Member News

Over the last few years there has been a lot of angst with respect to uncertainties and potentially disadvantageous ‘proposed’ changes and cuts to funding of the R&D Tax Incentive (RDTI). The 2020-21 Federal Budget provided R&D companies with long awaited clarity on the RDTI changes, while this year’s Budget further enhanced Australia’s innovation ecosystem by announcing the introduction of a new Patent Box scheme to encourage commercialisation of Australian IP. Below we provide a brief refresher of the new RDTI laws set to take effect from 1 July 2021 and a summary of the new Patent Box scheme, set to commence from 1 July 2022. R&D Tax Incentive The 2020-2021 Federal Budget provided much needed relief for companies involved in undertaking R&D, with confirmation that the previously proposed $2bn cuts to the RDTI were off the table, that there would be no rate cuts for most claimants and no refund caps. The new laws…

Among other things, the new TM grades offer customers used-edge detection technology, resulting in increased productivity. More than a decade ago, Seco’s research & development (R&D) specialists realised that nanoscience could be harnessed to develop highly sophisticated coatings that offered thermal and chemical resistance, which could be extremely strong and durable, and which could be designed at an atomically thin level. The result of their work was a patented insert coating technology that brought a combination of wear resistance and edge toughness to maximise insert grades in the prevention of cracks and breakage. They called it Duratomic. In this, the very first development of Duratomic in 2006, Seco R&D addressed the texturing of atomic layers in critical parts of the coating. “There are different ways to manipulate the various parts of the coating, and different translations of upper, bottom and center layers for various usages,” explains Mikael Lindholm, Product Manager, General ISO Turning at Seco Tools. “Knowing when and how to do it is what would I call the essence…

AMT: How long has NZTM been in business? Terry Carter: New Zealand Tube Mills stared in 1938. Originally, we were focused on producing truck rear-vision mirrors and pram wheels. The production of steel tubing and car exhaust systems followed soon after and took us down the path we are today. During and following the Second World War there was a shortage of materials, which prompted the company to design and build tube mills capable of producing tubular steel using oxy-acetylene welding. Today, we focus on manufacturing precision carbon tube and an extensive range of stainless architectural food and beverage tube. Our primary industry these days is horticulture and viticulture – with tubular steel trellising solutions. Export sales have increased steadily over the last three years, from 17% to over 35%. In addition to New Zealand, we sell into Australia and the USA. We also made sales to parts of Europe…

There is little doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the way in which businesses interact with customers, suppliers, and advisors. Although each state has experienced varying degrees of uncertainty, all have shared the need to be better positioned to thrive in the new COVID normal. Through lockdowns, delays in supply-chains, zoom meetings, and disruptions to global trade and currencies, we now understand how important it is to have solid foundations in every aspect of one’s business. Predominantly, these foundations can be best described as: Supply Chain Management and IT Systems Marketing and Visibility Financial, Accounting, and Legal advice and advisors HR and Staff Management By focusing on these four areas of a business, one can expect to identify areas in which the effects of the pandemic have highlighted the need to change how they are managed and operated. The following paragraphs will provide a brief overview of how you can thrive in the new COVID normal. Supply chain and inventory management A business’ performance during the pandemic can almost…

Founded in 1979, Toolcraft is a leading manufacturing and technology development company based in Holden Hill. The 100% Australian-owned company has supplied precision components and assemblies to the defence, aviation, space, hypersonics, electronics, medical and renewable energy industries for more than 40 years. As a top tier aerospace company, Toolcraft partners with world-leading businesses to design, engineer and manufacture advanced products, systems, and technologies. Toolcraft is an approved supplier for DST Group and many defence Prime contractors, including BAE Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Thales and Rheinmetall. With a quality management system accredited to AS9100D + ISO9001 and capabilities extending from bespoke one-off parts to mass production of full-component assemblies, Toolcraft is equipped for any challenge. The company recently established Toolcraft Defence Technologies Pty Ltd to build internal R&D capability for advanced mechanical systems, focusing on energy, hypersonics and laser integration technologies. In 2020, Toolcraft decided to invest in a new five-axis CMM, not only to enhance its metrology capability, but to increase its capacity…

Efficiency programs are commonplace in manufacturing and sustainment programs, particularly in the defence forces and supporting industries. The aim is to produce savings which could be redirected into other priority areas, such as purchasing new equipment or supporting ongoing operations. Understandably, it is extremely worthwhile to seek ways to make infinitesimal gains, even outside those obvious areas where ‘low hanging fruit’ paybacks have already been made, in order to streamline maintenance procedures. One of the relatively under-explored areas where investment in automation can provide tangible value for money through potential reductions in costs is in paint processing and the rework of parts and capital equipment. When considering automation, there are some obvious savings in labour and material usage, but digging deeper, there are a myriad opportunities for a significant return on investment that may not be apparent to those who haven’t worked with robotic paint application equipment before. These improvements include transfer efficiency gains, removal of operators from potentially hazardous environments, a reduction…

Michele Levine, Chief Executive Officer of Roy Morgan, said Australian-made goods enjoyed an outpouring of support in 2020 as international travel was restricted. “Australian-made products have experienced a surge in support during 2020 with a large majority of 93% of Australians more likely to buy a product that is ‘made in Australia’, up 6% points from 2019,” said Levine. “Less than 1% of Australians say they are less likely to buy a product that is ‘made in Australia’ unchanged on a year ago. “The closure of international borders and restrictions on travel around the world appears to have helped increase support for Australian-made goods. Although the preference for Australian-made goods is very high across all age groups, it is Baby Boomers (96%) and Generation X (94%) who are even more likely to prefer Australian-made products than other generations.” Australian Made Chief Executive Ben Lazzaro said Roy Morgan’s latest research comes as…

While your options to revisit pre-existing contracts with a view to ‘COVID normal’ may be limited, learnings from the last year can and should be put to use when negotiating future dealings. Ensuring that contracts are negotiated and drafted to account for the impacts of a global event like a pandemic should be standard practice. Whatever form the contract takes – “standard form”, longstanding in use on successive transactions, bespoke subcontract or supply agreement – it should be vetted to allow for all potential COVID-19 impacts. Indeed, at the time of writing (February 2021), Victorian businesses have just emerged from a snap five-day lockdown. The need to address these types of risks remains ever-present. Courts and tribunals generally will not interfere with otherwise clear contractual terms, even if the agreement places one party in a far more commercially or legally onerous position than the other. At its most fundamental, this means the objective remains: Preserving the…

Manufactured in Mulwala, New South Wales, the Jones rocket motor was co-designed with Southern Launch, an innovative Australian SME that provides launch services, bespoke rocket subsystems and operates the Koonibba Test Range, Australia’s first licenced launch site for overland suborbital rocket testing. Dion Habner, Managing Director of Australia Munitions, said the rocket motor firing was a core risk mitigation step in a joint program with Southern Launch to expand Australia’s sovereign guided weapons manufacturing capability. “This represents a critical milestone in the return to routine rocket motor manufacturing at the Mulwala Munitions facility,” said Habner. “In the late 1990s advanced warhead and rocket motor facilities were established at Mulwala and since then advanced warheads, military rocket motors and ignition systems have been safely manufactured on site. “Every day, high explosives and propellants are produced for systems used by Australian and allied forces, including the explosive effectors for GBU-12 aerial laser-guided bombs. Testing activities are a routine part of operations in Australia’s…

Based in Dudley Park, in Adelaide’s north-west suburbs, PRP Manufacturing plans to hold a celebration event around June to mark the company’s 30th year in business. Loyal customers who have been buying its products since the company first started will be VIP guests at the event, and PRP’s founder, owner and Director Steve Sernecki is keen to catch up with several long-term clients. He mentions Ken and Christine Bridges, who own B&R Enclosures, a designer and manufacturer of electrical enclosures headquartered in Queensland, with distribution centres worldwide. “When I first started the business, I asked Christine if B&R would support my new venture,” recalls Steve. “She said yes, and B&R Enclosures has stayed loyal to us for 30 years. We have been supplying them with thousands of gaskets for their electrical enclosures over that time.” Another company that has been a customer since the very start is Philmac Pty Ltd. The…

Having celebrated its centennial year in 2019, Norman G Clark remains a proudly Australian, family-owned company. Considered one of this country’s most diversified manufacturing and supply businesses, it services industries such as mining, heavy vehicles, off-road vehicle, defence, power generation, food, packaging, paper, forestry and other associated industries. The cornerstone of the business rests on a licencing agreement granted to the company in 1963 by the original Horton Enterprise to manufacture Horton fan clutches and Nexen Air Champ industrial clutches, brakes and tension control equipment. The company also distributes an exhaustive range of industrial and off-road equipment from principles based in USA and Europe. Norman G Clark is an OEM supplier to all of Australia’s heavy transport manufacturers and to the defence industry. The company’s general engineering capabilities, which encompass CNC turning, milling and drilling, as well as design and fabrication to customers’ specifications. The new CNC machine cell incorporates an Okuma Multus B300II Wx900 with an OSP-P300SA Control, a gear-cutting package, a workpiece gauging station, and a Fanuc M710iC/45M…

Located in Oskarshamn, Sweden, the company specialises in creating and streamlining solutions for its customers’ production flows and processes. Plåtson’s industrial service is actually born through extensive collaboration with Scania, the Swedish manufacturer of trucks, buses, coaches, and power solutions, and the company’s neighbour and largest customer. Recently, Plåtson acquired a world-leading automated 3D measurement system in order to secure the accurate measurements required for precision-demanding parts in a very time-efficient way. Consequently, the company can now provide its customers with real-time follow-ups and measurement data that is available 24/7. Plåtson had been facing various challenges that eventually prompted it to look for a new solution for measuring Scania’s transport stands, ultimately reaching a turning point that motivated the industrial service manager to look for an automated system. With a number of key requirements specified in its technical request, the company’s search finally ended with Creaform’s latest technology, the MetraSCAN 3D-R robot-mounted optical scanner. High-precision stands Scania has several production plants in Europe. The cabs, which…

It is the third highest rate of growth recorded since the Australian PMI moved to a monthly format in May 2001 (readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with higher results indicating a faster rate of expansion). All six manufacturing sectors in the Australian PMI expanded in April , as did all seven activity indicators. The capacity utilisation index hit a record high, suggesting employment and/or investment may need to step up in order to facilitate further growth from here. Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox said: “Australia’s manufacturing industry showed no signs of slowing in the month following the end of the JobKeeper wage subsidy. Instead the industry continued to grow and in fact lifted the pace of expansion in April. All six manufacturing sectors expanded at a healthy rate led by the food & beverage sector with very strong support from the machinery &…