R&D

From optimising factory processes to having a hand in massive movements of iron ore to checking in bags at airports: sensors are everywhere, making things work. So is SICK.

Ahead of Professor Hermann Simon’s visit to Australia next month, we will be considering his “Hidden Champions” concept, which has been used to help explain Germany’s export success.

“It’s actually taken us six years right from the brief to today,” said Martin Peek, a senior design engineer at Dyson, during a recent visit to Manufacturers’ Monthly to explain the company’s new line of vacuum cleaners.

Australia’s ailing car manufacturing industry will receive a A$200m funding boost. And all cars in Commonwealth fleets will have to be Australian-made.

Cook Medical has criticised current measures to encourage innovation in Australia, and is lobbying with the Export Council of Australia for tax incentives to manufacture locally.

The Californian city of Fremont seems to be benefiting from an effort to attract intelligent manufacturers. Mayor Bill Harrison told Brent Balinski a little about Warm Springs, Fremont’s innovation hub.

A Brisbane-based manufacturer has proposed a new incentive for companies that manufacture locally products for which they own or have licensed the patent.

Manufacturers’ Monthly took a tour of Keech’s Bendigo site recently. CEO Herbert Hermens and COO Cameron Watts told Brent Balinski about the investment efforts the steel castings company has made to boost its competitiveness.

Industry minister Greg Combet has defended the level of government support given to automotive makers in Australia, claiming that a Coalition government would cut funding.

Scientists at the University of Sydney are creating more cost effective biodegradable PPC polymers.

Day two of National Manufacturing Week included two areas of particular concern for the industry, the Asian Century and what our factory’s might look like in the future.

St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, is hosting an AdBioFab conference today and opening Australia’s first biofabrication unit next month, with aims to develop the application of medical 3d printing technology.

Many people seem to equate manufacturing with 19th century technology, with the steam engine and grease, but in fact that is not the case.

German automation company Sick Group has described the fiscal year 2012 as “eventful and strong”.

When a new variety of Huggies nappies start filling shelves in supermarkets this month, most shoppers will have no idea about the impressive innovation and collaboration efforts behind them.

Manufacturing is the silent workhorse of the Australian economy. Through job creation, import replacement and maximising the value of our natural resources, manufacturing delivers tremendous benefits to the nation.

Dutch engineering company Heijmans Infrastructure and artist Daan Roosegarde have teamed up to create futuristic road concepts.

University of Technology Sydney’s Professor Roy Green has said that there’s been a growth in “micro-multinational” manufacturers, and such companies are well-suited to the challenges facing Australian companies.

A newspaper’s questionnaire of Australian CEOs has found that manufacturing leaders’ concerns include issues such as innovation, the Australian dollar and the industry’s place in the economy.

The Australian Wine Research Institute and packaging manufacturer SPS Australia International have been examining screw caps on sparkling wine, though some have reservations that this development could limit export opportunities.