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Investing in Australia’s Future
Investing in Australia’s Future
By Joanne Patroni, REMA TIP TOP Asia Pacific
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REMA TIP TOP are finding that being a German company is no barrier to building a longterm two-way relationship with the Australian community.
REMA TIP TOP is a pioneer of the rubber manufacturing industry with innovation and technological developments stretching throughout its almost 100-year history. REMA TIP TOP products are used across the globe to extend the service life and reduce the maintenance costs of its customers’ assets.
In Australia, the company has more than 540 employees, including a field services network of more than 300 personnel operating out of strategically located hubs all around the country. As well as on-site service capability they have rubber lining workshops in Perth and Brisbane with topof-range equipment and people dedicated to this specialist trade.
Dr Allan Warren is the company’s Chief People Officer. “We work collaboratively with our customers to build relationships that are value aligned, all while working in some of the most challenging environments on the planet. We’re constantly pushing the boundaries to innovate, advocate and to ensure that our people can safely deliver sustainable businesses operations today and into the future,” he says.
Dr Warren explains REMA TIP TOP’s commitment, involvement, and twoway relationship with the Australian community. “As a German company entering the Australian market in 1987, we’ve built up trust amongst our customers and the community and are now a well-established and recognised player in our industry.”
Trainer Ralph Kandhai explains conveyor belt maintenance to REMA TIP TOP’s 2021 intake of Apprentice Belt Splicers.
Dr Allan Warren, Chief People Officer at REMA TIP TOP Asia Pacific
Conveyor Belt on a Coal mine in Newcastle
Commitment to reconciliation
To formalise its commitment to Australia’s First Nations peoples, REMA TIP TOP have formed a Reconciliation Action Plan, a structured approach to advance reconciliation and engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
“The plan outlines a commitment for developing opportunities to improve socioeconomic outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities through their business practices. In 2022, REMA is focusing on providing business and employment opportunities for Australia’s First Nations peoples, and engaging staff and stakeholders in reconciliation”, says Dr Warren.
Training the next generation
REMA TIP TOP are also training the next generation of conveyor belt technicians. “There is a demand for skilled labour in the Australian mining industry and existing Australian institutions weren’t meeting the demand” he says. REMA TIP TOP saw this as an opportunity to bring more people into the workforce by establishing their own nationally accredited Registered Training Organisation.
“Work Integrated Learning Australia, trading as REMA TIP TOP Academy, is equipping the next generation of Conveyor Belt Technicians, experience and qualifications they need to make a successful career in our industry”, says Dr Warren.
The company has established a training facility in Perth, Western Australia, and opened another facility in the Pilbara mining town of Port Hedland in October 2021.
“RTT Academy facilitates several nationally recognised qualifications for apprentices and trainees and conducts recognised prior learning (RPL) processes to provide our workforce with the qualifications they deserve depending on their level of skill and experience”, says Dr Warren.
“REMA TIP TOP Academy is also an opportunity to invest in the communities that we operate in. By upskilling local young people through apprenticeships and traineeships in towns like Port Hedland, we provide opportunities and develop skills in the local people that wouldn’t otherwise exist.” REMA goes one step further – “To provide equitable opportunities, we aim for our workforce to reflect the communities in which we participate. We still have a long way to go. For example, our industry is very male dominated and we’d like to improve that. By targeting underrepresented groups such as women through our apprenticeship intakes, we’re improving that balance for the future”, says Dr Warren.
Skills exchange within the Asia Pacific region
REMA TIP TOP are also using their presence across the Asia Pacific region to import new rubber lining skills into the Australian workforce. The company has locations in China, the Philippines, Japan, and Malaysia. Since 2019 the flexible workforce between those countries has been providing opportunities for skills exchange. In 2019 REMA TIP TOP Australia partnered with REMA TIP TOP Philippines to collaborate on large-scale projects and participate in a skills exchange, using their excellent know-how to train our local colleagues. “Young Australian trainees are learning new techniques from the international rubber lining personnel. With such a niche skill set, this is the sort of opportunity that we bring as a multinational company, operating here in Australia”, says Dr Warren.
“We’re here for the long term so it makes sense to invest in relationships and skill capacity in the region.”
About us
Established in Munich in 1923, REMA TIP TOP began as rubber and vulcanisation specialists and have grown into complete solutions providers for material processing industries around the world. A proud member of the GermanAustralian Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Sydney since 2019, REMA TIP TOP has a combination of German and Australian employees, and finds customers appreciate the “Made in Germany” brand of its products.
