Industry News

AMT: Firstly, what is the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), and what does it do? SD: IMCRC sits at the intersection between manufacturing and the Australian research community and works with government funding to energise that space. Australia has a state-of-the-art research sector building capability in cutting-edge technologies, and many manufacturing organisations ready to take advantage of that, so IMCRC’s role is to help bring them together to do great work. At a basic level this is by offering financial support through project funding, but perhaps more importantly, we assist by making the right connections, establishing great research collaborations, and helping the businesses to think through their path forward. We have now run over 50 projects, catalysing more than $200m worth of research & development (R&D) investment in Australian manufacturing, helping businesses to take their ambitions, their projects and their relationships with their partner universities further. In addition to supporting these projects, I lead IMCRC’s Industrial Transformation program. The program focuses on raising awareness and educating manufacturing SMEs about the potential of…

The new strategy is part of a new trilateral pact between the US, the UK and Australia to collaborate on a range of security initiatives. Entitled AUKUS, the partnership will focus in particular on strategic collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region. Announcing the move, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: “The first major initiative of AUKUS will be to deliver a nuclear-powered submarine fleet for Australia. Over the next eighteen months we will work together to seek to determine the best way forward to achieve this.” Australia had planned to acquire 12 new Attack-class submarines to replace its existing Collins class fleet, under a $90bn program with French company Naval Group. Representing Australia’s largest-ever defence contract, the program would have seen the subs built in Adelaide. The break fee for scrapping the deal will cost a reported $400m. It is not clear what implications the move will have for Australian manufacturing – in particular those companies that had been engaged in the scrapped program’s supply…

New forms of human-machine interaction, as well as advances in artificially intelligence (AI) technologies, give manufacturers better connectivity between their customers and supply chains, as well as more flexibility to produce differentiated products to meet consumer demand. However, the amount of technological advancement that once occurred over a number of years is now happening in a fraction of that time. As technologies continue to accelerate and disrupt, the great differentiator won’t simply be a matter of quality or cost but how quickly one company can innovate over another. According to Austrade, over the next 20 years Australia’s manufacturing industry will evolve into a highly integrated, collaborative and export-focused ecosystem that provides high-value customised solutions within global value chains. The sector will focus on pre-production (design, research and development) and post-production (after-sales services) value-adding, sustainable manufacturing and low-volume, high-margin customised manufacturing. To enable this vision, Australia’s manufacturing sector will increasingly rely on sensors and data analytics, AI technology,…

Australia has a long and proud history in manufacturing, a sector where it is renowned for its prowess and expertise across the globe. The industry has found itself at a crossroads, though, with manufacturing on the decline over recent years. There is much to gain from digital transformation. However, manufacturing businesses have a reputation for being slow adopters, and coupled with the perceived threat of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), a digital transformation project can start to look daunting. On the contrary, the prospect of being left behind with outdated processes should be much scarier than a digital transformation. In order to not only stay relevant, but to establish itself as a global leader in Industry 4.0, Australian manufacturers must trust in business intelligence (BI), AI and automation, and its collective potential to improve efficiency, provide insight and oversight, and help streamline supply chains – all while reducing costs, time and errors. Having a contemporary, productive and thriving manufacturing industry…

Gelion was founded in 2015 by Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation 2020, as a spin-out from the University of Sydney. Battery Energy has designed, developed and delivered premier energy storage solutions to a wide range of industries in Australia for more than 30 years. The partnership represents the next stage of commercialisation for the two companies, demonstrating their commitment to supplying competitive Australian-designed and manufactured energy storage products to the local market. Battery Energy will provide manufacturing scale-up of the Gelion Endure non-flow zinc-bromide () battery at its site in Fairfield, Sydney. Producing Gelion’s stationary energy platform domestically will provide local jobs in a green, innovative industry and shorten supply chains for the Australian market. The batteries will be deployed in production trials in 2022 ahead of anticipated commercial availability. Gelion’s breakthrough non-flow ZnBr2 battery is an affordable, safe, recyclable alternative to lithium-ion, making it a reliable energy source for a range of applications. Gelion’s Endure energy storage platform is suitable for…

Comparing data collected in early 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, to today, AMGC has contrasted the awareness and attitudes toward local manufacturing, showing that support is higher compared to pre-pandemic times. The research reveals that manufacturing is highly regarded by the public, viewed as vital to our nation’s economy, and is critical to maintaining our high living standards. Yet, the full impact of the industry is misunderstood and mismeasured. The report states that having a holistic view of manufacturing and its impact is crucial, as it affects everything from people’s understanding of our economy to their purchasing decisions and career choices – the latter being highly significant given current skills shortages. Data highlighted in the report includes: 72% (+7% from 2019) of Australians believe manufacturing is important, or very important to the economy. Double the number of respondents believe manufacturing will get stronger in the coming years, compared to responses in 2019. 79% of Australians perceive trade and export of manufactured goods are important to the economy.…

You don’t compete successfully at Bathurst unless you understand performance and reliability. The Walkinshaw Automotive Group, the new owner of New Age Caravans, is famous for its design and production of high-performance and luxury GM Holden vehicles. Walkinshaw is an Australian icon and has integrated its automotive expertise in engineering, design, manufacturing, field testing and quality control to introduce a new level of innovation to New Age Caravans. New Age Caravans uses all of Walkinshaw’s expertise and know-how in rough durability testing, robotic welded chassis and clay modelling for prototype design, resulting in a highly engineered and durable product. New Age Caravans uses the latest in Industry 4.0, digital manufacturing and Lean manufacturing data collection, with tablets on the workshop floor and job, task and individual workshop staff tracking, and scheduling software to drive production. This technology enables New Age Caravans to deliver caravans of the highest quality while at the same time minimising costs to achieve highly competitive caravan pricing for the Australian marketplace.…

Radetec Diagnostics is a Melbourne-based biotechnology company dedicated to developing a world-leading “platform technology” based on quantum dots – advanced luminescent nanoparticles that can be used as labels for imaging and sensing applications. This has a wide range of clinical applications, particularly in the field of point-of-care rapid diagnostics, portable in-vitro diagnostic (IVDs) devices that are used for fast and inexpensive testing of various infectious diseases such as COVID-19, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or even cancer and Parkinson’s’ disease biomarkers. Radetec’s IVD product range consist of point-of-care test strips, and an electronic reader that is able to generate quantifiable readings in the diagnostic process. The test strips are based on a lateral flow assay test methodology, where a reagent deposited on the test strip generates a reaction to a targeted biomarker. In this case, this reaction creates a visible florescence response in the reagent when illuminated with a UV light source. The project entails the design and manufacture of such a reader to initially assist…

The ipLaser cloud-based technology suite – which can automatically process three-dimensional engineering and production graphics provided by customers – not only automates business processes and saves time, but transforms and expands business opportunities for the huge and rapidly growing number of laser service providers. “It does this by enabling laser cutting businesses to respond to customers’ needs more quickly and to reach many more prospective customers than previously in a given time,” says ipLaser Managing Director, Ivan Cooper. “The new process – which we believe is unique in the global market – goes far beyond saving time and costs, to fundamentally change and improve the way a business built around laser cutting can grow. “This technology is a game-changer across multiple industries, because laser cutting is one of the world’s fastest growing industries, with the machine market alone expected to exceed US$7bn (almost AUD9bn) by 2024, as major industries adopt this fast, accurate technology that flexibly responds to the digital revolution of…

Experts from around the world have spent the past three years pushing the boundaries of autonomous robotic technology to map, navigate and search environments as part of the Subterranean challenge, run by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). With teams eliminated from the competition each year, only eight remain to contest the 2021 grand final. Breakthroughs discovered through the DARPA Challenge have helped push real-world applications forward, including improving safety and enhanced efficiency in local mining sectors, and promising significant potential in agriculture and manufacturing. Though based in Australia for the competition, CSIRO’s Australian team members will appear at the event via telepresence. US-based representatives and partners Emesent and Georgia Tech will be on the ground. CSIRO group leader Dr Navinda Kottege said they were thrilled to be one of the final eight teams to compete. “In the world of robotics, these challenges are like our Olympics,” Dr Kottege said. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time any Australian team…

The AMTIL Board has decided not to proceed with the AMW 2022 exhibition that had been scheduled to take place at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 8-11 March 2022. The decision was taken in response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria and the resultant uncertainty over the viability of large public events so early in 2022. “The AMTIL Board met last week and made the very difficult decision not to proceed with the show in its current March 2022 timeslot,” said Shane Infanti, Chief Executive Officer of AMTIL. “Despite the great support we have for the exhibition from all our exhibitors, recent developments relating to the COVID-19 Delta strain have created an unpredictable environment that we felt had the potential to seriously jeopardise the event given that it is so early in the New Year.” With the Melbourne event not going ahead, AMTIL is now moving forward with plans for a rescheduled event to take place later in the year…

Geelong ... Ford. Alcoa. Shell. If you’re a long-time follower of manufacturing in Australia who just read those words, it’s possible your mind just skipped to a difficult period over the last decade. “But I actually wonder if history will show the departure of these big companies will ultimately provide a better outcome,” offers Ross George. And who is Ross George? Some Productivity Commission type? An ultra-dry economist looking at Geelong from hundreds of kilometres away, convinced that the jobs that were lost at those companuies were just crummy old jobs anyway, part of some inevitable “transition to a service industry”? An academic who has spent too much time reading textbooks by long-dead economists, and too little time looking up close at the very real unhappiness caused by closures and layoffs? No, no, and no again. Ross owns and runs Austeng with his wife Lyn. The boutique engineering company goes back to Ross’ grandfather, who started it after finishing…

Developed by researchers at RMIT University, the highly versatile catalysts are cost-effective to make and simple to scale. The team’s lab demonstrations show the 3D-printed catalysts could potentially be used to power hypersonic flight while simultaneously cooling the system. The research is published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal, Chemical Communications. Lead researcher Dr Selvakannan Periasamy said their work tackled one of the biggest challenges in the development of hypersonic aircraft: controlling the incredible heat that builds up when planes fly at more than five times the speed of sound. “Our lab tests show the 3D printed catalysts we’ve developed have great promise for fuelling the future of hypersonic flight,” Periasamy said. “Powerful and efficient, they offer an exciting potential solution for thermal management in aviation – and beyond. With further development, we hope this new generation of ultra-efficient 3D-printed catalysts could be used to transform any industrial process where overheating is an ever-present challenge.” Only a few experimental planes have reached hypersonic speed (defined as above Mach 5…