Industry News

The Re-Engineering Australia Foundation (REA) is calling on the manufacturing industry, particularly in Victoria, to rally together and financially support two exceptional teams of students representing Australia at the prestigious F1 in Schools World Final in Singapore from 8-15 September 2023. Every year, students nationwide participate in the F1 in Schools STEM challenge. This competition challenges their engineering and manufacturing skills by designing and fabricating a miniature F1 car using industry-standard technology. Teams compete at regional, state, and national finals, aiming to earn a spot at the F1 in Schools World Finals, where they will compete against 70 teams from around the globe. The 2023 National Representatives from Victoria include Team Aurora, from Trinity Grammar in Kew, and team Hadron, a collaboration between students from Alamanda K–9 College, Point Cook and Phoenix P–12 Community College, Ballarat. Australia has an outstanding track record in this competition, having previously clinched the F1 in Schools world title on seven occasions. Notably, four of these World Championship titles were secured by teams from Victoria. This year, two talented teams from Victoria emerged…

The Queensland Government launched the State’s first Biofutures Roadmap and Action Plan back in 2016 to help establish Queensland as a world-leading and sustainable region for the Biofutures industry. Queensland has now signed an MoU with airline giant Qantas and Airbus to unlock the state’s potential to manufacture SAF in the local area of Gladstone, as part of that Roadmap. Qantas and Airbus have committed to investing a combined $307m to develop a local SAF industry and have lobbied the federal government to do more to create the necessary policy framework and incentives needed to properly boost investment. The Queensland biofuel refinery will be the first project funded under the joint partnership.  It is not lost on the QLD or Federal Government that Australia needs to substitute ethanol in fuel and offer significant tax breaks to renewable fuels if it wants to reach its international climate targets. Queensland has attracted Oceania Biofuels to Gladstone to establish Australia’s first commercial sustainable aviation fuel biorefinery. The $500m facility, is a significant step in growing the emerging biofutures industry and,…

Quality control is crucial to any manufacturing process, and for the surface finishing industry, this is no exception. A quality-controlled finishing process ensures the performance of the applied coatings or finishes to the surface material, ensuring aesthetic results are met, as well as achieving the highest durability and longevity. When it comes to powder coating – one of Australia’s most used surface finishes – QUALICOAT is the globally-recognised quality label for architectural powder coating; and we now have a QUALICOAT License applicator right here in Australia. After extensive audits of their powder coating process, DECO Australia has become the only accredited powder coater in Australia to hold the global QUALICOAT license. “This is a very important part of our value proposition to our customers,” said DECO General Manager Richard Hamber. “It is not just saying we have the best quality, we now have proof and independent certification that we have an unrivalled position in the market when it comes to providing the best quality powder coating.” To obtain a quality licence, powder coaters must undergo an audit of their processes from start…

Engineers Australia is the peak body for the engineering profession in Australia. The organisation has over 115,000 individual members and acts as the voice of the profession. Prior to this position, Romilly was Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Australia, a Federal Government Agency that provides research and advice to government, industry and the community on infrastructure investments and reforms. Romilly Madew was awarded an Order of Australia in early 2019 in acknowledgment of her contribution to Australia’s sustainable building movement. She is recognised globally as a leader and advocate for change in the property and construction sector and is a vocal champion of diversity, Indigenous engagement, flexibility in the workplace, and women in sport. She is also active in Surf Life Saving and supporting Australia’s elite sportswomen through the Minerva Network, which she co-founded and is a Director.   AMT: You’ve started as CEO at Engineers Australia with a strong direction.  What do you see you’ve brought to the…

World-leading Australian 3D printing technology company, Luyten 3D, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Alquist 3D which will see Luyten 3D supplying its proprietary 3D concrete mix ‘Ultimatecrete’ to Alquist 3D for the building of houses and other dwellings in the United States and Canada. The partnership brings together two of the most progressive 3D printing businesses to accelerate the building of 3D homes and dwellings in the United States and Canada. Luyten 3D is an Australian company founded in 2020 that has rapidly forged a strong reputation for the design and manufacture of cutting-edge mobile AI-powered 3D concrete printers for the building and construction industry.  It has also developed the world’s leading concrete mix ‘Ultimatecrete’ for the industry capable of delivering fast-drying high strength eco-friendly concrete in the building of 3D structures.  Luyten 3D was the first company in Australia to introduce 3D printing robotics for the building and construction sector and the team has already achieved significant milestones including the building of the first 3D building code-compliant house in the southern hemisphere in Australia. Alquist 3D is a…

The new Code of Practice for the management of Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) in the construction industry, effective from 1 May 2023 in Queensland, marks the country’s first silica dust Code of Practice. It sets out how to manage the risks associated with exposure to RCS, which has been linked to serious occupational lung diseases such as silicosis. According to Craig Dearling, General Manager – Workforce Services, Master Builders Queensland, the new code provides guidance on how persons in control of a business or undertaking (PCBU's) can safely manage RCS and comply with their general duty of ensuring the health and safety of people at work. While the local construction and building industry has been quick to understand and adopt preventative measures and mitigate the risks associated with RCS exposure, there is still work to be done. “On the whole, our members take active steps to ensure health and safety at work and genuinely care about the impact on their workers. However, there are challenges in the context of an industry made up of so many small businesses that…

Harrison SPARC will receive $1.9m from the Federal Government to value-add to Australia’s critical mineral capabilities. Harrison SPARC is the R&D arm of The Harrison Group, an Australian manufacturing stalwart that helps turn the wheels of the automotive, agricultural, manufacturing, logistics and mining industries at home and globally. The funding was announced very recently by Resources Minister Madeline King as part of the Critical Minerals Development Program. A $50m grant scheme designed to accelerate the development of Australia’s critical minerals sector, it will also support downstream value-add process as outlined in the Federal Government’s Critical Minerals Strategy 2022. The grant will enable Harrison SPARC (Strategic Projects and Advanced Research Centre) to expand the group’s chemical manufacturing capabilities. Harrison SPARC was started in 2021 to innovate and expand The Harrison Group’s capabilities and offering in the critical infrastructure industries. Sydney-based sister company, Harrison Manufacturing produces high-performance grease, lubricants, oils and imports specialty chemical additives, supplying approximately 50% of domestic market usage. It also exports its know-how and tailor-made lubricant applications to industries such as mining across…

The Repco Supercars Championship began its 2023 season with the Newcastle 500 in early March, after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. Supercars is the premier touring car motorsport series in Australia and includes the famous Bathurst 1000 held in early October. Dick Johnson Racing, racing under the Shell V-Power Racing Team name, was founded by Dick Johnson in 1980 and is Australia's oldest motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. Over the years, the team's drivers have won ten Australian Touring Car Championship titles and have taken four victories in the Bathurst 1000. Behind the drivers and their success are not only the dedicated members within Dick Johnson Racing, but external partner businesses working closely with them. One such partner Is Ian Whitwood, from IDW CAD/CAM Solutions who, since 2009, has supported Dick Johnson Racing with TopSolid design and machining software. In that time, the team has won four drivers championships and three team championships. Ian and TopSolid have been an integral part of that winning/high-performance culture. Back in 2009, the team bucked the trend of…

By the time Friday was half over, the large crews running the 348 exhibitor stands were still talking, selling, showing off, and demonstrating their wares to the crowds, and plenty more visitors were still streaming in through the doors. By the closing time of 4 pm on Friday, there had been an unprecedented 15,914 visitors to the AMW2023 show. Far more than anyone had anticipated. What an incredible number. AMTIL would also like to thank the many visitors to the show.  All 15,914 of you over the week.  The effort made to take time off work, to come down to the venue, and to experience the best of manufacturing is also a mammoth feat not lost on us. The show doesn’t really stop, in fact by midday Sunday, while most of the largest machines had been moved from the floor, onto trucks, and back out into the world, Shane Infanti and the crew were still working to make sure it was a successful bump out. “We’re all so overwhelmed with the fantastic response to AMW 2023, Australia’s biggest premier manufacturing…

The Future Solutions Speaker Sessions have been such a success here at AMW2023, really. Every seat in each session has been filled. On Tuesday the theme was Additive Manufacturing. Wednesday focused on Women in Manufacturing, then yesterday was Australian Manufacturing. Today we looked into the Future of manufacturing here in Australia. Of particular interest, and one following up for further information was the Breakthrough Victoria, Jason Coonan, the Director – Advanced Manufacturing, who summarised current trends relevant to investment in nanomanufacturing, quantum, and other ground-breaking areas. And still, each zone and pavilion around the halls roared with activity. All the way down to Peddinghaus with their massive rotating, welding carriage for long product steel girders, one of the largest on the planet, brought in from the USA for the show; to the nano-projects undertaken by the small crew at Microscopy, the attractions were enthralling, sometimes randomly scattered. Maybe that’s why it takes people so long to get around this huge space. Another positive for the last day of an industrial show of this size is that so many of these massive machines have…

Day Three of AMW2023 showcases a range of manufacturing successes and advances happening here at home, some of these exporting out into the world market. Today, the show floor is pumping, chock-full of immense displays of machine tooling outfits, CNC cutting tools, and grinders. From where I stand, I see sales managers, CEOs, and business managers meeting as many people as possible. What an incredible, active industry. Some of the bigger companies from Europe are now making their moves to establish Australian headquarters. They have the confidence of a big market here. Schunk, Trumpf, Bonfiglioli and Trotec, ASA, SWI Engineering, and others, are all-powerful suppliers of many international tool brands. This year, AMW has a lot of enticing displays with extra focus. The SAVIC electric motorcycle is here.  The Applied EV Blanc robot vehicle is also here, which makes me happy.  Altair Software and Applied EV got together and made this entirely new sector of transport a future possibility. The Future Solutions Speaker program, proudly supported by Autodesk, spans the wide brown land of Australian Manufacturing. David…

From down on the show floor, as the clock whizzed past 10am on Wednesday, the hall was swamped, and the pressure didn’t stop all day. Exhibitors I managed to speak to were impressed by the numbers in the aisles as well as the quality of their visitors. Walking from one end of the show floor took about an hour if I tried hard to not talk to anyone. And for me, that’s not easy to do. There was quite a thorough assessment of the Federal Budget on offer by the crew at William Buck with an online meeting that covered many areas of business. Click through HERE to access the recording of the presentation if you have time later. Today’s theme in the Future Solutions Featured Speaker Sessions involved the industry women in Australia and their place in manufacturing. The CEO of SEMMA (South East Melbourne Manufacturing Association) dismissed the label of ‘Pale, Male and Stale’, and introduced two women working and succeeding in the field of manufacturing, one an Apprentice of the Year. Their…

The crowds in the AMW2023 halls were very impressed as soon as they walked in on the first day. A straw poll was taken of what they were thinking, and one yelled, "We're back baby!" I think he may have had some skin in the game. There are some very large stands showing off some incredible technology. This massive show offers the perfect setting for people from all over Australian manufacturing sectors to access suitable resources, exchange ideas and network with the largest group of like-minded working manufacturers. By midday on the first day, we all thought the show couldn’t get any busier. There were crowds and queues in front of John Hart, OKUMA, and SWI Industries. Earlier on in the day, the very first presentation for the Future Solutions Speaker Program was Neil Matthews, the Head of Engineering at Titomic Ltd was crowded to bursting. Matthews detailed Titomic’s cold spray AM process and fed into research being done to the coating process for the aerospace, defence, transport and other manufacturing areas. Later in the day, the CSIRO PhD Cherry Chen, was digging into some…