Can Australia still make steel? Brent Balinski spoke to metals expert Professor Geoff Brooks from Swinburne University about the industry’s difficulties, where it can excel, and the competition it faces. Australia’s last two major steelmaking sites have had to fight for their lives in the last year, and it is safe to say the local steel … Continue reading Little future in Australia focussing on garden variety steel →

Last week we held what we regard as the most successful Endeavour Awards so far. As is always the case, we have taken many pictures of our guests, who helped us celebrate the many success stories within our industry. If you’re keen to relive what was a tremendous evening, why not head over to our … Continue reading YOU at the Endeavour Awards 2016 [PICTURES] →

Tonight is the 13th Endeavour Awards Gala. An auspicious number and it comes at a time which I consider to be a turning point for advanced manufacturing in Australia. Let’s look around the room. Tonight, we have the strongest field of manufacturers vying for a category win, and we have more nominees that last year … Continue reading Endeavour Awards 2016, keynote speech: Competitiveness in Australian Advanced Manufacturing: building on current momentum →

Our manufacturing sector is misunderstood, according to the Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council. Brent Balinski asked the group’s chairman John Pollaers about why this is, and why it matters.  This week is, among other things, National Manufacturing Week: as good a time as ever to consider the public’s opinion of the industry. The Australian Advanced Manufacturing … Continue reading Addressing manufacturing’s image problem →

Twenty fifteen was UNESCO’s International Year of Light and Light based Technologies. It was a celebration of past milestones in optics and photonics and a look forward into it’s future. We celebrated 1,000 years of Arabic optics, 150 years since James Maxwell’s electrodynamics, 100 years since Albert Einstein’s general relativityand 50 years since the invention of optical fibres. This … Continue reading Small and bright: what nanophotonics means for you →

I’ve always thought all businesses capable of creating jobs and wealth, regardless of their size. There’s certainly no economic theory that suggests big businesses can’t. But according to Treasurer Scott Morrison small businesses are blessed with special creative powers. He told AFR Weekend last week: “they are the hope of the side.” I’ll do my … Continue reading Budget timing tricks do nothing to help small business, or the economy →

It’s a fact – jobs as we know them are changing and many ‘tried and true’ career paths will cease to exist as we enter the digital age. How do we prepare our children for jobs that don’t yet exist; using technology that hasn’t yet been invented; for problems that don’t exist yet? The digital … Continue reading Tomorrow’s jobs: the next Elon Musk is still in primary school →

Insulated building products maker Bondor is preparing to both mark its 65th anniversary and announce a new $20 million facility in Melbourne. Brent Balinski spoke to General Manager Geoff Marsdon about what has shaped the company´s diversification and longevity. Handled smartly, tougher standards for building products have presented new opportunities for Bondor in the last … Continue reading Bondor opens door to a new era, creates 50 more jobs →

UNSW is home to a vast array of world-class nano and micro-fabrication tools, available to electronics manufacturers looking for an edge in product development. Brent Balinski spoke to ANFF NSW’s Dr Nadia Court about the Kensington labs. Australia, and in particular Sydney, has emerged as an area of great quantum computer expertise. Last week the University … Continue reading Not just for quantum computing and not just for academics →

After a pleasingly large number of nominations, the finalists for the 2016 Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards have been announced. Boasting incredible depth and diversity, the field this year represents an outstanding sample of the Australian manufacturing community. We are pleased to say, also, that the field’s size was significantly larger than last year’s. We give … Continue reading Finalists announced for 2016 Endeavour Awards →

The upcoming submarine contract could be a real game-changer for the future of Australia’s manufacturing industry, as John Allen reports. Probably the single most important topic right now for the future of manufacturing in Australia is the decision about to be made on which submarines the Federal Government will choose. Many industry leaders believe that … Continue reading Australia’s submarine contract means huge opportunities for Industry 4.0 →

Is 3D printing going to do away with manufacturing employment? Brent Balinski spoke to Asimov Ventures’ Tyler Benster about a provocative suggestion. As productivity goes up, the number of man-hours needed to make something goes down. It’s not always a comfortable thing to acknowledge, but it’s one of the reasons manufacturing will probably employ fewer … Continue reading Talking about the death of manufacturing →

WORK is underway on software that aims to use hologram technology and LEGO-inspired assembly to help manufacture some of the world’s most complex machines. The Australian arm of global defence and security company Saab has partnered with Microsoft to build a range of ground breaking training, education and other complex 3D Holographic applications. Worn as … Continue reading Saab’s vision to bring LEGO simplicity to advanced manufacturing →

Recent estimates show that most members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will make substantial gains, unlike those who opt not to participate. US annual real income is expected to increase by 0.5% of GDP while annual exports will increase by 9.1%. Exports of Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia are expected to increase by 23.2%, 30.1% and 20.1% respectively. … Continue reading Why China could never sign on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership →

Despite the explosive rate of innovation transforming our world, how established organisations innovate themselves is another matter altogether. The string of defunct or struggling organisations such as Kodak, Nokia, Blockbuster, Blackberry or Borders Books attests to the fact that incumbent, established and erstwhile successful organisations either resisted, or were unsuccessful at attempting intrinsic innovation. At the same … Continue reading Three ways to build innovation into your organisation →

Sandboxing solutions can help businesses maintain an effective barrier against cybercriminals and minimize the chances of an attack. David De Laine writes. The term ‘malware’ has become so widely used in recent years that it’s easy to forget how many forms it can take—adware, spyware, viruses, worms, Trojans and many more. While each affects computer … Continue reading Combating the rising tide of malware →

Manufacturers are being urged to regularly asses their network infrastructure, and to close all possible opportunities for hackers. Alan Johnson reports. IN a room full of manufacturers, it would be hard to find anyone who would admit their companies’ computers are not adequately protected from computer hackers. However, Dick Bussiere, Principal Architect with Tenable Network … Continue reading The importance of cyber hygiene →

The decision to replace Australia’s submarines has been stalled for too long by politicians afraid of the bad media about “dud subs” the Collins class got last century. Collins class subs deserved criticism in the 1990s. They did not meet Royal Australian Navy (RAN) specifications. But in this century, after much effort, they came good. Though they are expensive, Collins class boats have “sunk” … Continue reading Could robot submarines replace the ageing Collins class? →

The OECD report Back to Work Australia makes some grim predictions for workers who lose their jobs. That is the potential threat facing some 7,000 Arrium employees

Developments in 3D printing and associated software will empower hospitals and communities to fabricate, rather than buy, many of their solutions.