Member News

Australian Manufacturing Week (AMW2023) will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 9-12 May 2023. Run by the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL), AMW2023 will occupy more than 10,000 square metres of exhibition space at the MCEC, with more than 274 organisations taking stands to showcase the latest manufacturing technologies, processes, and support services. AUSTECH MACHINE TOOLS ZONE AUSTECH has been the cornerstone of AMTIL’s success for over 20 years. This iconic Machine Tools Zone now forms an integral part of AMW 2023. AUSTECH is specifically targeted at the metalworking, machine tool, and ancillary market in Australia. AUSTECH covers advanced manufacturing products and processes including: CNC Machinery, Lathes, Mills Contract Manufacturing/Precision Machining Cutting Tools, Tooling & Tool Holding Forming & Fabricating Machines Plasma, Laser, Waterjet & Ultrasonic Machines Ancillary equipment suppliers Sponsored by ISCAR ISCAR Australia is a high-profile producer in the Australian metal-working sector. As well as sponsoring the AUSTECH MACHINE TOOLS ZONE, ISCAR is a producer of innovative cutting tools for metalworking, including turning, grooving, milling, hole-making,…

The supply and labour constraints afflicting the Australian economy continue to create challenges for the manufacturing sector. According to the Australian Industry Group (AIG), the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) dropped by 1.5 points to 52.5 in July. With production and employment both falling, it’s clear that manufacturers are struggling with the impact of chronic labour shortages and supply chain interruptions, leading many to reevaluate their processes to drive efficiency. An ongoing challenge While many might have hoped for a more positive year, 2022 continues to challenge manufacturers. In fact, business groups across Australia have raised concerns about a shortfall of skilled workers across a number of critical industries such as health, trades, manufacturing and tech, amid historically low unemployment rates. In August the NSW skills minister, Alister Henskens, went as far as describing the critical workforce shortages as a “handbrake” on the state’s economy. Against this backdrop, a growing number of manufacturers are considering implementing specialist technology, not only to minimise downtime but to also prevent their…

Omega Sinto is a global manufacturer of chemically bonded sand equipment used in the foundry/metal casting industry. Originally established in the UK, Omega Sinto now operates around the world offering a wide range of products which includes sand mixers, mould-handling equipment, core-making machines, shakeouts, sand reclamation plants, coating plants, and more. Leussink Sales and Marketing Manager, Stuart Ward, says that the partnership with Omega Sinto takes Leussink into a new area of Australian manufacturing. “Under our new partnership, we will supply Omega Sinto’s equipment off-the-shelf, but provide installation and modifications where required,” he said. “After joining Leussink last year I began to look at new business opportunities and approached Omega Sinto. My professional background is in the foundry industry so it made sense for me to look at that area.” “At the time I began speaking with them about fabrication and engineering work, the local business manager they had in place had decided to retire so they needed new representation in Australia and New Zealand. It fell into place from there,” added Ward. Omega Sinto has almost…

Every manufactured product you can think of, from the coffee you have first thing in the morning and the cereal you eat for breakfast, to the computer you use at work, the train home in the evening, and the car waiting at the station, and even the couch you sit on to watch your television with a glass of wine – they are all made by machines that were made by machine tools. Think about that... just the coffee beans alone require a coffee bean harvester, washing and screening equipment, dry processing, roasting, hulling, polishing, sorting and grading processes. Each one of these processes requires equipment that has significant machining and fabrication work to produce it. And that’s just the coffee beans. So if you have your coffee with milk and sugar, multiply all those processes by three, and then include the machine that you have sitting in your kitchen that now allows you to push a button and the coffee is produced. Whilst we may take making a coffee for…

Minister Husic said at his National Press Club Address that manufacturers are already some of the country’s biggest investors in research and development. Currently, the manufacturing sector makes up almost 30% of total R&D expenditure through the government’s R&D Tax Incentive. “The science ecosystem is a broad one, spanning the lab bench to the board room to the factory floor,” he said. “We need to support it, and sustain it, from basic research at the lab bench to new industrial uses and technologies. To this end, we have kicked off a consultation to revitalise Australia’s science priorities.” The Federal Government’s review of the Australian Research Council and the development of a Universities Accord, is led by Ed Husic, and Jason Clare, Minister for Education. As part of their new science and technology pipeline, the government has a goal of generating up to 1.2 million tech-related jobs in Australia by 2030. The Minister mentioned at the NPC address that, “there are already more software engineers and developers in Australia than there are hairdressers…

When NSW Ports embarked on a two-year program to rehabilitate the structures and combat corrosion levels at its Bulk Liquid Berth 1 (BLB1), it commissioned Melbourne-based consultancy Infracorr to deliver a bespoke cathodic protection (CP) system. Designing the system presented several challenges because BLB1 houses hazardous gas, petroleum and chemical pipelines that could be at risk of ignition if exposed to unsafe levels of voltages and currents. To safely deliver the system, the consulting firm engaged cathodic protection specialist Omniflex to support the hazardous area and remote monitoring aspects of the CP system design. Over the last decade, reports have established that chlorine-induced corrosion is affecting some of the major structures at NSW Ports, including Sydney Harbour and Port Botany, Australia’s largest container port. NSW Ports commissioned Infracorr to design a CP system for use at BLB1, which is located at Port Botany and houses hazardous gas pipelines. The project also included the repair of defective concrete structures, which were suffering from the effects of corrosion and concrete spalling in the many pre-stressed beams and headstocks of the various bridges…

“Explainable AI is a set of tools and techniques that help us to understand model decisions and uncover problems like bias,” says Stephane Marouani, the Country Manager at MathWorks Australia. “Explainability can help those working with AI understand how machine learning models arrive at predictions, which can be as simple as understanding which features drive model decisions but more difficult when explaining complex models.” AI is transforming nearly every industry and application area. With that comes requirements for highly accurate AI models. These AI models can often be more accurate than traditional methods, yet this can sometimes come at a price. Most advanced AI models are “black boxes” by nature of the underlying neural network techniques where results are hard to trace and it’s difficult to understand the line of reasoning. This is never truer than today in the face of the world’s race to electrify everything and the ubiquitous integration of AI, which are two separate but…

Harnessing the energy from pulsed lasers provides a new tool to improve the reliability and lifetime of metal parts. Laser shock peening offers significantly deeper residual compressive stresses (RCS) than traditional shot peening methods. With the introduction of THEIA, a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser, Thales enters a new sector, that of laser shock peening, shifting metal fatigue prevention to a higher plane. History indicates ‘shot peening’ (SP) has been used over the past five decades in surface modification to metals and alloys, for the purpose of changing the surface integrity, obtaining superior mechanical properties, preventing metal fatigue, or surface cracking and in so doing improve the service life of parts. The result is a dimpling effect. Following the impact, the recovery process induces residual compressive stresses (RCS) on the surface of the substrate making it stronger and resistant to surface cracking. Shot peening is widely used on various metals and alloys across industrial, aerospace, medical, and automobile sector. Recently laser shock peening (LSP) has been adopted as a more suitable process in critical industries such as nuclear, biomedical and aerospace. In…

Founded in 1985 and acquired in 2004 by Phil Wicks and his son Ray Wicks, Kingsway Confectionery has cemented its reputation as a supplier of quality wholesale and retail confectionery products along with being a prominent co-packing partner for branded and private label products in the confectionery and snack food industries. In 2016 the business relocated to their current premises in Melbourne’s bayside suburb of Seaford. This move facilitated the immediate expansion of the operation and provided the necessary scope for further growth opportunities. In 2020 the need for additional capacity became apparent and the installation of their third production line was commissioned. Ray Wicks has taken over the mantle of General Manager from his now semi-retired father overseeing the day-to-day operations. Wicks is supported by partners Jason Keegan (Production & Warehousing), Niki Totton (Sales & Development) and what they all agree are amazing and committed production and warehousing crew. “While our recognisable expertise is packaging goods, behind the scenes we are problem solvers and a valuable knowledge centre. We pride ourselves on being a trusted and agile business partner, and we are…

The Digital Jobs for Manufacturing Program is open to businesses with a manufacturing presence in Victoria which are on a growth trajectory and are seeking to utilise their existing workforce to apply digital technology to their operations. Global manufacturing is becoming increasingly technology-driven, requiring highly skilled workers and a competitive edge in new techniques. Manufacturing technologies are constantly changing and manufacturers in Victoria need to continuously adapt to maintain their advantage. The Digital Jobs for Manufacturing Program assists Victorian manufacturing businesses adapt to a digital operating environment by providing nominated employees with fully subsidised digital skills training. Funding is available to manufacturing businesses to enroll their employees in a training course in a highly sought-after digital skill. Businesses can select from a list of 12-week online, part-time industry-endorsed courses. Examples include (but are not limited to): data analytics; cloud computing; IT operations and support; web development; digital marketing; enterprise resource planning (ERP); customer relationship management (CRM); or robotic process automation. Grants of up to $5,000 are available per employee and require…

Henkel is slated to produce Loctite polyurethane (PUR) adhesives in Australia from the first half of 2023. The adhesives will be manufactured in Kilsyth, Victoria, to serve the engineered wood industry across Australia and New Zealand. “Purbond adhesives are used globally and have long been the benchmark for innovation and reliability in the engineered wood industry. Producing Purbond locally is an exciting endeavor that opens many opportunities for us to help our customers in Australia and New Zealand to grow,” said Brad Simpson, Sales Manager and Business Unit Manager, Adhesives Technologies, Engineered Wood, Furniture and Building Components. Henkel’s adhesive experts at its Innovation and Application Labs in Sydney and Auckland, help customers explore ways to expedite the time to market and optimise their own production processes for the development of engineered wood solutions. With the production of Purbond in Australia, adhesives production can be customised for specific performance requirements such as fire resistance and for use with modified timbers. “By localising the production of Purbond adhesives, our customers will benefit from reduced lead times from order to delivery, as well as greater supply…

Established in 2016, Zone RV offers a range of Australian-made off-road caravans that combine lightweight composite bodies with class-leading components. Headquartered in Coolum Beach, QLD, the company employs technologies from sectors such as aerospace and maritime to manufacture off-road caravans that are lighter, stronger, and safer. The Zone RV team boasts more than a quarter-century of experience in true composite manufacturing across the marine, aeronautical and civil construction industries. In its ongoing pursuit of improved processes at its production facility, Zone RV recently turned to additive manufacturing as a means of expanding capability and raising productivity. In particular, it was keen to streamline its mould-making operations through the adoption of 3D printing. Following extensive research, the company opted for a VSF122 large-area gantry-based machine from CNC Design, a hybrid additive-subtractive system capable of both 3D printing and machining in composite materials. “At Zone RV we’re always looking for new ways to deliver a better product more efficiently,” Dave Biggar from Zone RV said, “and…

AMT: You started as CEO at the Australian Logistics Council (ALC) this July. Tell me a little about your career journey until now. Dr Hermione Parsons: My career focus has been on end-to-end supply chain strategy and complexity, planning multimodal infrastructure and solving freight logistics in metropolitan, regional and international markets. Multimodal infrastructure involves two or more types of transport. AMT: To help others wanting to move into supply chain management, what did you study? HP: I completed a Masters of Urban Planning – Intermodal Freight Systems, specialising in integrated port freight logistics at the University of Melbourne. Then I did a PhD at Monash University in end-to-end supply chain in the fresh produce and retail industry. I am also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. On-the-job training in corporate and government roles related to supply chain has also helped me to gain extensive industry knowledge. AMT: Tell me a little about ALC? HP: ALC represents the major Australian supply-chain…