October 11, 2021
Industry News
Industry news
AMTIL actively keeps members up to date with the latest industry news and relevant economic announcements, with Industry News items posted on the AMTIL Industry News website. The Industry News is updated daily, either promoting late-breaking manufacturing industry news or republishing feature stories from AMT magazine.
October 7, 2021
BMT Chief Executive Officer, Bradley Beer, said that many existing assets owned by a business can be depreciated, and there could be thousands of dollars’ worth of unexpected tax deductions held in surprising items. “As a general rule, if an asset is used to produce income, it can be depreciated,” said Beer. “And in more than twenty years of operation, the team at BMT has seen it all.” Beer said that BMT reviewed all the depreciable business assets its site inspectors have seen and noted some of the most specific – and obscure – items identified. Banana ripening bags were listed as specific and little-known assets that yield significant deductions for banana plantation business owners. “A banana farm can claim a surprising amount of depreciation on their banana ripening bags,” said Beer. “The average first full year deduction comes to $16,000, and the cumulative five-year deduction comes to $37,333.” While one might expect the tools, equipment and infrastructure associated with beekeeping to be depreciable, some would be surprised to learn that…
October 7, 2021
Vibration issues are often present in machining operations where there is a high length-to-diameter ratio or if the machine tool itself is aging. The challenge for “mass-dampened tools” is the change of the vibration frequency on machining tools due to change in the cutting conditions such as tool wear, condition of the machines moving parts, and the variation of work piece materials. For these reasons traditional mass-dampened tools require the tuning of the mass damper to optimise performance. An out-of-tune condition can make the vibration problem worse in the form of tool chatter, which is often solved by reducing cutting speed or depth of cut, or increasing feed per revolution. The team at MAQ in Sweden studied the effects of vibration on the machining process and in 2015 developed a method of measuring a polymer’s frequency-dependent stiffness. They found that some polymers exhibited an increase in stiffness where there was an increased frequency, and it is the results of this study that were incorporated into the development of…
October 7, 2021
According to The State of Ransomware in Manufacturing and Production 2021, the practice of backing up data could be a reason why this sector was also the most affected by extortion-based ransomware attacks, a pressure technique where attackers don’t encrypt files, but rather threaten to leak stolen information online if a ransom demand isn’t paid. The survey studied the extent and impact of ransomware attacks during 2020. The ransomware findings for the manufacturing and production sector include: 36% of the businesses surveyed were hit by ransomware in 2020. 9% of ransomware victims were hit with extortion-based ransomware attacks, compared to a global average of 7%. The average ransomware recovery cost was $1.52m, less than the global average of $1.85m. “The sector’s high ability to restore data from backups enables many companies to refuse attacker demands for payment in the case of traditional, encryption-based ransomware…
October 7, 2021
With manufacturing contributing over $20bn pa to the Queensland economy and employing more than 170,000 people, the Queensland Government is committed to helping foster new growth and transition existing businesses into sustainable and successful advanced manufacturers to ensure the continued growth of the industry. In the words of the Queensland Government itself, its vision for the Queensland manufacturing sector is for it to be “… international market leaders in the delivery of advanced manufacturing technologies, systems, products and services that are innovative, sustainable, and embedded in local and global supply chains” by 2026. This vision drives its strategy of supporting advanced manufacturing, which in Queensland, includes sectors such as: Defence industries. Food, beverage, and beef processing. Mining equipment, technology, and services. Precision agriculture. Rail manufacturing. Renewables and hydrogen. Resource recovery High value sectors While there are many areas in the manufacturing industry, four sectors have stood out as high-value emerging areas to watch in…
October 7, 2021
Rail manufacturing has returned to the Midland area in Western Australia, 27 years after the old Midland Railway Workshops closed. World-class railcar manufacturer Alstom is building a fleet of 43 trains for the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) at its new METRONET train manufacturing facility in Bellevue, east of Perth. This is part of the $1.3bn, 10-year contract that the WA State Government signed with Alstom in December 2019 to supply 246 new METRONET railcars. Alstom commenced operations at the PTA’s new facility this May. The site’s official opening in June was attended by WA’s Premier Mark McGowan and the Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti. This is an exciting time for new rail manufacturing in WA, and the first of the new trains will be delivered to the PTA next year, much to the delight of all the passengers who will ride these super-smart, innovative new trains. The project will create around 200 new jobs in WA, including for apprentices and Indigenous Australians, to manufacture, test, commission and…
October 5, 2021
In its first-ever white paper, ‘Unlocking Australia’s Hydrogen Opportunity’, the Australian Hydrogen Council – peak body for the Australian hydrogen industry – charts the path to the country achieving net zero emissions with the assistance of the emerging hydrogen industry. “The billions of dollars of future GDP envisioned in the National Hydrogen Strategy will only be realised with a significant down-payment,” said Dr Fiona Simon, CEO of the Australian Hydrogen Council. “The Australian Government has, and will have, no choice. Doing nothing is not a valid option. “We recommend that the Australian Government establishes a Net Zero Fund, with an initial allocation of $10bn. The Net Zero Fund will help to close the economic gap for applications that are hard to abate without hydrogen, like steel, ammonia production and heavy transport. Driving large sources of demand will scale up the industry and drive down costs.” The fund would be administered by a Net Zero Authority, created for this purpose, with power to cover…
October 5, 2021
“Freighter has never given me any grief in 25 years,” says David. “They have always accommodated in helping me achieve what I wish to achieve with my business needs. The quality that Freighter makes and the durability of these trailers is very good.” Symons Clark is one of the oldest transport and logistics businesses in South Australia, with its roots dating all the way back to 1875. With a fleet of over 90 trucks and 176 trailers, the business provides transport, bulk haulage, container services, warehousing and distribution and equipment hire across the South Australian market, along with transport services to major cities along the east coast. “The majority of our trailers are from MaxiTRANS, made up of Freighter, Hamelex White and Lusty EMS units,” David says. “Our first trailer was a 40-foot tri-axle Freighter trailer and we continued to buy the same model for some years to cart shipping…
October 5, 2021
Releasing the latest State of the Industry report, which analyses data for 2019/20, AFGC CEO Tanya Barden said the increase in food and grocery exports – up 7.9% on the previous financial year to $41.3bn – showed the importance of export markets to local manufacturers. “In a period affected by drought, bushfires and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian food and grocery manufacturers demonstrated their resilience and resourcefulness by growing the value of this vitally important industry, particularly in overseas markets,” Barden said. On the domestic front, COVID lockdowns spurred an increase in consumption through supermarket channels, although this was dampened by a reduction in sales through food service channels such as restaurants and convenience stores. “While the lift in sales is a positive for the industry, it hides the fact that businesses have incurred increased costs due to several factors including the COVID-related expenses of maintaining safe workplaces, operational changes to meet increased…
October 5, 2021
The event will begin with Toth’s keynote presentation, ‘The State of the Nation and the Future of Our Economy’. Toth joined the Ai Group in 2012, where she heads up the organisation’s economics team, producing economics research, reports, comment and policy advice. She is an active participant in Australia’s national business, industry and economic policy conversations and consultation processes. Toth has clocked up close to three decades of professional research in Australian economics, working across the public and private sector at the ANZ Bank, the Productivity Commission and other Federal Government agencies. In addition to her work for Ai Group, Toth is currently an advisory board member at Swinburne University’s Centre for Transformative Innovation, a panel member of the Melbourne Economic Forum (hosted by the University of Melbourne and Victoria University) and a member for the Economic Society of Australia’s Economic Policy Panel. Following Toth’s keynote presentation, the AGM will be an opportunity to hear about AMTIL’s latest plans and initiatives plus reports on the previous…
October 5, 2021
Wade recalls how the business has evolved since he joined: “With my background as a toolmaker and understanding precision engineering, we started to develop a customer base that needed high-precision sheet metal. This move was the key driver for sourcing machinery that would give us the accuracy for precision cutting, folding and punching. “Targeting the electronics industry set our business on a solid growth path. We quickly discovered the unmet demands of that industry, and by satisfying its needs, built great customer relationships that boosted our growth. “Visiting a Brisbane machinery show, we were introduced to Amada equipment and invested in our first Amada press brake. The success of our first high-precision machine encouraged further machinery investment that included Amada turret punches, laser cutters and additional folding machines. “A bonus of our new precision capability was the ability to offer our…
October 1, 2021
Readings above 50 points indicate expansion in activity, with higher results indicating a faster rate of expansion. Contractions in the machinery & equipment and TCF, paper & printing sectors, and a flat performance in the food & beverages sector failed to offset a return to growth in the building and metal products sectors while the chemicals sector continued to expand although at a more modest pace in September. Contractions were concentrated in the south-east corner of the country where outbreaks and lockdowns have been more severe. Of the six manufacturing sectors in the Australian PMI, metal products (up 8.7 points to 54.2), chemicals (down 2.2 points to 54.2) and building materials (up 8.9 points to 51.3) expanded in September, partly due to eased restrictions of construction activity in NSW. Food & beverages stalled (down 6.0 points to 50.5), while machinery & equipment (down 2.0 points to 48.4) and TCF, paper & printing (down 6.4 points to…
September 30, 2021
Since the very start, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake-up call for Australia regarding our attitudes to manufacturing. From supermarket shelves stripped of toilet paper to the mad rush to establish local production of medical ventilators, we all got a clear lesson about the vulnerability of modern supply chains and the need for strong sovereign manufacturing capability, so that we have continued access to all the things we rely on as a society. As the pandemic has dragged on, one of the few positives to come out of the crisis was the sense that there was at last widespread public recognition that manufacturing really matters. Now new research has corroborated this, putting real numbers on how far the popular mood has swung in support of our industry. The report from the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) reveals the general public’s current perception of Australian manufacturing and its understanding of this critical industry. Comparing data from early 2019…