It’s a brave set of people who decide to take on the challenge of keeping car making alive in this country. Ethan Automotive’s plans aren’t detailed at the moment, but they believe, with a little help, they’re up to the task. Brent Balinski spoke to the company’s chief executive, Brigid Mahoney.

Organisations are increasingly recognising the value of surveillance cameras to help address workplace compliance and work, health and safety policies.

In response to the need to drive efficiencies and compete on a global market, some clear technology trends have emerged in the manufacturing industry.

In not much over a decade, Frosty Boy has increased exports from almost nothing to three-quarters of its business, selling into nearly 50 countries. Brent Balinski spoke to CEO Dirk Pretorius about how they’ve done it, and why he sees 15 – 20 per cent growth per year as sustainable.

A robust, fully integrated business management solution is a crucial piece of capital infrastructure. Yet, as Tony Howell writes, it is frequently overlooked.

As we move into 2015, it is clear that manufacturers can’t stick with their old ways. Technology-savvy, alert and agile businesses will come out ahead.

For Australian manufacturing, most of the news in recent years has been negative. However, there are still reasons to believe that the sector will survive.

Compressor technology has come a long way in recent times. But choosing the right machine isn’t a one size fits all game and it pays to choose wisely. Matt McDonald reports.

This week Thalmic Labs’ Myo armband, designed to bridge the distance between man and machine, began to be sold through Amazon. Brent Balinski spoke to the company’s Chris Goodine about what the Myo offers, what it might be able to do in the future – including in factories – and why assembling locally is vital to Thalmic.

A characteristic feature of economic booms is that those caught up in the excitement believe they will go on forever. Australia’s recent mining boom is no exception. Following the pattern of resource-based economies, a commodity price hike increased our terms of trade without any special effort on our part – adding 15 per cent to our national income over a six year period while the rest of the world languished in recession.

Last Friday US-based avionics company Rockwell Collins formally opened the new Australian facility for making its ultra-high tech sensor and lens assemblies. Brent Balinski spoke to the company about the Lane Cove factory expansion.

Hi-Tech Metrology, representative for leading metrology and scanning technology brands, delivers turnkey metrology projects and systems to clients.

The looming end of Holden, Ford and Toyota is a huge issue for the companies’ suppliers specifically and manufacturing generally. Brent Balinski spoke to one auto parts maker whose “diversity beats adversity” attitude sees it well-placed to adapt.

Scanning probes speed up form-data collection and feedback to machining cells, reducing CMM fixturing and cut probe calibration time dramatically.

In uncertain times, you can earn a lot from those who manage to keep afloat. Hartley Henderson asked a couple of manufacturers about their success.

The number of companies making electronic variable drives and servo drives has decreased dramatically. This raises the problem of what to do when they break.

Good customer relations can provide the customer the benefit of good service and deliver the manufacturer insights into what products the market wants.

Last month Rethink Robotics received a substantial chunk of new funds from investors, led by GE Ventures. Brent Balinski spoke to the company’s CMO Jim Lawton about plans for investing in expanding into newer markets and improving its Baxter industrial robots.

Tapping Australia’s titanium ore resources and turning them into the valuable light metal has been something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. Are we any closer to making more from our ore? Brent Balinski reports.

Bilby 3D officially opened their Sydney store and service centre this week. Brent Balinski spoke to co-owner Lee Bilby about the joys of being part of the 3D printing geek community, the democratisation of manufacturing offered by it, and about some newer printing materials.