DESPITE the slowing economy there was some good news for Australian manufacturing yesterday with the launch of the Enterprise Connect Manufacturing Centre at Welshpool, Western Australia.
Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, was on hand to open the Centre located at Bossong Engineering, which he said marked an important milestone for Enterprise Connect and for manufacturing in Western Australia.
“When we launched the network last May, few people could have imagined how timely it would be.
“Now, more than ever, we need to be building the capabilities of our small to medium-sized manufacturing firms,” Carr said.
“We need to be sharpening our competitive edge in what will be an increasingly cut-throat global market and we need to be focusing on productivity and innovation.”
The Western Australian Enterprise Connect Manufacturing Centre completes the network of six national manufacturing centres based around Australia.
The centre is part of the Australian Government’s $271 million Enterprise Connect initiative—a national network of centres offering practical assistance to firms to become more innovative, efficient, productive and competitive.
Eligible small to medium-sized manufacturers can apply immediately to access a free business review, supporting grants and tap into the latest ideas and technologies to tackle challenges.
Four of the six planned innovation centres have also been opened, with a fifth centre dedicated to clean energy to be launched in Newcastle next month and a sixth centre catering to the defence industry to follow in 2009-10.
For more information about Enterprise Connect, visit www.enterpriseconnect.gov.au or call the dedicated hotline on 131 791.