Opportunities for Australian businesses to collaborate with international space agencies has widened, with the Australian Space Agency signing four agreements. International agencies the German Aerospace Centre, Italian Space Agency, and New Zealand Space Agency signed agreements covering cooperative projects for research, policy, and the application of industrial technologies. Announced at the 70th International Astronautical Congress … Continue reading Australian Space Agency signs international agreements →

The potential for manufacturing SMEs to contribute to developing Australia’s sovereign industrial capability was highlighted in the latest round of Industry Capability Priority grants. Going to those manufacturers who are able to provide specialised support for the Australian Defence Forces, four South Australian companies were recipients of funding, announced on October 22. The funding is … Continue reading Defence manufacturers receive support for specialised equipment →

Geofabrics Australasia, a manufacturer of geosynthetics used in infrastructure building, will grow its manufacturing capabilities in Albury with $322,000 in co-investment from the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC). The geosynthetics manufacturers by Geofabrics provide ground stabilisation and drainage capabilities in civil engineering projects. The current funding will enable a collaborative project with RMIT and two … Continue reading Geofabrics grows local manufacturing capabilities →

Karen Andrews, Minister for Industry Science and Technology, will visit the US for the next week, to extol the abilities of Australian manufacturers. Minister Andrews will meet with government and industry representatives in Washington DC, New York, Orlando, and San Francisco. Riding on the momentum generated by the announcement of $150 million investment in Australia’s … Continue reading Industry Minister to connect Australia with US space sector →

The Victorian Manufacturing Showcase has hosted over 650 manufacturers, industry bodies, and agencies to highlight the connectedness of the state’s manufacturing sector. “It’s great to see such an array of companies showing off their capabilities at this year’s showcase – it speaks volumes for the strength and promise of the sector,” said Victorian Minister for … Continue reading Victorian Manufacturing Showcase highlights state’s best →

A new centre designed to grow future industries in Australia has opened in Clayton, Melbourne. The FloWorks Centre for Industrial Flow Chemistry, part of the wider manufacturing and materials precinct in Clayton, will be run by CSIRO and provide services for the chemical manufacturing industry. Using the flow process, a process whereby chemical reactions are … Continue reading CSIRO opens flow chemistry centre →

Two Australian manufacturers have been successful in leveraging government grants to grow their export businesses. The Blueprint Laboratory, a robotics manufacturer based in Sydney, will use the funding to develop its subsea, remotely operated manipulators and actuators to be sold around the world. Currently the arms are used locally in the naval defence sector, as … Continue reading Defence businesses use grants to grow export →

The future of battery manufacturing in Australia has gotten a little brighter with the announcement of Germany battery company sonnen being awarded the Australian Made badge and recognition as a manufacturer of South Australian products, by the Office of the Industry Advocate. The dual recognitions are an indication of the significance of the manufacturing operation … Continue reading German battery manufacturer commits to SA →

A US-based medical distributor, LeMaitre Vascular has invested $3.2 million in an Australia medical device manufacturer to purchase the distribution rights of CardioCel and VascuCel products. Manufactured by Brisbane-based Admedus, the products are patches used to treat cardiovascular conditions. The CardioCel has been seen to achieve 10 years without calcification or degradation when in a … Continue reading US investment in medical devices →

Aluminium smelter and alumina refiner Alcoa has posted a net loss of $221 million for the third quarter of 2019. As part of the results, Alcoa announced that it would review smelting and refining capacity and look into potential asset sales. With a total revenue of $2.6 billion, the New York stock exchange listed company … Continue reading Global aluminium firm posts loss →

A new technique to develop fire-retardant coatings for rigid polymer foam-based building materials has received $888,000 in funding through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowships program. Led by Professor Hao Wang, from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), the project comprises researchers from five Australian universities and four international universities. With building fires an … Continue reading Fire-retardant coatings for flame resistant buildings →

The transfer of knowledge and skills as part of the Hunter Class Frigate Program has been realised through the secondment of over 50 employees from ASC Shipbuilding to BAE Systems’ shipyards in Scotland. With the Hunter Class Frigate based on the Type 26 design being delivered for the UK navy, the employees were in Glasgow … Continue reading Skills transfer as part of shipbuilding program →

The rapid prototyping of new products has received a boost in Queensland, thanks to a new round of funding under the Hackerspaces Grant program. “Groups or individuals wishing to establish a new hackerspace or expand an already established hackerspace in their community can now apply for a grant of up to $20,000 through Round 2 … Continue reading Grants for Queensland hackerspaces →

The Federal government has launched the International Space Investment initiative, comprising grants of between $100,000 and $4 million for companies and research organisations to expand outside of Australia. Total funding for the initiative is $15 million, and will be delivered in one round of funding. The initiative aims to enable Australian-based space companies and researchers … Continue reading Applications open for international space funding →

Victorian carbon fibre wheel manufacturer, Carbon Revolution, has entered into a new supplier contract with a new OEM customer. The contract will see Carbon Revolution supplying its products for the first time into the SUV market. As part of the agreement, Carbon Revolution will supply one-piece carbon fibre wheels designed to order for a yet … Continue reading Wheel manufacturer to spin into new market →

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a dreary global outlook for the world economy, and the fate of manufacturing lies at the heart of future projections. Noting that slowdowns in manufacturing around the globe has been part of sluggish growth in 2019, the sector that is of most concern is the automobile manufacturing industry, … Continue reading Australia bucks global manufacturing downturn →

The Hunter Manufacturing Awards have gone to innovative manufacturers in the NSW region. Leading the way were locally-based manufacturers including global commercial explosives manufacturer Orica, which won the Excellence in Innovation and Excellence in Product Design. The company has manufacturing and technical centres in the Hunter region, and has been involved in the development of … Continue reading Awards recognise Hunter’s best →

The second day of IoT Impact 2019, hosted by the IoT Alliance Australia, saw manufacturers showcasing how IoT was impacting upon their business. With some manufacturers still using pen and paper for product innovation, according to Bradley Trewin, national sales manager at Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions, the opportunity for IoT adoption to improve productivity is … Continue reading Industry leaders discuss IIoT implementation →

An Australian medical manufacturer has been among a host of medical companies that have taken their place in a start-up acceleration program at the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI). Funded and coordinated by Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ) and Life Sciences Queensland (LSQ), Field Orthopaedics has been selected to travel to San Fransisco to begin … Continue reading Queensland medical manufacturer off to San Fransisco →

The Australian federal government will conduct a review into the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) to grow the total value of Australian exports. Targeted at SMEs, the grants provide financial assistance to help businesses that currently export and those that hope to do so. Through the review, the effectiveness of the grants in the current … Continue reading Export program under review →