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With a precious few exceptions, this year’s annual top 100 manufacturers report from IBISWorld does not make easy reading, as Alan Johnson reports. THE manufacturing industry has always been an extremely competitive industry, and that trend shows no sign of abating in the near future. While not dramatic, the slow decline of Australia’s traditional manufacturing industry looks … Continue reading 2016 Top 100 Manufacturers – Industry’s winners and losers →

MTPConnect and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together in undertaking activities to accelerate the growth of advanced manufacturing in the medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical (MTP) sector in Australia. Both MTPConnect and AMGC have been established as part of the Federal Government’s Industry Growth Centres … Continue reading Collaboration set to boost Australia’s advanced manufacturing sector →

Strategic metals company TNG has signed a key Memorandum of Understanding with Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) and Energy Made Clean (EMC) to collaborate on the promotion, development and growth of Australia’s Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRF) market. Under the MoU, TNG will work together with SEI and EMC to review all of the potential applications … Continue reading Australia’s vanadium redox flow battery market set for growth →

According to news.com.au, the makers of so-called “flushable” wipes that cause thousands of dollars of damage to plumbing systems could be facing a class-action lawsuit from disgruntled homeowners. Consumer watchdog ACCC has launched legal action against Kimberly-Clark and Pental, alleging the two companies deceived consumers by marketing wipes as “flushable” and that they would “break up … Continue reading ‘Flushable’ wet wipes manufacturers could be flooded with lawsuits →

According to news reports, due to a massive boost in coal cash this year, Queensland will likely use plow money into manufacturing jobs. The QLD government is also announcing a two-year program to shield manufacturing jobs with grants ranging from $50,000 to $2.5 million – at a total cost $20 million over two years. The … Continue reading Thanks to coal cash, QLD set to splurge on manufacturing →

Westpac and the Group of Eight (Go8) have partnered to offer the first program in Australia for Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) to undertake employment with the Westpac Group during their studies. The STEM PhD program was established in recognition of the importance of the … Continue reading Westpac launches Australia’s first employment program for STEM PhD students →

ThyssenKrupp, one of the world’s largest steelmakers, has revealed that it was the victim of a ‘massive cyberattack’ earlier this year. The company was targeted by attackers from southeast Asia in what it has described as “organised, highly professional hacker activities”. The hackers were trying to obtain “technological know-how and research results”, according to the … Continue reading Steelmaker loses data during brazen cyberattack →

A new-concept welding facility opened by BOC at its Rocklea site in Brisbane is set to be an exciting new hub for product applications and testing, research and development, and training. The facility will primarily be used to demonstrate the latest in welding, cutting and heating technology and automation and contains the latest generation digital … Continue reading BOC opens new Brisbane tech centre →

A research consortium led by Bosch is developing a novel industrial manufacturing concept. The nine partners on the ReCaM project aim to create a highly versatile manufacturing system. Such systems are needed because production times in modern manufacturing are becoming ever shorter. In addition, demand for customized products is increasing, and the number of variants … Continue reading Bosch & Co retool manufacturing concepts →

Whether or not this is down to the so-called ‘Trump Effect’, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Foxconn Technology Group, the biggest assembler of Apple devices, is currently in discussions to expand the company’s US manufacturing operations. The news came only hours after an announcement by US President-elect Donald Trump and SoftBank Group’s Masayoshi … Continue reading Foxconn plants the seeds for US Apple manufacturing →

In June last year, it was announced that Australia’s manufacturing sector had achieved year on year expansion recording the longest unbroken period of growth in a decade. Although that sounds like good news, manufacturers now face another issue. How do they fill the open jobs with engaged workers who will drive the innovation required to … Continue reading Are millennials a manufacturing innovation opportunity? →

Pilz Australia launched its new website which incorporates a new E-Shop for its customers. E-Shop will allow customers to not only browse the company’s vast portfolio of products, it enables them to access the latest technical information, view product images, and download the most up-to- date technical data sheets. The new E-Shop covers the full … Continue reading Pilz launches new online presence →

According to reports, Downer Rail has sub-contracted all manufacturing duties of 24 double deck Sydney A or Waratah class trains to joint venture partner, China’s CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co, with Downer itself providing the maintenance support for a minimum of 25 years. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union criticised the award of the contract, saying … Continue reading Sydney’s new trains to be made in China →

The HLF series fiber laser is the newest edition to the range of Yawei sheetmetal machinery to be available from Applied Machinery. Yawei is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of CNC press brakes, CNC turret punch presses and guillotines and their entrance into the laser cutting market is off the back of years of … Continue reading New laser machine set to launch in the Australian market →

As the lights were illuminated on this year’s Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, they sparkled in some very special baubles that were hand blown and adorned with various emblems, the stamps for which came from Kaeser Compressors. Coburg, the home of both Kaeser, and the English royal family shares a long history together. Prince Albert, … Continue reading Kaeser helps to decorate the royal Christmas tree →

South Australia has opened a new manufacturing technologies centre to help businesses grow by providing access to the state’s best researchers, financial institutions and global supply chains. The $1.2 million centre, situated in Adelaide’s northern suburbs at the University of South Australia’s Mawson Lakes campus, will help businesses identify methods by which they can adopt … Continue reading New tech hub opened in South Australia →

Nvidia and Fanuc Corporation have announced that they will be collaborating to implement artificial intelligence on the Fanuc Intelligent Edge Link and Drive (FIELD) system to increase robotics productivity and add on to existing capabilities to automated factories worldwide. Adding AI to the FIELD system will give robots the ability to teach themselves to do … Continue reading Fanuc & Nvidia announce AI collaboration →

Siemens and Mentor Graphics have announced that they have entered into a merger agreement under which Siemens will acquire Mentor for US$37.25 per share in cash, which represents an enterprise value of US$4.5 billion. This acquisition decisively extends Siemens’ leading Digital Enterprise Software portfolio with Mentor’s electronics IC and systems design, simulation and manufacturing solutions. … Continue reading Siemens acquires Mentor Graphics →

Byron Bay beer maker Stone & Wood has been reported to be looking to further expand its largest brewery as sales jump by 60 per cent to more than $30 million as a response to rivals’ “corporate comb overs” – attempts by large global breweries to spur growth in the premium and craft beer segments by … Continue reading Stone & Wood mulls expansion to quench thirst for demand →

A new report from Forrester has identified and compared the top 11 IoT software platform providers for this quarter. According to the report, IBM, PTC, GE and Microsoft lead the pack, while  AWS, SAP and Cisco Jasper offer competitive options, and LogMeIn, Ayla Networks, Exosite and Zebra Technologies lag behind. Forrester evaluated vendors based on 25 … Continue reading The top IoT software platforms for 2016 →