in 2011 after the company signed a supplier agreement with the Chinese government, naming North Ryde the sole global site for the supply of Pulmicort…

The collaboration between DST and Walter goes far beyond the supply of tools. Jürgen Senger, a field service employee at Walter, provides some examples: “We give training sessions at DST, work closely with the programming department on a permanent basis, and have been doing more and more project work together since 2012.” The latest venture involves tools for the new EcoForce Ti machine for machining titanium. Thomas Troup, head of applications development at DST, says: “The collaboration between us is characterised by professionalism, we can rely on one another, and we have created an atmosphere of mutual trust as a result.” DST enjoys an excellent reputation with aircraft manufacturers in particular. A walk through its production halls in Mönchengladbach soon makes the reason clear: the size of the machines reflects the huge dimensions of the structural components produced on them, while their sturdy design is indicative of their high performance.…

The shortage of skilled workers is expected to grow, but customers are always looking for intelligent solutions to produce faster, more efficiently and more accurately. Where once long programming times and high expertise were necessary, today one click is all it takes. This is where the RAS XLT Bend comes into a world of its own. Now available in Australia from Sheetmetal Machinery Australia, the RAS XLT Bend is an impressively flexible UpDown folding machine, with 4,060mm x 2.5mm or 3,200mm x 3mm mild steel capacity. Along with innovative mechanical components, the CNC’s One-Click Programming is certain to be a production highlight. The folding beam is a revolutionary new design that has been proven to reduce deflection by 20x over the bend line, without the need for adjustment. Bent parts no longer need to be flipped, as the folding beam is capable of automatically avoiding prebent flanges. Even the folding beam pendulum, critical for changing the folding beam direction, is driven…

Based in Labrador, Queensland, Camtech Engineering specialises in servicing the tooling needs of the rigid plastics packaging industry and is recognised as one of Australia’s leading blow moulding and injection moulding manufacturers. Established in 1988, the company specialises in precision toolmaking, providing new mould design development and production in the plastic industry for clients through Australia and abroad. In addition it offers a comprehensive range of support, repair, service and technology update options for existing moulds and dies. Camtech has an advanced workshop facility with a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art CNC machine tools giving it the capability to deliver a high level of efficiency and service. Its modern machine shop has been designed primarily to ensure Camtech can maintain the high levels of quality, support and service in its work for clients in across the mould and die industry both in Australia and overseas. To meet the demands of its customers, the team at Camtech are continuously looking at ways to improve their processes and capabilities. Consequently, in February, the company completed installation of a Kellenberger Kel-Vista Type UR…

The Port of Newcastle is the largest bulk shipping port on the east coast of Australia and the world’s leading coal export port. NCIG owns and operates one of Australia’s major coal export terminals with proximate rail, storage and shiploading facilities and associated infrastructure. NCIG’s terminal has been operating since 2010 and services coal mines in the Newcastle, Hunter Valley, Gunnedah, Gloucester and Western Coalfields of New South Wales by providing access to port infrastructure to export mainly their thermal and sometimes metallurgical coal production to the world market. To meet the requirements of growing exports from the Port of Newcastle, the Terminal was expanded to provide an overall export capacity of 66m tonnes per annum (Mtpa) in June 2013. A key focus of NCIG’s operational strategy is to operate continuously, 24 hours a…