AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST CIRCULATING MANUFACTURING MAGAZINE
Industry Update
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Issue 114 June/July 2020
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EDITORIAL
A 25 YEAR ODYSSEY AGAINST THE TIDE In the winter of 1995, South Africa won the Rugby World Cup, Batman Forever ruled the box office, and the first-ever edition of Industry Update was ushered into the world by publisher Scott Filby. Since its inception, Industry Update has gone on become the leading manufacturing publication in Australia. As the 114th issue (an 80-page bumper edition) hits the stands (remember those?), we take a look back at what made Industry Update into Australia’s largest circulating manufacturing magazine, and what’s kept it that way. Industry Update began as the brainchild of Scott Filby, then a junior advertising manager fresh from ‘Plantline’ magazine, a few editions of which still sit in his office as a reminder of his roots (no pun intended). “I’d built a series of strong relationships during my time in the publishing world,” says Filby, who started in advertising in 1989. When a client told Filby he was the best salesperson they’d worked with and suggested he create his own publication. “They had such confidence in my abilities to self-publish a manufacturing magazine that they helped fund the first edition,” he says.
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“From there, 25 advertisers came on board and Industry Update was born.”
“That year, we jumped from four to six editions per year,” he says.
The eight pages that comprised the debut issue of Industry Update featured product stories and advertorials.
“This was at a time when our competitors were publishing 12 editions a year, in the middle of the worst economic conditions in our lifetime. But instead of downsizing, as they were later forced to, we grew.”
The response from advertisers was immediate, and according to Filby, they were strong quality responses from high level executives and managers. says.
“The interest from the industry was huge,” he
“I already had a strong client network from my time in advertising, and once the first issue was out I was easily able to build on that.” Once the first edition landed, Filby set about shaping it into his vision for the ultimate manufacturing publication. “Trade magazines don’t usually have cover prose, and I hated that,” he says. “I didn’t hesitate to implement editorials and opinion pieces, and that’s been the formula for Industry Update ever since.” For its first 13 years, Industry Update published four times a year. In the midst of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, Filby did what has become something of a trend for Industry Update: he defied market trends.
Filby says defying market trends is crucial to succeed in what has become, since 1995, a tough industry: print media. “To defy market trends means you have to understand the market and the print sector, and trust your own intuition,” he says. “You have to do that to be able to get this far.” Other trade secrets that have kept Industry Update in high circulation include maintaining strong relationships with clients as well as businessto-business networking. “The old-time approach of great relationships and long lunches has obviously worked, because Industry Update is still going strong,” Filby says. “And don’t worry,” he laughs. “There’s plenty more to come.“ At 80 pages, this 25th anniversary issue is one of Industry Update’s finest and comes at another time of great challenge for the industry – the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That we’re able to celebrate our 25th anniversary in such style during COVID is even more impressive, because it tells me the industry still wants us here,” Filby says. The advent of digitisation and media convergence has driven print media to the verge of extinction, but Filby says Industry Update’s longterm business networks sent a clear message that encouraged him to – once again – defy market trends. A recent industry market survey in fact indicates the most trusted outlets for the sector are industry journals. “They want simple access to information, whether that’s an online newsletter, a print magazine, or even a TV show,” he says. “We’re able to provide that for them, and at the risk of sounding arrogant, that’s why we always come out on top.” Here’s to another 25 years of Industry Update!
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
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NEWS
ONLINE SUCCESS TAKES LAPP TO NEW HEIGHTS LAPP Australia’s online store has soared to new heights during the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdown customers carry on with business.
manufacturing industry. Overseas supply chains collapsed amid lockdown restrictions, and companies turned to local suppliers to repair the links.
Since its launch in February 2018, LAPP Australia has gone from strength to strength. LAPP’s 20,000-strong product range and superior service have made a splash Down Under, with significant penetration in local sectors such as food & beverage, manufacturing, solar, sound & stage production, electrical contracting, machine building and automation.
With its robust product range and established online presence, LAPP Australia has reaped the benefits of this introspective pivot.
The launch - something of a vote of confidence in the Australian market from one of Germany’s largest suppliers of cables, interconnection and automation products – proved a success even within the first year of operation. By early 2019, LAPP Australia’s general manager Simon Pullinger reported volumes had exceeded expectations. “Although LAPP products have been in the Australian market for more than 30 years through the distribution network, setting up an Australian subsidiary has bridged the huge geographical distance of bringing the latest innovations from Germany to Australian customers far faster than before,” Pullinger said at the time. Increased brand awareness meant that LAPP’s products expanded beyond Australia’s east coast and across the nation. The range is distributed from LAPP’s purpose-built premises at Eastern Creek in Western Sydney. When the COVID crisis hit in early 2020, things seemed dire for the entire
Since 22 March, the inception of COVID-19 stage 2 restrictions, orders at the LAPP e-Shop have increased by 20 per cent, while e-Shop customer registrations have grown by 64 per cent. LAPP’s e-Shop launched alongside the Australian subsidiary. It started with zero web traffic, zero customer base and only 1,500 items available for online purchase. In just two years, the e-Shop now contains over 20,000 products that can be easily purchased online and delivered Australia-wide through LAPP’s freight partners TNT and Couriers Please. The e-Shop is viewed and used by thousands of customers every month, with LAPP’s renowned high-quality service making it easy to buy cables, cable glands and connectors around the clock. The e-Shop’s success – and continuing growth – comes down to its sheer quality and convenience. Apart from being able to access the 20,000-plus product line (including power and control cables, Ethernet cables, data cables, cable glands, industrial connectors, conduits and marking systems, as well as WAGO connectors and Tosibox), e-Shop customers enjoy some serious benefits.
Buyers can check stock availability in local and global warehouses in real-time and access the latest real-time pricing. They can track and manage their order history and stay up to date on their order status. There are no cable cutting fees for locally stocked cables, and there’s an easyto-use quotation tool and special pricing request form. Best of all, LAPP Australia offers free shipping for online orders of $100 or more. Of course, all customers can access LAPP’s world-class service via live chat, email or contacting a specialist by phone. While business has remained steady, LAPP Australia has noticed a customer migration to the e-Shop during the crisis; online orders have outpaced other methods of ordering by a whopping 120 per cent. Furthermore, LAPP has made its expertise available to remote or socially restricted customers during the COVID pandemic with virtual meetings. Clients can e-meet with a LAPP account manager to discuss their requirements and project needs.
At LAPP Australia’s launch, Pullinger declared the company would offer a “onestop shop” that would save customers time and money while ensuring proven reliability in service. “LAPP’s commitments to the markets it enters are always in-depth, long-term and backed by an uncompromising customer focus and dedication to client service,” he said at the time. It seems that even in the midst of a crisis, that dedication has been unbreakable. The manufacturing sector’s resilience, versatility and ingenuity persisted, and manufacturing has emerged from the pandemic in a strong position. As industry evolves and galvanises, LAPP Australia is right alongside it and ready to provide the top-quality integrated cable solutions and connection technology for which it’s become world-renowned. LAPP Australia 1800 931 559 lappaustralia.com.au
3D PRINTING TO COMBAT CORONAVIRUS GoProto ANZ has teamed up with Erebus Medical and Cobalt Design to help hospitals in the fight against COVID-19. Initiated in mid-March as the pandemic escalated in Italy and Spain, the project sought to prevent Australian hospitals becoming overwhelmed by a predicted peak in coronavirus patients in emergency departments and ICUs. The trio, working on “Project Farnsy” as a consortium, took some initial work done by Italian and UK doctors to modify snorkel masks to produce simplified pressurised oxygen masks. Cobalt spearheaded the design of
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several custom adapters to fit both the snorkels and CPAP masks. The result allows patients to receive pressurised oxygen, while exhaled air is filtered to protect medical staff. 3D printed adapter kits, supplied by GoProto, use HP’s Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology, and provide biocompatible PA12 parts that can be washed and sterilised. These are currently undergoing non-patient trials under the supervision of Dr Carl Le from Erebus Medical. Dr Le’s efforts have resulted in several hospitals and ambulance services reviewing the potential of this mask development as treatment
for sub-acute COVID-19 patients prior to them requiring ICU ventilators. After the trials, GoProto can quickly provide high volumes of the kits using HP production 3D printers. The design has been made available by Cobalt Design for other countries where hospitals are still under enormous strain or face a second wave and may need alternative recovery and treatment plans. GoProto has been active in its efforts to help the medical industry, supplying face shields and a series of healthcare devices. Now that Australia has successfully flattened the curve, the GoProto team is now looking to
support other industries in bringing new products to market by providing functional prototypes followed up by local production for volumes up to 10,000 units.
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INDUSTRY POLITICS THE HON. KAREN ANDREWS MP – PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
PUBLISHER SCOTT FILBY
scott@industryupdate.com.au ACTING EDITOR MICHAEL WAYNE
editor@industryupdate.com.au
ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR SCOTT FILBY
scott@industryupdate.com.au
ADVERTISING SALES REP GLYN SMITH
glyn@industryupdate.com.au
NOW IS THE TIME TO BACK AUSTRALIAN MADE The COVID-19 crisis has brought to the fore challenges and opportunities, and as Industry Minister it has reinforced to me the importance of having a strong local manufacturing industry. This pandemic has shown that in times of emergency we cannot rely exclusively on overseas manufacturers and supply chains. We must have the capacity to create and supply essential products ourselves. Australia has a strong and diverse manufacturing base, but we need to support it to grow and make it more resilient. We need to have the capacity to meet the demands of any new crisis, but we also need to support local manufacturing because of the economic benefits this brings to our local communities and the nation. Purchasing an Australian made product or service or supporting an Australian owned business isn’t just good for those businesses and their workers; it creates an increased demand for everyone along the supply chain, from local courier drivers to packaging suppliers to manufacturers of various components and primary producers. All Australians benefit from consumers buying Australian made products. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown new light on the importance of local
manufacturing and the general public is responding. I have been heartened to see many Australians backing my calls to support our own manufacturers and contacting me wanting to know how they can best help and support local Aussie businesses. As we emerge from the economic hit many businesses and the nation have taken in this crisis and look towards recovery, it is an opportune time to help Australians in their preference to buy Australian. I recently helped launch a new campaign to promote Australian Made, reflecting the groundswell of community support for Australian products. Australian Made Campaign Limited (AMCL) CEO Ben Lazzaro said recently that their website was attracting more than 250,000 visitors a month – a 130 per cent increase on normal – and the social media audience had grown ten-fold since the beginning of the pandemic. I encourage consumers to visit the Australian Made website – www.australianmade.com.au – to check out the companies and products listed there. An example of a great Aussie company I’m delighted to see being supported is UGG Since 1974. I recently visited owner Hannah Watts and her staff at the Gold Coast business, which manufactures top quality UGG boots from Australian sourced sheepskin. When COVID-19 first hit, the business
CREATIVE DIRECTOR MATTHEW LAM
production@industryupdate.com.au
PRODUCTION MANAGER JULIET NELSON
copy@industryupdate.com.au
JOURNALIST ANNAMARIE REYES
writer@industryupdate.com.au
VIDEO EDITOR & PRODUCER
had to lay off many in its workforce of more than 40n people, but following a surge of support for locally made goods I’m pleased to note all staff were re-hired.
video@industryupdate.com.au
This surge in public support is a great opportunity for companies not already involved with Australian Made to get on board. On the Australian Made website businesses can register to start using this instantly recognisable and universally trusted logo and be part of the Australian Made story.
WEB DEVELOPER JINI M R
Publications like Industry Update also play an important role in sharing the stories of Australian industry, highlighting its achievements and possibilities for development and I congratulate you on 25 years. While in many cases our manufacturers cannot compete simply on cost, we are world leading on quality and that is where we can make a difference in the future. As a nation we’ve rallied together to slow the spread of coronavirus. Now we need to continue to show a similar spirit in backing our local businesses and manufacturers. The Hon Karen Andrews MP is Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.
OFFICE MANAGER NICOLE CHARLES
nicole@industryupdate.com.au
ADVERTISING COORDINATOR copy@industryupdate.com.au
FINANCE & ACCOUNTS MICHELLE ALCOCK
michelle@industryupdate.com.au CONSULTANT TRACY FILBY
tracy@industryupdate.com.au
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE LYN SLIGAR
lyn@industryupdate.com.au
SUBSCRIPTION ASSISTANT MARK ZAKOSHANSKI info@industryupdate.com.au CIRCULATION ASSISTANT circ@industryupdate.com.au PRINTER OVATO
INDUSTRY UPDATE MEDIA PTY LTD Suite 403, Level 4, 116-118 Christie Street, St. Leonards NSW 2065 Phone: 02 9439 1288 Fax: 02 9439 3233 Email: sales@industryupdate.com.au
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All material in this publication is copyright to the publisher and/or its contributors. No material may be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent from the Publisher. It is a condition of purchase or acceptance of this magazine that the Publisher does not assume any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which may result from any inaccuracy or omission on this publication or from the use of the information in this publication or from the use of the information and illustrations contained herein and the Publisher makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to any of the material contained herein. © Copyright Industry Update Media Pty Ltd 2020 Circulation 19,242 as at September 2018 Readership 76,968 as at September 2018 ABN 25 083 502 783
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NEWS
MANUFACTURING GIVEN A NEW DEAL Australia’s manufacturing sector has developed a plan to reverse its languishing fortunes. The plan, which will be delivered to government, contains 11 major recommendations crowd-sourced during April and May from Australia’s manufacturing communities, academics and industry experts. A New Deal Plan for Manufacturing calls on a firm commitment from the Federal and State governments to return Australia to self-sufficiency in a range of industrial areas. Recommendations include establishing a National Industry Strategy Commission, identifying critical sovereign manufacturing capabilities across the economy, creating a whole of industry workforce development plan, revamping government procurement policies that recognise value for money for the economy over the life of the product as opposed to initial upfront cost, and accelerating depreciation allowances to help manufacturers re-equip.
Development of the plan was initiated by the Australian Manufacturing Forum LinkedIn Group and @AuManufacturing News. More than 50 substantial submissions were received from readers and forum members, and distilled into the document. “After close to three decades of economic growth, Australia’s luck has run out,” says Australian Manufacturing Forum and @AuManufacturing News founder Peter Roberts. “It’s imperative that we move on this and that we move quickly.”
capabilities and capacity enjoyed by other advanced nations,” he says. “Australia’s manufacturing capacity has been left to atrophy for too long, leaving Australia with the export profile of a third world nation, an industrial complexity similar to Senegal and Uganda, and a balance of trade deficit in elaborately transformed manufactures of $188 billion. Our appetite for imported cars and iPhones has to be paid for somehow, putting intolerable strain on other sectors to perform.”
Roberts says that there has been an air of economic complacency in Australia, and the demise of local manufacturing capability left the nation vulnerable in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
Roberts believes a knock-on effect of this is that Australia has become less innovative. The R&D intensity of the economy has fallen from above two per cent of GDP only eight years ago to 1.79 per cent today.
“Our export income has held up during the COVID-19 pandemic, but our economy is revealed as fragile to external shock, narrowly based, and crucially, lacking in the deep manufacturing
Business expenditure on R&D, which creates future wealth, is also falling – down a massive 10 per cent in the latest year alone, from 1.0 per cent of GDP to 0.9 per cent.
If Australia acts now, recovery of the economy is still possible as the core of a strong local manufacturing industry still exists. Companies such as CSL, the world’s number two biotechnology company, Austal, the world’s number one in aluminium hulled ships, and steelmaker BlueScope Steel, a global leader in steel coating and painting technology, represent the blueprint for growth. “But to make more of the enormous potential of Australian manufacturing, our policy settings need a reset,” Roberts says. A New Deal Plan for Manufacturing is available for download from 1 June 2020.
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Researchers at Western Sydney University have received an International Space Investment (Expand Capability) Grant worth AUD$410,000 to establish an Australian-first multi-sensor space observatory in South Australia.
Astrosite Mobile Observatory – developed by a team of ICNS researchers – and the Silentium Defence MAVERICK S-series passive radar, both complementary Australian-developed space sensors.
The 15-month space imaging project, led by Silentium Defence and involving the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) at Western Sydney University, is funded by the Australian Space Agency.
A total of AUD$1.5 million in funding, announced by Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews, has been granted by the Australian Space Agency for the multi-sensor observatory project.
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ICNS director Professor Andre van Schaik says the use of innovative and complementary space imaging techniques could be the key to making space a safer place. “The ICNS research team invented the Astrosite concept, which combines a mobile astronomical observatory with neuromorphic image sensors to provide unique capabilities for detecting and tracking low-earth orbit objects (LEOs) and space junk,” Professor van Schaik says. The risk of collision between debris, satellites and spacecraft has become a serious concern for national and international space agencies as well as organisations with a commercial interest in space. Professor van Schaik says the new development will shine a spotlight on the tens of thousands of man-made objects in orbit. “We have developed a dynamic imaging system that runs faster, computes more efficiently, uses far less power and needs less data than ever before to effectively detect and track objects orbiting in space.” Launched in February 2019 at the Avalon Airshow, the University’s Astrosite has been an example of world-leading research and development capability from the Western Sydney region. Acting Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Denise Kirkpatrick says the project is yet another example of Western Sydney University’s impact-driven research that helps to solve realworld challenges. “We are incredibly proud to showcase
Western Sydney University’s research capability and expertise in neuromorphic systems to the world and, through our collaborative partnerships with government and the private sector, help drive the development of new cutting-edge technologies and high-tech industries for Australia,” Professor Kirkpatrick says. International partner the Swedish Space Corporation will combine observations from its Northern Hemisphere location to complement Southern Hemisphere detections and assist with more effective, continuous object tracking across a wider arc of space. Dr James Palmer, CEO of Silentium Defence, says the remote Southern Hemisphere location was strategically selected with local and international collaboration in mind. “South Australia is the ideal location for an observatory of this kind as it is uniquely positioned on the cusp of one of the world’s few dark-sky reserves,” Dr Palmer says. “To be able to provide that capability from Australia for the international space community using local skills and technology is an exciting step in defining our nation’s role in the fast-growing industry.” Work is expected to commence on the observatory in September, with a target completion date of July 2021.
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SORTED
INDUSTRY POLITICS The R&D Tax Incentive is one of the most important levers the government has to encourage Australian innovation and growth.
BRENDAN O’CONNOR
R&D INVESTMENT VITAL FOR A STRONGER FUTURE As COVID-19 sweeps across nations, destructive as it is indiscriminate in taking down anyone that stands in its path, Australia’s response has been gold standard. Despite the magnitude of the crisis that confronted us, Australians accepted the situation and dealt with it with great resolve. One of the unifying reasons our response could be so swift and decisive, is because Governments listened to and unequivocally accepted the science. That precedent set the scene for decisions made thereafter. But scientists and evidence are not sufficiently valued by sections of our politics, posing a grave danger for Australian’s future. Undermining science – taking little action on climate change, cutting staff at the CSIRO, the very organisation now testing vaccines for the coronavirus, is at odds with the acceptance that has seen us accomplish so much in our response to the pandemic. Supporting science, discovery, research and knowledge is always in the national interest. To once again become a country that produces high tech manufacturing, for example, we need to embrace science and technology. In his 1904 verse, Australian Engineers, Henry Lawson wrote about an Australian vision for local industry, describing a people
that are “born to be thinkers and doers, and makers of wonderful things.” Australia has always been a nation that makes things, but this ability is shrinking. While COVID-19 has shone a light on the ability of some of our manufacturers to adapt to produce much needed Personal Protective Equipment, the reality is that the Australian manufacturing sector has been contracting not growing.
An overhaul of skills is essential, particularly now that the higher education revenue stream has been hit by a loss of international students. In its latest universities announcement, the government argues its changes will create a supply of STEM workers, yet the more accurate explanation is they are stifling demand for STEM workers in both public and private sectors.
"Australia has always been a nation that makes things, but this ability is shrinking." While hand sanitiser and face masks have helped manufacturers through the pandemic, COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of our commodity-based economy to global shocks. Australia needs a more sophisticated manufacturing plan than just responding to crises. As we look to the future and how we best emerge from the health crisis and recession, we have to focus on how to establish well paid, skilled and secure jobs. Industry policy should foster greater collaboration between industry, small and medium enterprises, and government bodies like the CSIRO; a comprehensive public procurement policy; and encouraging startups to scale up.
In the public sector, the use of contractors at the CSIRO tripled in less than two years, and five per cent of all CSIRO staff are from labour hire agencies. Many scientists are well accustomed to the anxieties of insecure work and casualisation. Private firms will also be reluctant to hire new STEM workers because of significant cuts to the R&D Tax Incentive. Research and Development is essential to economic growth. It creates new products, bolsters industries and it generates jobs. Yet the government is seeking to cut $1.8 billion from the Research and Development Tax Incentive, which will only undermine Australian manufacturing, research, development and innovation.
Australia’s R&D investment is dismal and has fallen below 2 per cent of GDP - below countries such as South Korea, Israel, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Singapore. In fact, Australia has fallen to 20th on the 2020 Bloomberg Innovation Index, below countries with a smaller GDP than Australia These countries are now racing ahead as we drift. The pace of innovation means we won’t get a chance to fix things further down the track. Unless, as a nation we commit and fund investment in R&D we will only ever be able to read the story of our proud manufacturing history when we should instead be writing the next chapter. We must restore faith, celebrate and advocate for science and innovation to inform public policy. Why? Because it is science and research that enables the capability to test and receive COVID-19 results within 24 hours, and the development of an app to contact members of the public if they have been in contact with a person that is COVID-19 positive and could themselves be at risk. Just 15 years ago, an app wouldn’t be available to help ease the spread of the virus – but science and innovation have enabled these developments to thrive. As proven by Australia’s response to COVID-19, science, research and development determines whether we lead and determine our own future, or whether we depend on the discoveries and decisions of other nations. To me, it is non-negotiable, Australia and this Government must celebrate and advocate for science and innovation. Brendan O’Connor is Shadow Minister for Industry and Employment.
MANUFACTURING EXPANDS IN JUNE The manufacturing sector has grown in June, according to the latest Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) figures. Industry jumped 9.9 points to 51.5, the largest ever monthly rise and a positive result in the wake of April’s largest ever monthly fall in the PMI. However, the boost was narrowly focused on a few sub-sectors and indicates improvement rather than recovery. “Manufacturing performance edged ahead in June largely on the back of a solid lift in the large food and beverages sector as restrictions on cafes
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and restaurants were eased,” says Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox. New orders from food wholesale distributors drove almost all of the June improvement, which was concentrated in the large food and beverages sector. In contrast, suppliers of locally made metal products and building materials to the construction industry reported a decline in new orders, but the machinery and equipment sector enjoyed an endof-financial-year sales spike as buyers rushed to take advantage of expanded instant asset write-off provisions.
While three of the Australian PMI’s activity indices indicated expansion in June, three indicated contraction, including a continued decline in exports. Production rose across the manufacturing sector, and new orders rebounded from the lows of April and May. “Employment on the other hand merely stabilised after the contractions of the previous two months,” Willox says. Wage levels also levelled off after May’s very rare fall.
September will see Federal Government stimulus measures, including JobKeeper, wind up in what economists refer to as “the cliff”. “We are still well short of a recovery even with the quantity of fiscal stimulus in the economy,” Willox says. “The next couple of months will provide a critical test of how well the economy is positioned to cope with the withdrawal of stimulus currently scheduled for the end of September.”
JUNE / JULY 2020
WORKPLACE SAFETY
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HINKING. ABOVE THE REST. NKING. ABOVE THE REST. Barry Willis, 58, was crushed by a forklift as he loaded tyres at the Rocklea site in May 2019. He died from his injuries eight days later.
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Industrial manslaughter occurs in the event of a worker’s death by negligence on the part of a business or person. To secure ordinary manslaughter charges against corporate defendants has proven difficult in the past, which led to the introduction of the industrial manslaughter offence.
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“This case is an important reminder of the significance that most regulators attach to those who govern business,” says Iain Rennie, managing director of Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors (ABLA) corporate and commercial practice.
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Specifically, Brisbane Auto Recycling was accused of failing to effectively separate pedestrians from the mobile plant and to effectively supervise workers, including the operators of the mobile plant.
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The operator was subsequently charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, while Brisbane Auto Recycling was charged with having negligently caused the death of a worker.
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The WHS prosecutor argued that Brisbane Auto Recycling failed to put in place appropriate traffic management systems to ensure the safety of customers and workers.
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Many Australian businesses do not have a traffic management plan in place.
Taking a directorship or other senior office exposes the individual to many responsibilities for the actions of their company or business, he warns.
“Unfortunately, many boards do not appreciate the width of their exposure to personal liability, nor of that they be held s extreme accuracy, speed cut,maycombined with very low operating “These laws are about saving lives and and consistency individually responsible for breaches of serious ensuring all Queenslanders return home to their the new Yawei HLF laser is the perfect way to take your business to the next level. accuracy, speed andfiber consistency of cut, combined low operating criminal offences arising from the with conductvery of loved ones after a day’s work,” said Industrial business.” aweiRelations HLFMinister fiberGrace laser isinthe way to take your business to the next level. Grace 2019. perfecttheir
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for dollar,costs, the new HLF is in HLF a league of itsisown, opening up possibilities for companies the new Yawei fiber laser perfect way to take your low business to the next level. The Brisbane the Auto Recycling case should Heavy With its extreme accuracy, speed and consistency of cut, combined with very operating “They are the first of their kind to be oss new the laser cutting sector;offrom start-ups through to full production, 3-shiftduty, reliable, cost effective recycling make directors and managers sit up and take the HLF is in a league its own, opening up possibilities for companies costs, the new Yawei HLFand fiber the next level. introduced by a state jurisdiction leavelaser is the perfect way to take your business tosolutions nments. notice health andproduction, safety be made for dollar, the new HLF is of inhow a league of itsmust own, opening up possibilities for companies er cutting sector; from start-ups through to full 3-shift negligent Dollar employers culpable in workplace
Heavy duty, reliable, cost effective recycling top priorityfrom in any workplace. allnowhere across the laser cutting sector; start-ups through to full production, 3-shift Australia’s favourite solution for all kinds of waste/ deaths to hide.” Dollar forwith dollar, the new HLF is in a league of its own, opening up possibilities for companies solutions environments. quality German built Precitec auto-focus cutting head, IPG laser source, Siemens materials reduction applications all across the laser cutting sector; from start-ups throughdirectors to full production, 3-shift “We highly recommend The two directors of Brisbane Auto Australia’s favourite solution for all kinds of waste/ implement the following,” says ABLA director SL controller and a fabricated, stress-relieved fully annealed frame it really is a cut above environments. Recycling pleaded guilty to engaging in reckless erman built Precitec auto-focus cutting head, IPG laser source, Siemens With a quality German built Precitec auto-focus cutting head, IPG laser source, Siemens Extensive range available: materials reduction applications Alan Girle. st.and conduct. er a fabricated, stress-relieved fully annealed framefully it really is aframe cut above 840DSL controller and a fabricated, stress-relieved annealed it really is a cut above With a quality German built Precitec auto-focus cutting laser source,•Siemens Vision Series Shredders Extensive range available: “Conduct safety auditshead, to identifyIPG risks, brief thewere rest. pair convicted 1 840DSLThe controller and of a Category fabricated, stress-relieved fully annealed frame it really is a cut above the board on industrial manslaughter and its • Gran-Calibur Series Granulators • Vision Series Shredders offences under Work Health and Safety Act the rest. implications, conduct a formal review updating 2011 and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, • Gran-Calibur Series Granulators • Complete recycling lines; tyres, e-waste, cable, documentation and communication, and wholly suspended for 20 months. ore information: plastic washingrecycling & drying. • Complete lines; tyres, e-waste, cable, update policies, procedures and training based 3 9706 8066For more information: on your findings.” plastic washing & drying. “A lesser penalty would not adequately on: Call: 03 9706 8066 sales@appliedmachinery.com.au
For more punish information: Brisbane Auto Recycling Pty Ltd or Email: sales@appliedmachinery.com.au In the case of Brisbane Auto Recycling, ww.appliedmachinery.com.au Call: 03 9706 8066 adequately deter others,” Judge Anthony edmachinery.com.au Visit: www.appliedmachinery.com.au failure to implement a simple traffic Email: sales@appliedmachinery.com.au Rafter said. Connect with us socially machinery.com.au management plan resulted in the closure of the Connect with us socially Visit: www.appliedmachinery.com.au business and jail time for its directors. A Category 1 offence applies if the Connect with usConnect sociallywith us socially defendant engages in conduct that exposes “It is not just about the accounts and the to the risk of death or serious .indd 1 an individual APP054-Yawei-FPC-1.indd 1 corporations act,” Rennie says. injury or illness without reasonable excuse. The 4-Yawei-FPC-1.indd 1 offence carries maximum penalties of five years “Good governance requires vigilance, imprisonment or a $300,000 fine for first-time ongoing training and good operating systems offenders. that are constantly open for improvement.”
JUNE / JULY 2020
22/12/16 22/12/16 9:27 am9:27 am 22/12/16 22/12/16 9:27 am 9:27 am
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
15
INDUSTRY POLITICS KIM CARR
PANDEMIC PROMPTS UPHEAVAL IN IDEAS Industry Update is celebrating its 25th birthday at a time of unprecedented global upheaval that is also a time of great opportunity, especially for the manufacturing sector.
prosperity depended on dismantling tariffs and other trade barriers, and withdrawing various forms of Government support for local industry, especially co- investment in manufacturing.
The upheaval is not only a matter of the economic recession triggered everywhere by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that have been necessary to slow its spread.
The idea was that Australians should concentrate on doing what the neoliberals thought we do best, exporting commodities to the rest of the world, rather than value-adding to raw materials ourselves.
It is also an upheaval in ideas. The pandemic has exposed the inadequacy of the prevailing assumptions that have guided economic policy in this country for nearly three decades. In 1995, when Industry Update was getting under way, many politicians, senior bureaucrats and media commentators adhered to what has come to be known as neoliberalism. Their view was that Australia’s future
This was a vision of Australia as essentially just a farm, a quarry and a beach, not as a place where people make things. It was not an uncontested vision, of course, not least because Industry Update and other trade publications have provided a forum in which the need for a strong local manufacturing sector can be vigorously defended.
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And the government in which I served as minister developed a comprehensive set of measures, set out in the document Powering Ideas, aimed at fostering innovative local manufacturers.
And, because these heavy industries are big energy consumers, the question of how to ensure reliable supplies of affordable energy while also meeting our international obligations on climate change can no longer be avoided.
We rejected the notion that public and private investment were necessarily opposed to each other.
It is only by strengthening the manufacturing sector that Australia can diversify its economic base, and reduce our exposure to the impact of global downturns.
We understood that increasing some kinds of public investment, especially in science, research and skills training, would stimulate private investment too. We knew that Australia does not have to compete with manufacturers in low-wage countries who produce goods for a mass market. Australia can remain high-wage country with a competitive manufacturing sector if we invest in hi-tech, advanced manufacturing that sells on the quality of its products. But many of the programs announced in Powering Ideas did not survive the change in government, and the manufacturing sector continued to contract. According to the Reserve Bank, manufacturing now accounts for about 7 per cent of Australia’s total output and employment. This is less than half than the sector’s contribution three decades ago, and significantly below that of manufacturing in other comparable economies. The new government goaded motor vehicle producers to leave the country, a decision that has had disastrous consequences beyond the automotive industry itself because that industry had always been the great driver of privatesector R&D in Australia. I am not rehearsing this history to make a partisan point, but to emphasise why the pandemic has exposed the failure of neoliberal ideas and why this is a time of opportunity for the manufacturing sector. For the first time in decades, those who acquiesced in the decline of the sector – or even gloated about it – have had to concede that we must be a country that makes things, and that government must take an active role in ensuring that we are such a country. The Government had to intervene urgently to increase the supply of personal protective equipment for frontline health workers, and that raised further questions about our dependence on fragile global supply chains. Building up the necessary stockpile of face masks, visors and other forms of PPE, for example, is not only a matter of having manufacturers who can make the final product. It is also about having a local chemical industry and a local plastics industry. The crisis has been a reminder that some kinds of manufacturing, such as steel, aluminium, cement, chemicals and plastics are strategically vital because they produce the materials that other manufacturers require to make their own products.
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Investment – both public and private – in manufacturing is an investment in Australia’s future because economic complexity is the most important predictor of long-term economic growth. That is the reality we face, and it is impossible to dismiss in the way that neoliberals so readily dismissed it 25 years ago. If we are to rebuild the partnership between government and industry, however, we must preserve crucial programs such as the Research and Development Tax Incentive, the most important item in the nation’s innovation toolkit. As most in the sector will know, the Government is proposing to cut the value of the Incentive by $1.8 billion, which will very likely drive large manufacturers to take their R&D offshore. That is not a prospect a clever country should countenance. A clever country that really wanted to reform the Incentive would instead consider adopting a premium rate of the Incentive for collaboration between industry and researchers, as proposed in the “Three Fs” review of the innovation system. We also need to preserve and strengthen anti-dumping system, which remains a target for neoliberals, especially in the Productivity Commission, who argue that anti-dumping measures only result in higher prices for consumers. It is an argument that ignores the fact that consumers don’t buy goods merely because they’re cheap. They buy goods they know are made to a reliable and safe standard, and the dumping of shoddy imported steel and aluminium products on the Australian market in recent years has demonstrated why we cannot do without a strong anti-dumping regime. The fight against those who believe Australia does not need a strong manufacturing sector is not over, but the tide is moving in the sector’s favour. I intend to do everything I can to ensure that this historic opportunity is not lost. Industry Update has been a stalwart supporter of the sector since 1995. I congratulate everyone connected with the publication on 25 years of achievement, and wish you all the best for the future.
Kim Carr is a Labor Senator for Victoria, and a former minister and shadow minister for innovation, industry, science and research.
JUNE / JULY 2020
NEWS
CHANGE IS INEVITABLE. YOUR PROGRESS IS OPTIONAL
By Brent Whyte, Managing Director, Whyte Public Relations Never has this axiom been more relevant than in the emerging PostCOVID era, when Australian industry will be reshaped by tectonic events. Supply chains will change, automate and truncate to become rapidly more responsive. The way we work, communicate and engineer the future will be reshaped. The degree to which countries must be more self-sufficient in key areas will emerge as a national priority. Health, energy, infrastructure, defence, flexible manufacturing, construction, sustainability will all be at the forefront of change. Some of the changes will be new; some will be an acceleration of trends that were already underway; some will kill off old practices that were already on life support before COVID-19 struck. While no-one has a clear chart to the future (that would be like having tomorrow’s race results or share prices) we do know there will be challenges and opportunities, and there will be winners
and losers, depending on how they see the future. So, while most of us right now are focused on survival – and rightly so – it might also be time to look over the parapet to the world ahead and position ourselves for change. Ask yourself: is it time now to get out and get your abilities known, to position yourself early as a master of change in the area in which you operate? To present yourself as an authority with a vision of the future – as someone who sees challenges and change as a time of opportunity, a positive thinker? Or do you do nothing and believe your reputation will carry you through? That might work for some, if their corporate vision is clearly understood by the people that sit down to make choices about who gets considered for work, or who is selected for tender lists. But please don’t sit back and presume
that everyone knows your company and what you are good at. Because they often don’t, according to our decades in the B2B business. Some customers will have a strong idea because they deal with you frequently. Others will have less of an idea – they may know that you do one thing well, but may not have a clue that you are good at other things as well (we find this often with engineer, designers, maintenance managers and staff and leaders at all levels, others throughout industries such as manufacturing and materials handling, mining and energy, oil and gas, construction and architecture, contracting and maintenance, food and beverage, waste management and wastewater, for example). It is fundamental to understand that all businesses have a reputation in the marketplace. Their choice, really, is not whether they have a reputation, but whether they choose to define that reputation or let their competitors do it for them.
And if you do need to address your marketplace, it may be useful to consider whether you need the help of specialists in local and international B2B communication, publicity and promotion. If so, find the right people to talk to (naturally our company is happy to talk). Enter a discussion that should be without obligation, but with an eye to the future. It is not the strongest or most intelligent that will survive, but those that can best manage change.
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17
ENVIRONMENT WASTE MANAGEMENT
GORMAN-RUPP CLEARS THE AIR AT TREATMENT PLANT migrate to the centre where the pump suction lines are positioned. The solids are then smashed through the pump and aerator to reduce their size and make them move available for biological reaction. Hydro Innovations regional manager Shaun Allgood recently visited the plant and noted that everything had been installed perfectly and was operating well. A spokesperson for the plant says they have no problems at all with the system. The plant has found the system very easy to access for monitoring and maintenance since it’s located outside of the tank, rather that inside it or on it. No lifting apparatus is necessary to access equipment, and there is no risk from “working over water” or “working at heights”.
A Venturi-Aeration system “powered” by two Gorman-Rupp model V6A60-B pumps
The combination of a Venturi-Aeration system and Gorman-Rupp pumps has cleared the air at a South Australian wastewater treatment plant. The treatment system, part of a chicken processing plant, consisted of a 350,000-litre tank with in-flows exceeding four megalitres per day. The plant’s operators sought an aeration system that would reduce odours, was easy to maintain, and was safe for operators.
Smaller projects are possible with the use of smaller venturi-aerators, which are available in 50mm, 80mm, 100mm and 150mm sizes. Larger projects are approached by using multiples of the larger unit, sometimes using a dedicated large pump to “drive” two, three or even four venturi aerators.
Engineers at the plant spoke to Australian pump and aeration specialist Hydro Innovations, and selected a Venturi-Aeration system consisting of two VA-1100 (6”) venturiaerators “powered” by two Gorman-Rupp model V6A60-B pumps with a combined discharge rate of 140 litres per second.
into the aerator at a ratio 2.2 times the pump flow, where it is mixed with the wastewater.
The Gorman-Rupp pumps draw wastewater from the tank and discharge it at pressure into the venturi-aerators. Air is drawn
The discharge of the two aerators was set up tangential to the side wall to induce a “spin” to the contents of the tank, causing solids to
Hydro Innovations 02 9898 1800 www.hydroinnovations.com.au
It is a perfect cycle of life for the tyres as Australia generates 25 million ELT’s a year, while the US at more than 250 million ELT’s. Per annum there are 1.5 billion ELTs which can be sourced globally.
Australia, when it can be innovated locally.
The 30 local and global plants planned by GDT will each have the capacity to process 19,300 tonnes of ELTs comprising a mix of passenger car, 4WD and truck tyres.
“I don’t want to diminish the support of the local investors from mums and dads, as well as the members of the Motor Traders Association of Queensland,” he says.
The potential output is awesome. Bayley says that with a burgeoning waste environmental problem this initiative is breaking frontiers by turning a negative into valuable and highly saleable materials.
“But the professionals in Australia want a high short-term return, while we need a fiveyear commitment.”
GDT is onto a good thing because by contrast, it produces high value oil, carbon and steel, which is in demand by world markets at international market prices from their EDTs. Their emissions are within EPA guidelines and use less than three percent of the oil they produce as the heating source.
Water is then discharged back into the tank, where “hydraulic sheer” facilitates the release of soluble gasses and volatiles from the water, which is now saturated with dissolved oxygen.
TYRES MADE OF GOLD As Australia find its feet into the new normal, it’s a breath of fresh air to hear there is big money to be made from tyres that have reached the end of their life (EDT: end of life tyres). The monetary gains are big: when recycled, the projected output from EDT tyres can be as much as 214,230,000 litres of high value oil, 270,970 tonnes of carbon and 112,900 tonnes of steel. Enter Green Distillation Technologies (GDT), which is proud that during the virus outbreak, it can do good business from this breakthrough. GDT’s Chief Operating Officer Trevor Bayley says the planned thirty plants for EDTs in their pipeline will produce a high level of output. “The volume of valuable recycled material that is produced by the process is quite impressive and a typical 10 kg car tyre will yield 3.7 litres of oil, 4.68 kg of carbon, 1.95kg of steel, a 70kg truck tyre will provide 26 litres of oil, 33 kg of carbon, 13.65 kg of steel and a 4 tonne
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oversize mining dump truck tyre will yield 1,570 lites oif oil,1.7 tonnes of carbon, 0.76 tonne of steel.”
But as with any new innovative business strategies there are challenges for Green Distillation Technologies. Bayley is wary that even if the international scene looks very promising for the company they do not want the Australian technology to end up only being imported back after being taken over outside
GDT has already pegged investment in the vicinity of $230 million, but it has proven difficult to raise funds in Australia from local sources. It may be a bit of a waiting game until more investors join in but several plants are already underway overseas as government approvals are finalised.
“Each GDT plant is expected to need a permanent workforce of fifteen and require more people during the construction phase and have a local economic multiplier effect with more people required to collect and deliver ELTs to the plant,” Bayley says. “What we have done is a world breakthrough and we believe that in time our technology will eventually become the preferred means of recycling ELT’s throughout the world.”
JUNE / JULY 2020
NEWS
SEW EURODRIVE TEAMS WITH AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE by Border Force as low risk. When you deal with a company that has ATT status, you know it has met World Customs Organisation standards. Trusted Trader, which is administered by the Department of Home Affairs with Australian Border Force, accredits Australian businesses with compliant trade practices and a secure supply chain. Companies that are Australian Trusted Traders gain the benefits of less red tape at the border and simplified customs processes. Things such as tariffs, valuations and origin, duty drawback claims, and refund and remission applications for customs import duty all become more streamlined.
SEW-Eurodrive, world-leading manufacturer of drive technology, has gained Australian Trusted Trader status with Australian Border Force. The main advantage of ATT status is
JUNE / JULY 2020
reduced red tape at the border, says Fred Pizzicara, national procurement manager for SEW-Eurodrive, leading manufacturers of drive technology. Australian Trusted Traders are viewed
Pizzicara says SEW Eurodrive has also gained an assigned account manager at Australian Border Force: “That means I can get an answer on things much more quickly.” That means improved certainty in export markets, faster flow of their cargo
in and out of Australia, and quicker access to market. Pizzicara says the process began with an inquiry to Border Force in March 2019 and took several months of documents were filled in (with input from other SEW departments including IT, HR and Compliance), meetings and a visit from Border Force officers to SEW’s Sydney office. Trusted Traders also find it simpler to bring in an especially skilled worker on a temporary skills shortage visa. Pizzicara says that being an Australian Trusted Trader sends a message to the world “that we are a good company, a good corporate citizen that has all these values in place. It makes people happy and more confident to deal with us.”
SEW-Eurodrive 1300 739 287 www.sew-eurodrive.com.au
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
19
COVID- 19 : WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
INNOVATION KEY TO POST-COVID SUCCESS Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies have battened down the hatches and endured the turbulence that 2020 has thus far delivered. However, the same situation that shone a light on the shortcomings in some industries has also highlighted the innovative approach that Australian manufacturers undertake regularly to stay relevant. Now is the time for manufacturers to take a step forward, and Australian manufacturers in particular are perfectly poised to take advantage of this situation. The impact in Australia of this pandemic has, to date, been well managed compared to other parts of the world. Bomac Engineering is one such Australian company that is taking a step forward and pushing onwards. Bomac has always recognised that innovation is a key ingredient to the success of many small companies. This year has held a great many challenges for the manufacturing industry, and while Bomac certainly hasn’t been
immune, it has also made sure that its R&D practices haven’t receded. “If anything, the developments of 2020 have been more of a catalyst for our R&D projects”, says Bomac’s engineering director Tate McFarlane. “It makes the most sense to push hard with innovation right now. We are looking right back to the building blocks of our product range and identifying how they could be improved to better match our customers’ requirements.” Bomac prides itself on being an innovative company in the materials handling, work station crane and height safety sector, and exports its quality modular aluminium rail systems all over the world. “Our system is like a big LEGO kit,” McFarlane says. “It’s adaptable to the needs of our customers. Over the years we have enjoyed meeting the challenges put forward by our customers with unconventional applications.”
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While face-to-face business interaction
has been put to the side, the Bomac team has taken advantage of the extra time and is busy building, testing and even destroying its new product in pursuit of perfection. “We think we have come up with something pretty special giving us even greater flexibility and unique capabilities,” McFarlane says. The new product has involved the upgrade of Bomac’s engineering and production facilities, a challenge to which the company took a blank page approach. For Bomac, it wasn’t about making small changes to an existing product, but creating an entirely new version of that product. “We tried to get everyone’s input,” McFarlane says. “Retired and current engineers, people on the shop floor, and of course, customers currently using our systems. We found that they all had valuable input and feedback, and it really highlighted to the lead team the power of collaboration.” McFarlane also notes that government
programs such as the R&D tax incentives provided great support for such activities. “It provides that extra confidence to get in there and have a go, developing products that aren’t half-baked and rushed to market,” he says. “For the company it’s permission to push the boundaries in all areas. This provides growth and better employment opportunities as well as making us more competitive in the global economy.” Watch this space for more information on this new, innovative product from Bomac Engineering. Bomac 03 9796 5300 www.bomac.com.au
30/6/20 9:32 am
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BUSINESS & FINANCE
DIVERSIFICATION KEY TO SURVIVING RECESSION St.George Chief Economist Besa Deda offers a renewed outlook for the Australian manufacturing sector as the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Metropolitan Melbourne returned to Stage 3 lockdown conditions in early July in response to the state’s growing number of cases, throwing Victoria’s economy deeper into uncertainty. “The good news is this recession may be relatively short and limited to just the first half of this year,” she says. “The not-so-good news is that the Australian economy is likely to be driving in the slow lane for some time.” Manufacturing is poised to recover, but fresh figures suggest significant headwinds remain. “The latest data from the national accounts reveal that the manufacturing sector was showing signs of a nascent recovery before the full force of social distancing measures were in place,” Deda says. Besa Deda - Chief Economist
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in early 2020, economies were shattered as lockdowns forced social distancing and mass business closures. The manufacturing sector suffered the collapse of overseas supply chains as international transit ground to a halt. Perhaps most severely, a recession began to unfold in the Australian economy. “The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently slashed its outlook for the world economy, projecting a deeper
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recession and a slower recovery than it anticipated just two months ago,” Deda says. “At home, our success in suppressing the virus has meant we have started reopening the economy sooner than anticipated. It means the downturn here is not as big as initially feared.” Months into the crisis, economic activity has started on the long, fragile road to recovery. The fragile and uncertain recovery is highlighted by the outbreak of the virus in Victoria.
In fact, the manufacturing industry recorded its second consecutive quarterly increase in output in the March quarter following two years of decline.
per cent. It was give-and-take for machinery and equipment manufacturers, with a contraction of one per cent in Q1 following a 4.4 per cent jump in the previous quarter that capped three consecutive quarterly increases. Food and beverage slumped by 0.5 per cent over the quarter, while “other” manufacturing activity grew by 0.5 per cent. Deda points to sluggish consumer demand as among the main headwinds to growth for local manufacturers in the first quarter, followed closely by significant global supply chain disruptions. “Some firms were able to benefit through local substitution of products that were unable to be procured overseas,” she says. “Others experienced difficulty obtaining parts crucial to their own valueadded process, hindering output.”
Figures from Q1 2020 show the manufacturing sector expanded by 2.2 per cent from Q4 of 2019.
The complexity of the shock caused by the coronavirus is highlighted in business surveys conducted over the first few months of the pandemic.
“This was despite a contraction in overall national gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.3 per cent,” Deda says.
The Australian Industry Group (AiG) manufacturing survey showed an increase in manufacturing activity in March.
Strong growth was enjoyed by manufacturers tied to mining: those in the petroleum, rubber, coal and chemical products sectors saw an 8.1 per cent boost in Q1, while metal products jumped by 5.2
“This is likely due to a surge in consumer demand for food and personal care products,” Deda says. The index took a 33.3 per cent dive in
JUNE / JULY 2020
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Manufacturing Trends and Outlook The one-two punch of the prolonged
Output Growth
4
(quarterly percentage change)
slump in property turnover and ongoing The manufacturing sector experienced a social distancing measures that have kept material disruption due to the coronavirus pandemic. As economic activity around the office employees working from home has world restarts, the sector is poised to recover, rocked other sectors. but significant headwinds remain.
Manufacturing GDP (P)
2
0
-2
-4
Source: ABS
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
“Building materials and furniture The latest data from the national accounts manufacturers, paper and printing reveal that the sector was showing signs of a products and metal products continue nascent recovery before the full force of socialdistancing measures were in place. It recorded to face extremely difficult operating its second consecutive quarterly increase in environments, and are likely to do so until output in the March quarter following two years conditions improve,” she says. of declines. The manufacturing sector expanded 2.2% in Q1 2020, despite a contraction in overall
A new series of surveys conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Manufacturers linked to the mining industry, including those in the petroleum, coal, chemical & highlight the nuances of the changing rubber products sector and the metal products sector saw strong growth of 8.1% and 5.2%, conditions within manufacturing. respectively. Output in the machinery and equipment manufacturing sector contracted by 1.0% in April, once that demand settled down. the first quarter, but this was following 4.4% growth in the previous quarter and three consecutive In April, at the height of social quarterly increases. Food & beverage processing declined by 0.5% over the quarter. “Other” “But as restrictions eased in May and restrictions, 92 per cent of manufacturing manufacturing activity eked out a 0.5% gain. June, the index rebounded.” companies continued to operate safely. national gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.3%.
The main headwind to growth for local manufacturers in the first quarter was sluggish consumer The June results showed a record demand, while the spread of the coronavirus in China earlier in the year caused significant supplyA subsequent survey conducted chain disruptions. Some firms were able to benefit through local substitution of products that were jump of 23.8 per cent to 51.5, above in June illustrates the impact of safety unable to be procured overseas, while others experienced difficulty obtaining parts crucial to their the neutral level of 50 which separates measures on those businesses: 84 per own value-added process, hindering output.
expansion from contraction.
cent of manufacturers were operating Business surveys highlight the complexity of the shock caused by the coronavirus. The Australian under modified conditions, with 58 per According to the AiG report, much Industry Group (AiG) manufacturing survey showed manufacturing activity increased in March, likely cent having implemented site density due a surge in consumer demand for food and personal care products. The index subsequently of that latest increase was driven by limitations. plunged 33.3% in April, however, it rebounded in May and June as restrictions have eased. The index increased activity among food and rose by a record 23.8% to 51.5 in June, above the neutral level of 50, which separates expansion beverage manufacturers as bars and The June ABS survey also found from contraction. restaurants begin to reopen. that 74 per cent of manufacturing firms Further detail in the AiG report reveals that much of the latest increase was driven by increased recorded a drop in revenue compared to Another area to see slight activity among food & beverage manufacturers to service the reopening of the hospitality sector. the previous year. Of those, 16 per cent Other sub-sectors remain in contraction. improvement is machinery and said the decline was greater than 75 per equipment manufacturing; the instant Machinery & equipment manufacturers continued to report a slight improvement in conditions in cent. asset tax write-off has reportedly June, according to the AiG survey. Businesses in this segment have faced supply chain issues which have added a layer of complexity to already uncertain demand conditions. The instant asset tax supported new orders for some Deda says that economic indicators write-off has reportedly supported new orders for some manufacturers. Acute areas of weakness companies, countering uncertainty since March show the world economy is remain in other sectors. Building materials & furniture manufactures, paper & printing products and caused by extant supply chain issues. undergoing a deep contraction. “Other sub-sectors remain in contraction,” Deda says.
JUNE / JULY 2020
“The contraction in economic growth is expected to be the most severe in Q2,”
Matthew Kelly - St.George’s Executive Manager of Manufacturing and Wholesale
she says. “And the unwinding of stockpiling will magnify the reduction in demand in some sectors.” The World Health Organisation’s special envoy, Dr David Navaroo, recently warned the world is still two and a half years from a coronavirus vaccine. “Therefore, the pandemic is going to continue to change the way we live, work and learn,” Deda says. One long-term trend that could become a legacy of the pandemic is the re-shaping of global supply chains. While additional Federal Government stimulus measures and loose monetary policy will benefit manufacturing, Deda says the best destiny for the industry is in diversification. Indeed, St.George Bank’s Head of Manufacturing and Wholesale Matthew Kelly says “manufacturing businesses are
already starting to review their supply chains and are looking to add local manufacturers”. Kelly adds that he has seen clients diversifying and adapting and expects this trend to continue. According to Deda, no crisis should be wasted. “The Federal Government needs to prioritise the Australian economy getting through this crisis and what further stimulus might be needed,” she says. “Longer-term, there is the potential for the manufacturing sector to emerge stronger if the pandemic leaves the legacy of an altered attitude towards sup St.George Bank 0412 265 197 www.stgeorge.com.au/ manufacturing
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
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COVID- 19 : WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
STAYING SAFE IN THE NEW NORMAL Wellbeing of staff and visitors/clients – staff and clients unsure about safety of the business premises mean less business market engagement. Therefore, it’s important that signage on COVID-safe practices is visible, staff are informed and trained about testing, physical distancing, good hygiene practices and keeping away when unwell. It’s important for employers to make sure staff understand what to do if an employee is found to have symptoms or contact is made with another person with symptoms.
As we were about to go to press, a winterised Australia began experiencing a ‘second wave’ of COVID-19 cases in the state of Victoria, mainly from community infection clusters in specific suburbs near the city. Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland are also keeping their borders closed or under stringent restrictions for interstate travel for the time being. The situation demonstrates that despite Australia ranking high on the global leaderboard as one of the most COVID-safety conscious countries, industry challenges particular to the pandemic will continue to emerge. For any employer or company wanting to minimise risks as we embrace the new normal, the use of safety practices with due diligence is an important consideration.
The Federal and State Governments have allocated targeted information for businesses such as NSW’s Helping Business Get Back to Work guide, and information to help businesses manage the return to work after lockdown from the workplace. Meanwhile, Australian Business Lawyers and Advisers (ABLA) say it’s important for employers to carefully manage the return to work process to ensure the safety of all workers. In the long term, the implications for business survival will also be directly connected to how much it can weather the new normal, manage the legal and insurance risks as well as maintain the health of staff. Here are some things employers should consider.
Hygiene and Cleaning – All common areas like bathroom and kitchen should be well stocked with hand soap and paper towels. Hand sanitiser and handwashing facilities should be clearly marked with visible signage, as should entry and exit points and meal areas. Wherever possible, institute methods to avoid the shared use of items; not just equipment but workstation supply such as tools, pens and data collection books. Physical Distancing – the key 1.5 metre distance between individuals and one person per 4sq metres is based on scientific evidence and World Health Organisation guides which reduce the risk of COVID transmission. Employers might consider placing markers, adjusting seating in common areas, staggering work times to minimise risk of close contact, and authorise the wearing of masks and gloves where needed. Finally, when mitigating future risks it’s important to consider travel and transport protocols for your business. Insurance may not be covered for COVID-19 disruptions as well as from loss of profits resulting from the virus.
NEW VISORS DESIGNED TO PREVENT CORONAVIRUS Global materials processing firm Biesse Group has donated protective visors to Ospedali Riuniti Marche Nord to aid in Italy’s battle against COVID-19. With transmission of the coronavirus centred around the eyes, nose and mouth, the Biesse Group - a global leader in wood, glass, stone, plastic and metal processing technology - designed the visor to provide protection for those sensitive areas for doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. Biesse’s designers perfected the prototype using 3D printers usually 24
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
used for batch production and to create the firm’s tech solutions. The result, a shield for the entire face, is manufactured entirely in Biesse via a combination of 3D printer and a Rover Plast machining centre.
The visor’s frame is 3D printed at the Biesse plant at Via della Meccanica, while the transparent visor itself is manufactured via Rover Plast A FT by protective covering specialist Axxembla.
“We immediately offered to use our 3D printer to help with the health emergency and checked which of the products that hospitals need most,” said Biesse Group CEO Roberto Selci.
“We monitored all the devices produced with 3D printers online,” said mechanical technology centre director Michele Tombari, “in order to put our competencies and technology at work in the service of those who are battling the virus directly.”
“We decided to manufacture and donate the visors to Ospedali Riuniti Marche Nord to offer tangible support for those who are on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 every day.”
The donation of the visors comes on the heels of Biesse’s fundraising drive for the purchase of technology
to help critical COVID-19 patients. The company’s LET’S DO MORE campaign provides support for Ospedale San Salvatore Di Pesaro to buy new equipment to meet the challenge of COVID-19.
JUNE / JULY 2020
COVID- 19 : WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
INFECTION PREVENTION FOR YOUR WORKPLACE The disinfectant is designed to better protect patients and staff in the medical field from the risk of COVID-19 virus cross infection. The use of Viraclean, particularly on high touch areas such as doorhandles and benchtops, combined with good hand hygiene, will assist in protecting staff as Australia moves into winter months and a higher incidence of colds and flus. Now more than ever, effective surface cleaning is a crucial part of any workplace. Even though most of the country is on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a clean office is a safe one. Whiteley Corporation, a family owned Australian business and leading global innovator of infection prevention solutions for over 85 years, has stepped up with a new hospital-grade disinfectant. Viraclean, intended for use on a range of medical surfaces, is now available to the wider market, including manufacturers.
Ensuring hand sanitiser is easily accessible will assist in minimising the risk of infection. Whiteley conducts all its research and development in its TGA licenced manufacturing facility, based in the NSW coastal city of Newcastle. A series of guides designed to prevent the spread of infection can be found on the Whiteley website. Whiteley Corporation 1800 833 566 www.whiteley.com.au
Whiteley Viraclean Industry Update half page ad July20.indd 1
JUNE / JULY 2020
CRYSTAL CLEAR MEDICAL IMAGERY New from Winmate, the M320TFSDI 4K UHD Medical Display with 12G-SDI support and Front IP65 rating allows for full, stable transmission of 4K display signals within the medical industry. The 12G-SDI digital video interface makes possible the transmission of 4K signals across a single cable up to 150 metres. The importance of an uncompressed, unencrypted video interface that offers four times the bandwidth of 3G-SDI within the medical industry is to ensure the precise imagery remains unchanged from the video source to the 4K display. This ensures healthcare providers have the most accurate imaging, every time. The M320TF-SDI features thin and compact housing and comes equipped with 3D lookup table (LUT) technology for unrivalled colour accuracy. In addition, the ultra-high definition 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels allows monitors to achieve crystal clear surgical
images or videos for use in endoscopy or operating rooms. The unit also fulfils strict ergonomic requirements with the display’s wide viewing angle, an ambient light sensor for automatic brightness adjustment, and easy-to-clean fanless and ventless construction. Available now from Backplane Systems Technology, the M320TF-SDI comes with IEC 60601-1, 60601-6 and EN60601-1-2 medical certification, front IP65 rating and antimicrobial coating. Backplane Systems Technology 02 9457 6400 www.backplane.com.au
30/6/20 9:28 am
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
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SECURITY ONLINE
KEEP YOUR SYSTEM SAFE WITH LOGI-TECH and critical IT, removing the need for emergency patching and, once again, costly downtime. Digital Immunity works by employing a patented digital DNA analysis of code executing in memory at runtime, blocking any code that has a DNA different from that of the trusted code base. This function helps in identifying and preventing attacks that are disguised as legitimate code, tampered binaries and morphing malware, or the introduction of foreign or malicious code, thus hardening mission-critical operating systems and applications.
As the business industry rushes to take advantage of computer digitisation and operation system automation, it does so with the promise of enormous benefits in the future. As Operational Technology (OT) becomes more sophisticated, however, so does the severity of cyberthreats. The importance of protecting your operating systems from cyberattacks can be demonstrated by some infamous examples: Aramco’s Middle Eastern oil refinery suffered a major setback when 32,000 of its computers were wiped out in 2015; Sony Pictures lost $15 million when its system was hacked and emails leaked in 2014; CBS reported global damage to the tune of $4 billion following an attack from the Wannacry hacking group. The global cost of cybercrime increased in 2018 to $13 billion, and 39 per cent of all ransomware attacks
target manufacturing companies and result in the loss of hundreds of millions in revenue.
Logi-Tech’s partnership with Digital Immunity Protect is designed to help businesses protect their operations technology environment by disallowing known or unknown threats to execute and inflict system damage, causing costly downtime. As the Internet of Things (IoT) rapidly evolves, 80 per cent of manufacturers have been forced to adapt to meet the change – this means there will be more than 50 million vulnerable devices becoming active that will need protection.
This is why IT and cloud solution provider Logi-Tech has partnered with Digital Immunity to develop a unique solution to keep manufacturing systems secure and remain productive. The solution focuses on providing a more robust delivery of critical company infrastructures. According to Logi-Tech, current digital system environments have age limitations; digital systems that need regular security updates but are not usually aligned with scheduled maintenance. The high need for increased internet connectivity for the purpose of monitoring and maintenance, data analytics and remote control of devices inadvertently leaves these systems vulnerable to cyberthreats and attacks.
35,000+ esimated number of computers damaged - CIO, 2013
32,000 computers damaged - CNN, 2013
This revolutionary and unique prevention technique operates in the background without disrupting business routines, is compatible with common operating systems, and requires only 1 per cent of CPU usage. Operators will notice the return on investment (ROI), as has US firm Pfizer, as Digital Immunity eliminates the need for emergency patching and reduces out of hours work, allowing businesses to take control of system maintenance. Digital Immunity also captures forensics in the event of a cyberattack, as well as built-in multitenancy support and site management features.
Now is the time to act, because it’s not a matter of if, but when you’ll be targeted.
Logi-Tech is a valued long-term partner of Digital Immunity in Australia and will work with customers to ensure the best solution for their environment.
Digital Immunity not only detects, but stops any attack on your system. This approach requires no downtime, no signature updates, and supports air-gapped environments in manufacturing and pharmaceuticals
$10B in damages - ApexTech, 2017 globally
$15M estimated cost of Sony Pictures hack - TechTimes, 2014
Logi-Tech 08 8152 4050 0418 824 924 www.logitech.com.au
$4B in damages globally - CBS News, 2017
$300M in damages globally - The Register, 2017
- Shamoon
- Dark Seoul
- Killdisk/Industroyer
- NotPetya
- GandCrab
- MegaCortex v.2
- Narilam
- Destover
- Shamoon 2
- Wannacry
- Triton/Trisis
- LockerGoga
- Maya
- Targeted hacks
- Wiper
- Killdisk
- Stuxnet
- BlackEnergy
- SamSam
- Industroyer
- Sodinokibi
- OlympicDestroyer
- GandCrab
- KillDisk
- Duqu
Quantified Cybersecurity Threats to OT
2010-12
2013-15
Natanz: - 1,000 fuel centrifuges destroyed in Stuxnet a8ack on Iran’s Uranium enrichment plant - BBC, 2013
2016
2017
Dark Seoul - 32K computers affected by a coordinated a8ack on several banks and media companies in Seoul by hack0vist group Lazarus - CNN, 2013
Ukrenergo - 225K Kiev customers without power in December cold winter a5er Industroyer a8ack - Reuters, 2017
Bowman Avenue Dam - Hackers would have caused $80 million of damage had they opened the flood gates a5er successfully accessing SCADA.
Fiat Chrysler - 1.4M vehicles recalled due to a vulnerability that allowed remote control of Jeep Cherokee’s transmission, radio, air condi0oning and other systems
- Newsweek, 2019
- The Guardian, 2015
2018
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INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
- ISMG, 2019
logitech.com.au
2019
Merck & Co -$1.3B in remedia0on 0me, lost sales & produc0vity loss due to NotPetya a8ack - Bloomberg, 2019
Tasnee - $undisclosed revenue loss due to Triton a8ack which disrupted Saudi oil refinery - ZDNET, 2017
Norsk Hydro -$40M+ revenue & produc0on loss due to blocked systems - ZDNET, 2019 a5er LockerGoga a8ack
Maersk - $300M in damages & business disrup0on due to NotPetya - Bloomberg, 2017
SAIPEM - 500 Saipem computers impacted a5er Shamoon 3 a8ack.
ASCO - 71% of workers on 1 wk paid leave a5er Sodinokibi a8ack - ZDNET, 2019
Mondelez - $188M in damages, lost sales & compromized data a5er NotPetya a8ack - Financial Times, 2018 Reckitt Benckiser - $117M in lost sales, compromized data and damaged a5er NotPetya a8ack - The Guardian, 2017
08 8152 4050
$56,577 Avg daily cost per attack
- iEncrypt
Aramco - 35K computers wiped or totally destroyed by Shamoon a8ack effec0ng opera0ons of its middle east oil refinery - CNN, 2015
sales@logitech.com.au
up to $5.8M ransom fee per attack - ZDNET, 2019
- Reuters, 2018
Aebi Schmidt - Numerous networked systems at Aebi Schmidt were paralyzed globally - SC Magazine, 2019 Arizona Beverages - lost millions of dollars a day due to targeted ransomware a8ack (iEncrypt)
- TechCrunch, 2019
TSMC - $255M in lost revenue & down0me at semiconductor Plant a5er Wannacry a8ack - Spiceworks, 2018
JUNE / JULY 2020
We’re supporting businesses affected by COVID-19 If you’re a St.George business customer who has been financially impacted by COVID-19, some of the ways that we could help include: • Unsecured 3-year term loan up to $250,000 with a 6 months repayment deferral, with interest to be capitalised.* • Business loan repayment relief for 6 months for eligible business customers.# • Deferral of equipment finance instalments for 6 months for eligible customers.#
St.George Business Relief 1800 629 795
Things you should know: #Available to eligible business customers with total business exposure of less than $10 million per customer group. Interest deferred will be capitalised. Eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions apply. Visit stgeorge.com.au/businessrelief for more information *Available to eligible business customers with a turnover of less than $50 million. Fees and charges apply. Eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions apply. Visit stgeorge.com.au/businessrelief for more information © St.George Bank – A Division of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL and Australian credit licence 233714. SL1170 0320
COVID- 19 : WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
5 CAPITAL PURCHASES TO MAKE DURING THE PANDEMIC By Helen Baker, financial adviser and spokesperson for online finance information platform Money.com.au While capital purchases are an essential part of running an SME, business owners may be torn between whether to invest in vital equipment now or wait until the economy recovers. The Federal and State Governments have provided various business support measures during the pandemic, including a limited-time increase to tax asset write-offs and deductions, enabling them to make capital purchases.
is not just to meet clients, but to also make a positive impression, both of which are important for closing high-value deals. As physical stores closure many businesses may be reconsidering their business model, with major retailers configuring their workforce to largely handle online ordering and delivery.
Here are five capital purchases businesses will find valuable to invest in during this time, and the industries most likely to benefit from it as the country begins to recover.
1.
Vehicles. Any business which conducts regular customer contact – such as real estate agencies - will require reliable and brand-aligned vehicles. This
2.
A sudden rise in online ordering will no doubt strain delivery companies, and a business investing in a delivery vehicle may find the speed of despatching goods to customers gives them a competitive edge in coming months. Electronics. Another major shift experienced on a global scale has been an increase in remote working and flexible working conditions. After seeing the success of this alternative
style of working, some business owners are moving to an entirely remote business model. This can include purchasing electronics for any remote staff, but also considers collaborative products and software for maintaining productivity and communication.
3.
GPS equipment may also be highly valuable for businesses where increased flexibility brings increased risk - delivery vehicles and mobile businesses can use GPS systems to ensure employee compliance, while also measuring travel distance for company vehicles. Machinery. If your business has moved to largely online ordering, you might be considering restructuring your business to emphasise online orders and limited physical stores. While retail stores operating in this
way will also consider delivery vehicles and appropriate safety equipment and training, stock management will encourage the use of warehouse machinery.
Moving your business primarily to a warehouse setting will require machinery to efficiently manage stock and orders, and forklifts and access equipment can be highly valuable to businesses considering adapting in this way.\
4.
Equipment. The private medical industry has taken a major hit during the pandemic, exacerbated by a prolonged state of lockdown. Medical professionals will no doubt be investing in new safety equipment but may also benefit from upgrading their in-house equipment to cope with the demand in patients seeking healthcare after isolation.
LOOKING FOR A WAY TO
CLEAN AND DISINFECT
YOUR INDUSTRIAL PARTS AND TOOLS? Complete high-security disinfection of your tools and parts, triple action:
Cleensonic offers you the perfect solution:
ULTRASONIC SANITIZATION
1. Ultrasonic cavitation kills any microorganism by breaking its cell wall 2. Detergent. A diluted drop of ordinary soap in water is enough to break and kill many types of
bacteria and viruses, by undoing its lipid membranes, including the new coronavirus that is currently spreading around the world. 3. Hot water at 80ºC/176ºF is a powerful disinfectant More features and benefits from ultrasonic cleaning:
• Microscopic cleaning quality • Homogenous results: Including in complicated geometric parts. disinfection: Ultrasonic Cavitation kills microorganism by cell • Complete disruption and together with detergent ensures complete disinfection. • Saving water: immersion cleaning considerably reduces water consumption. • Health Safety: the system is safe for the operator and its working environment. Direct contact with dangerous products is avoided.
Cleensonic is a leader in ultrasonic cleaning thanks to a 50 years trajectory experience. We are specialists in equipment from 100 to 15,000 litres, with a custom design and construction for each client and a clear specialization in ultrasonic equipment with low frequency (28khz) of greater cleaning power. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT US
Call us on | +61 0421 679 058 | www.cleensonic.com.au
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JUNE / JULY 2020
COVID- 19 : WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Equipment that will allow medical professionals to better treat and identify issues with their patients may help manage both the increase of bookings and the number of patients requiring immediate or emergency care in the near future.
5.
Construction assets. Tradies across the country have been hungry to get back to work and may have spent this time considering how their profession will function in the economic recovery period. New tools, trade vehicles, and construction assets – from scaffolding to excavators – could prepare a sole trader or construction company for the months ahead. It may also allow a construction business to expand its offering; arborist equipment for managing overgrown trees, or new machinery to efficiently complete major landscaping jobs.
Under the right circumstances, a capital purchase now may set your business up to hit the ground
running when pandemic restrictions are lifted. If you have been waiting to make a capital purchase for your business, now could be the ideal time
to consider doing so. Be sure to check your eligibility for any federal or state government assistance packages, rebates, or extensions, and speak to
your accountant to fully understand how your business may be impacted in the future.
USING INDUSTRIAL
ULTRASONIC CLEANERS
IN YOUR FACILITY
Ultrasonic cleaners are extremely worthwhile when a component or part is very complex, needs to be super clean, or the manufacturer wants to save on labor and even energy costs.
Industrial ultrasonic cleaners provide manufacturers with a range of tangible bottom-line-boosting benefits, including:
Speed
An average ultrasonic cleaning cycle lasts between two to 10 minutes, with cleaning times varying widely based on the size, composition, and number of components to be cleaned.
Safety and Environment
Implementing ultrasonic cleaning technology removes manual cleaning, safety hazards and creates a safer, more environmentally friendly work environment.
Increased Cleanliness
Ultrasonic technology has the capacity to reach into components on a microscopic level, cleaning even small or complex applications where a cleaning brush might not reach.
Protection and Longevity
A properly calibrated ultrasonic cleaner uses touch-free cleaning on a microscopic level that can protect the surface of even the most delicate components.
Ultrasonic tanks vary in size from large tanks to small tabletop washers to make efficient work of any job.
Savings
Ultrasonic cleaning utilizes affordable water-based soaps and enzyme solutions instead of spray solvents and toxic cleaning products, saving manufacturers 70 percent or more in solvent costs.
Call us on | +61 02 8880 8000 | www.cleensonic.com.au
JUNE / JULY 2020
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
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AUTOMATION COLIN WELLS - GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ROBOTIC AUTOMATION PTY LTD.
TIMELY AUTOMATION TAKES TIME There’s an interesting theme developing currently within the Automation Systems Integrator (ASI) market; clients new and old are asking for delivery of automation systems in unrealistic time frames. So why now? The average timeframe from first contact to production is somewhere between three to 12 months depending on the solution required. These actual delivery times are not in line with what most clients’ expectations are. However, they are realistic delivery schedules to work with. I sometimes get the feeling that because a client is buying high tech solutions using highly flexible robotics and AGVs etc that it’s now somehow simpler to put a solution together!
Perhaps they’ve decided that now is the time to act and want a project in and working in an unrealistic timeframe.
means an exhaustive list, but it’s enough for anybody to understand that these are real steps that need to be taken seriously.
The sad part? Because of this, perception versus actual delivery time expectations are not lining up, and many that have delayed in the past for whatever reason are now finding it even harder to cope with increasing demand – especially since the advent of COVID-19.
1. Evaluation of the client’s needs, including a wish list and any future proofing. This has been hampered by COVID, but we’ve found online virtual mediums can achieve a surprisingly good result.
The problem is the whole process really does take time regardless of whether
2. Provide a basic budget proposal to enable an ROI to be worked up internally with the client.
"The road to the right automation solution requires a considered and consultative approach."
This is not the case at all. More times than I care to remember over the past 30-odd years – especially in the last decade of supplying turnkey automation systems – the client often balks at the timeframe projected from the start to finish of a project. Maybe it’s because the clients are trying to make up for lost time, especially now when looking forward to a postCOVID world. I can understand why they feel that it’s way too long, and that they have a pent-up desire to get on with it. They may have been contemplating doing something for quite a while – in some cases, for years – but simply end up doing nothing. Robotic Automation is seeing exactly this unfolding right now. It’s ironic that as I was writing this article, I received a call from a potential client from several years ago who wanted to resurrect a proposal for a complex system. They asked when I’d be able to deliver it. Maybe what’s driving this growing theme are the significant unwelcome changes recently imposed on businesses such as production volumes, product diversities, labor shortages, quality, increasing staff safety considerations, supply chain issues and/or COVID-19.
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you want to avoid future issues. The road to the right solution requires a considered and consultative approach. By way of some sort of explanation I’ve listed below the 10 main steps that are required post-first contact. This is by no
3. Client selects their preferred supplier and enters closer negotiations and discussions re: the project details. Many versions are usually worked through to get the right solution for the client. 4. Final proposal issued, reviewed
and digested by the client. Last minute changes and amendments. 5. Negotiations regarding terms and conditions, especially if the client is multinational, as the people involved are often overseas. 6. Awarding of the contract by client, issuing of purchase order, invoicing, receipt of deposit etc. This can take months in some cases. 7. Now the project begins in earnest and a project manager is appointed. 8. The Functional Specification (FS) is immediately embarked on and usually takes about three to four weeks. Note: this is essential as a last chance to catch anything that may have been overlooked thus far. 9. Ordering long lead time equipment, particularly anything required from overseas. 10. Design, manufacture, assembly, testing, delivery to site, FAT, installation and final testing, production-ready trials, training, full production, documentation and handover. Items 1-6 can take anywhere from two months to several depending mainly on the solution, but also on the client’s ability to respond to questions and any holidays, year-end, staff changes and other interruptions. Note: we can say an average would be three to four months at best. Items 7-10 can be anything from three months for a simple in-stock solution with limited variations to nine months or more, depending on the size, complexity and client. The averages for 1-10, best case three to five months for a simple in-stock solution, and 9-12 months for a larger, purpose-built complex solution. Note: there’s an opportunity to use consultants at some point but in our experience, this can actually lengthen the total timeframe, cost more, and often confuses the client. Best to keep these basic timeframes in mind when considering automation for your facility. RMA 1300 552 333 roboticautomation.com.au
JUNE / JULY 2020
BE THE CONTROLLER OF YOUR AGV SYSTEMS Now you can, with the newly arrived state-of-the-art MAX AGV are done visually with the windows-based MAX Editor, enabling pick up or storage position. MAX Editor is really easy to use & learn for operators. Ask us for a demonstration. > Runs on a modern client server WindowsÂŽ ÂŽ
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ragroup.com.au
AUTOMATION
FROM REVOLUTION TO EVOLUTION The latter was fitted with igus products in 2009 and has been working smoothly ever since. “It’s of great benefit here that the chains clean themselves,” says Stephan Runke of MVA Weisweiler.
For almost 45 years, igus has developed energy supply systems that reliably guide cables and hoses and protect them against damage. In the beginning, the products were almost exclusively manufactured for the mechanical engineering sector, but the invention of the roller energy chain more than 20 years ago was igus’s breakthrough into other branches of industry.
More than 1000 applications in the crane industry The phrase “rolling instead of gliding” and an achievable lengthening of service life finally led to a breakthrough in the crane industry.
of the roller energy chain. This was also the case with the “4040CR” model for container cranes in Basel, which started service in 2004. The 4040CR’s special feature was reduced noise emissions, particularly in residential areas. Integrated rollers in the chain links ensure smooth and low-friction operation of the entire system. Since the rollers are integrated into the links of the chain and not additionally moved or needed to run through specified openings in the guide trough, they cannot get snagged.
“The dirt particles simply fall away when the chain moves.” Comprehensive practical experience as the basis for new developments After eight years of experience with the roller energy chain, igus introduced the “P4” to the market. The P4 is characterised by operation that features considerably less noise and vibration due to the double-roller design. As a result, it has been possible to increase the service life of the system. The P4 is specifically designed for high travel speeds of over 10m/s and high fill weights of up to 50 kg/m. The upper rollers do not run one above the other but are offset by the lower run and are supported by comb-like autoglide crossbars.
“In crane technology there are a lot of peculiarities, such as large variations in temperature or strong vibrations as well as movements of the entire plant,” says Theo Diehl, who has been working for igus since 1993. “One cannot offer ready-made solutions, so each project must be worked out in detail and in collaboration with the customer.”
“There are projects at +45 degrees C in Abu Dhabi, and at -30 degrees in Finland. One must consider everything when designing the system.” Crane systems in particular are constantly exposed to some very harsh outdoor weather conditions. The pioneer project was to create a new crane in which vibrations occurring in the energy supply system during wind had to be ruled out. Since the igus solutions are lightweight but tough enough to withstand the push/pull forces, and very compact compared to alternative energy supply systems, this could then be guaranteed without any restrictions. The customer’s needs in the foreground The foray into the crane industry finally led igus to a shift from product to project orientation, and the creation of the project engineering department, which today implements project solutions from conception to execution in many other industries as well. Close co-operation with customers in the crane industry continued to drive the development
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This has now been re-equipped with a maintenance-free igus tribo-polymer plain bearing, which more than doubles service life. Container cranes in ports can now achieve a service life of 15 years or more, or 20,000-plus operating hours, with low maintenance and high reliability. The P4.1 can also be equipped with smart monitoring sensors, with a wear sensor for newly installed plain bearings. From a defined wear limit, this can issue a signal to the igus “icom” communication module, making it possible to plan maintenance in advance.
Trustworthy partnership at all levels The close cooperation with the customer doesn’t end with the completion of the system. Treotham undertakes inspection and maintenance of igus energy chain systems for customers in Australia and New Zealand.
Diehl was at igus from the beginning of the energy chain revolution, and implemented the initial projects. “You have the whole world as a field of application,” he says.
have been able to further optimise the roller energy chain in order to significantly increase plant safety and availability. A current example is the “P4.1”, which features a bearing point for pivoting in every connection of the chain links.
High performance products set world records A “heavy duty” version soon followed, and dramatically increased stability and service life expectancy. The “5050R” had reinforced side plates, additional wear surfaces and a pin/bore system reinforced by approximately 40 per cent. This means that even high cable weights could be reliably guided and moved. These specifications created a world record for roller energy chains, which continue to operate today. In 2007, a 5050RHD was installed in the Czech lignite power plant Tusimice, covering a travel distance of 615m. For more than 10 years, the energy chain has worked reliably “on demand”, sometimes in continuous 24/7 operation, and often after a month of standstill. Since then, operators of the lignite-fired power plant have benefited from enormously reduced friction and associated savings in drive energy of around 57 per cent. The heavy-duty version is also used in the crane bridge of double girder bridge cranes installed at a rolling mill and a waste incineration plant of MVA Weisweiler GmbH & Co. KG.
One of the goals of the P4 system was to achieve special stability at high speeds and acceleration. The links therefore incorporate a double stop-dog system, and tight tolerances result in an almost clearance-free motion that enables high acceleration. Linear gantry dynamics were also a top priority for GROB-Werke GmbH & Co. KG in Mindelheim, which has used igus low-maintenance P4 roller energy chains since 2011. “Our linear gantries usually operate in three shifts, six days a week,” says Peter Vogl, director of construction and development at GROB-Werke. “It depends on extremely robust components in all areas. Machine or plant downtime simply can’t occur.” Vogl says the P4’s achieved dynamics, whereby the linear gantry is twice as fast as the previous model, are particularly noteworthy. To date, there have been no issues with the system.
Equipped for the digital future Thanks to ongoing research, igus developers
In customer-specific maintenance contracts, maintenance costs are waived for the first five years of ownership, and this cost transparency makes possible the highest planning reliability. There is also an installation service for retrofitting and upgrading existing systems. Customers also benefit from the world’s largest test laboratory in the industry, operating on more than 3,800 square metres, which includes a 1,000-metre outdoor testing facility. Against this backdrop, it’s not hard to see why other industries have chosen igus’s roller energy chains. Customers in any industry can benefit from the solutions and related products once exclusively developed to meet the demands of the crane industry. Roller energy chains, along with the entire igus product line, are available now from Treotham. Treotham Automation 1300 657 564 www.treotham.com.au
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LEADERS IN INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION SUPPLY Treotham Automation is the exclusive distributor for many world class international product lines. As a leader in automation control, Treotham have a broad capacity to provide systems and custombuilt solutions using a diverse range of products and components. Contact our technical engineers for more information.
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AUTOMATION
SWISSLOG SHUTTLE DELIVERS IN TIGHT SPACES
Pallet warehouses that are short on space are often in a bind when it comes to high throughput. Narrow corridors and tight corners can slow the palletisation process down to a crawl. Warehousing and logistics automation leader Swisslog now has the answer in the form of its flexible new PowerStore high density shuttle system. Powerstore has been specifically designed for retail, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and pallet warehousing applications seeking to achieve high throughput and optimal space utilisation. The modularity of the PowerStore system enables storage of up to 60 per cent more pallets compared to manual systems. Swisslog Australia senior consultant Paul Stringleman says this adaptability makes PowerStore ideal for automated retrofits of existing warehouses. “In addition to highly customisable new installations, PowerStore’s adaptability opens up completely new possibilities for automation in existing warehouses due to its naturally compact and space-saving grid-like layout,” he says. Central to the PowerStore system is a fleet of Swisslog AisleCarrier and RowCarrier red shuttle robots rolling along narrow tracks picking up and dropping
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off pallets, which ride conveyors between levels. “Essentially the AisleCarriers and RowCarriers each operate on a different axis on a 2D plane,” Stringleman says. “For simplicity, let’s call them rows and columns. The RowCarriers travel across their row to retrieve pallets and deliver them to their destination – the transfer station. AisleCarriers move across each column and can transport a RowCarrier, with or without a load, between the designated row and the vertical conveyor at the end.” At the end of the column, a vertical conveyor facilitates fast and effective movement of pallets between levels. “The end result is a highly efficient grid-based automated warehouse system that fits in a compact space and delivers pallets significantly faster than manual solutions.” PowerStore’s control software is fully integrated into the Swisslog SynQ suite of warehouse management software and is designed to work seamlessly with customers’ Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and host systems. SynQ materials handling software provides warehouse management, material
flow, automation and 3D visualisation all from a single point of control. SynQ software, a combination of Synchronisation and Intelligence Quotient, has been designed for dynamic, data-drive supply chains. “Through continuous monitoring and real-time data, warehouses can continuously operate at maximum efficiency to ultimately reduce operational costs,” Stringleman says. “Furthermore, an early-warning system for malfunctions reduces downtime of critical equipment and allows a business to create calculated risks.” One early adopter of the Swisslog PowerStore system, a global supermarket giant, is currently in the testing phase in its 79,000 sq m distribution centre. According to Swisslog, the system is intended to increase the centre’s storage capacity and throughput. “For this leading supermarket, the system is significantly improving throughput capacity, and compared to their traditional racking, is increasing storage density by up to 60 per cent,” says Shane Faulkner, Swisslog head of sales in the UK. “It is designed to utilise virtually
every square cube of space. The solution removes the dependence on replenishment to a pick face, as processes are now automatic.” PowerStore can operate in a range of environments, from -30 degrees C in frozen food storage up to 50 degrees, and can easily be retrofitted to warehouses with low ceilings or unusual shapes. Stringleman says PowerStore is ideal for manufacturing businesses, especially those in the FMCG and food and beverage industries. “That’s where high throughput is essential to profitability,” he says. “In addition to being proven in manufacturing environments for FMCG operations, interest is increasing in applying this technology as a high density storage and high pick of A-Class movers in a retail environment.” The first PowerStore installation in the Southern Hemisphere is currently being completed in Australia. Swisslog Australia 0416 865 553 www.swisslog.com/en-au
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DATA AND ROBOTICS PERFECTLY SYNCHRONISED. Our SynQ software delivers data-driven intelligence that empowers your business by synchronising the performance of your people, processes and machines. The result is a level of efficiency and performance you never thought possible.
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AUTOMATION
INTEGRATE ROBOTICS INTO YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
By Michael Dyson, managing director of Australia and New Zealand at SOTI The Internet of Robotic Things (IoRT) is progressively being adopted by supply chain operations in Australia and New Zealand to combat the stress of rising e-commerce demands and warehouse worker shortages, in order to streamline industry processes in a more efficient and cost-effective way. Robotics have long been successful in several structured industrial applications due to their high level of accuracy, precision, endurance and speed. And while robotics has largely become more affordable in recent years, during the early stages of implementation in the supply chain they came with a high cost factor. Robotics needed to be evaluated and integrated correctly to avoid jeopardising their value. In order to achieve the best possible return on investment (ROI) at the fastest rate, businesses must have a strategy to integrate any new robotics technology with all other IoT endpoints to ensure the entire supply chain is secure and operating seamlessly. This avoids system interruptions or loss of revenue, and helps you gain valuable data insights. Underlining the changing market attitudes towards robotics, the SCLAA and Swinburne University of Technology’s The Australian Supply Chain Tech Survey found that 29 per cent of respondents currently utilised robotics, 39 per cent expected robotics to have a significant or great impact on their firms over the next 10 years, and 20 per cent expected to make significant or great investments in robotics over the next 10 years (just behind IoT and big data analytics).
The supply chain IoRT revolution IoRT is a concept in which intelligent technology can monitor and manipulate the events happening around them by fusing their sensor data and making use of local conditions to decide on a particular course of action of how to behave or control objects in the physical world. Manufacturing and transportation and logistics companies have been pioneers of today’s IoRT revolution, leading the way to connect and automate industry operations. Given the complex nature of the supply chain, the use of robotics helps to streamline operations by developing process-driven automated functions,
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simplifying processes and working at a tireless pace to meet ever-increasing demands. What’s more, they aren’t restricted by the weight capacity of humans, nor do they have a limit to their energy levels. With today’s trend of fast delivery services and an influx of increasing e-commerce traffic, robotics is a smart way for businesses to keep up with current consumer demands and expectations. Today, most tasks that are crucial to the supply chain, including the movement of products from within a warehouse or
By speeding up operations and removing the chance of human error, the integration of robotic technologies like AGVs is fast becoming the key to increased supply chain productivity.
Implementing robotics for a ROI Supply chain businesses have been implementing and actively exploring IoRT transformation initiatives for some time, and research shows this uptake will only continue to grow in the future.
"Robotics need to be evaluated and integrated correctly to avoid jeopardising their value." distribution centre, rely heavily on robotic technology to achieve the maximum level of efficiency and accuracy needed to meet demands. An example of this would be Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), which are quickly becoming a staple in supply chain warehouses. Portable, automated and sensor driven machines, AGVs work to navigate the warehouse floor at a faster rate than any human worker, and they can work around the clock, seven days a week.
manage and optimise the use of all supply chain technologies and systems, including robotics. When properly integrated, all supply chain business teams have access to real-time visibility of all connected endpoints and a wealth of data insights from the entire supply chain, including the performance and accuracy of the IoRT. This helps to enhance the use of robotics alongside other technologies and to rapidly uncover any robotics technical issues or inefficiencies. It allows technical support staff to act at the earliest possible opportunity, and in turn minimise the impact of costly slowed productivity or complete outages. Real-time insights provided by an integrated mobility and IoT management platform can help reduce the overhead costs of tasks, such as maintenance and program updates, by identifying system problems before they happen.
In the supply chain, the deployment of robotics focuses mainly on increasing productivity and lowering operational costs. However, in order to gain the highest value, supply chains must optimise their robotic systems as part of an allencompassing supply chain strategy, not just in silos.
By enabling predictive maintenance for IoRT technology, it also becomes possible to make an evaluation on whether they are effectively achieving a decent ROI for the business. There is no doubt that the use of robotic automation in the supply chain can boost both productivity and revenue.
IoRT operations become most powerful when they are seamlessly connected to a centralised supply chain management system that connects the responsibilities of employees; aligning both managers and the IT departments to
However, to guarantee the highest value from robotics investments, businesses must effectively converge business-critical IoRT and other IoT endpoints into a holistic and secure supply chain management ecosystem.
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AUTOMATION
AUTOMATE AND INNOVATE For one of Australia’s automation leaders, the way to get local manufacturing back on track is clear: innovation. Advanced Robotics has long been at the forefront of robotics and automation in Australia. Since its inception in the early 1990s, managing director Chris Scott has worked hard to ensure Advanced Robotics has innovation at the core of its operations. “As an industry, manufacturing needs to innovate if it wants to make a comeback,” Scott says. The economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust local manufacturing into the spotlight. The more overseas supply chains buckled under lockdown restrictions, the louder the calls to bring manufacturing back home became. “The more talk there is about it, the more likely it is to happen,” Scott says. “But there needs to be more innovation, because that’s what’s going to
ADVANCED
ROBOTICS
In its infancy, Advanced Robotics worked heavily with the automotive industry, a field Scott says was partial to taking risks. “No one was afraid to take a risk in order to solve a problem,” he says. “That’s where we learned to have a ‘can do’ attitude.” That attitude has carried on through the decline of the Australian automotive industry and is still at the heart of Advanced Robotics’ approach to manufacturing. “We look at jobs from a different angle,” Scott says. “We don’t just work to solve a problem, we look at the big picture and highlight other problems we know we can fix.” Advanced Robotics is a ‘one-stop
Industrial Scale Systems
shop’ for manufacturers looking to automate their operations. From concept to design to installation to after-sales service, Advanced Robotics will create a project entirely in-house to suit whatever application is required. With a wide range of new and refurbished robot makes and models available, an on-site robot welder for contract welding and after-hours support in the rare event of a breakdown, Advanced Robotics backs up its ‘can do’ attitude with ‘can do’ action. Scott believes Australian manufacturers need to work closely with their automation company to improve the
process rather than expecting automation to solve their problems. “There’s no innovation in palletising, it’s easy automation. A lot of automators won’t look at difficult processes, they won’t ask themselves ‘can we do it’,” he says. In fact, Scott believes that Australian manufacturing and automation can do it, but they must work side-by-side to achieve spectacular outcomes. “We believe innovation adds actual, measurable value to industry. It doesn’t just change the hand we use to pour coffee but improves the way we pour it.”
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AUSTRALIANS URGED TO BUY LOCAL
SMC Corporation Australia | New Zealand Group
process while also strengthening our local manufacturing capabilities,” he says. The new campaign, which seeks to impact Australian purchasing decisions, will hit TV, radio, out-of-home, print, online and social media. “A coordinated push to ‘buy local’ has the potential to play a big part in getting Australia back on line,” Lazzaro says. “Whether it’s doing the weekly grocery shopping, buying online, sourcing supplies for business or procuring products for major projects, let’s make sure we look for the trusted Australian Made logo to be sure it’s authentically Australian.”
The Australian Made Campaign Ltd (AMCL), responsible for administering and promoting the famous Australian Made logo, has unveiled the tag line of its new promotional campaign. ‘It’s never been more important to buy Australian than right now’ speaks to the place Australia has found itself in as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian Made chief executive Ben Lazzaro says the organisation is backing Australian manufacturers and growers as they continue to lead the recovery effort. “By calling on Australians to buy Australian right now, not only will we get products made to some of the highest quality and safety standards in the world, we can create local jobs and economic activity that will aid in the recovery
Footage from AMCL’s ‘Australian Makers’ video series features heavily in the new TV advertisement, and showcases a number of Australian manufacturers that proudly carry the logo. “We were lucky enough to go behind the scenes and into the local factories, workshops and farms of some of the country’s most innovative manufacturers,” Lazzaro says. “These are real businesses, people and products that make up Australia’s diverse and evolving manufacturing sector.” Roy Morgan Research figures show
that 99 per cent of Australians are aware of the Australian Made logo, and 88 per cent trust the mark as an identifier of genuine Australian products. The vast majority (84 per cent) associate the logo with supporting local jobs and employment, while over half the nation associate the logo with products of high quality and produced using ethical labour. Sustainability is also front of mind, with 49 per cent of Australians connecting clean, green and environmentally friendly attributes with the iconic green and gold kangaroo logo. The COVID-19 crisis has drawn attention to Australia’s overreliance on imported products. Lazzaro believes it’s time to address the imbalance. “Let’s take a long-term view and increase our level of manufacturing selfsufficiency,” he says. “While there will always be a requirement for imports, it’s important we get the balance right between local and offshore manufacturing to ensure Australia’s long-term prosperity.” For a directory of genuine Aussie products, visit www. australianmade.com.au.
A LOAD OF WAFFLE Adelaide chocolate manufacturer Robern Menz is resurrecting a milkbar mainstay of the ‘80s. The Polly Waffle, a heady mixture of marshmallow, waffle wafer and chocolate, is coming back from chocolate bar limbo to retailers of sweet treats everywhere. Created by Melbourne confectioner Hoadley’s in 1947, the Polly Waffle became a familiar sight in lolly shops around Australia thanks to its distinctive purple packaging. It was discontinued by then-manufacturer Nestle in 2009. Now, the Polly Waffle has received a second lease on life thanks to a $1 million cash injection from the Federal Government’s Commonwealth Manufacturing Modernisation Fund. Robern Menz is one of a number of companies to receive the grant. “The funds provided by the grant
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will go a long way to supporting the production of the Polly Waffle chocolate bar right here in Australia,” says Phil Sims, CEO of Robern Menz. “The significant contribution gives us the confidence to move forward and purchase vital equipment to support the production of Polly Waffle at our factory in Adelaide.” The Polly Waffle production line will require 38 new full-time jobs. The grant allows Robern Menz to recruit those roles over the next two years. “The grant means we’re one step closer to getting Polly Waffle back into production and into the hands of customers,” Sims says.
unique combination of layers means that it requires a number of complicated processes to manufacture. “Having been out of production for over a decade, we are now custombuilding the Polly Waffle line,” Sims says.
“We know how important it is that the final product meets people’s expectations, and that takes time to perfect.”
“Technology has advanced significantly since Polly Waffle was first produced in Australia, so we want to thoroughly examine all options before selecting the best one.”
Deceptively simple, the Polly Waffle’s
In the years since its retirement, the
Polly Waffle has been the subject of a number of passionate fan campaigns to bring it back. Those prayers have now been answered, although Robern Menz doesn’t have a definitive date for the relaunch. Sims anticipates Polly Waffles will hit shelves in late 2021. “We want to ensure the final Polly Waffle product is as delicious as fans remember, so it’s crucial we get this right from the start.”
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ENHANCE PROFITABILITY WITH RISK MANAGEMENT Korea, area of significant concern. There is also the constant threat of trade wars and military action by the USA. Closer to home, Australian wharves have a history of major disruption due to industrial relations issues. Any change to Industrial Relations Law could again trigger long pickets which would undoubtedly slow or even halt the movements at all major Australian ports. Using risk management to enhance your profitability. Understanding that without the proper analysis of price versus risk, there are many hidden costs associated with importing. These costs will, directly and indirectly, effect businesses and cause a loss of profits.
The purchase of critical products or parts from Asia purely based on price can lead to a catastrophic hit to profit when things go wrong. If you do not have the goods, how can you make a sale? Managing risk should be at the core of every business. The COVID-19 crisis has not only identified serious supply chain risks, it has highlighted many other risks that Australian businesses are exposed to by relying on Asia for imported goods. We have seen some supply chains completely shut down, with many factories in Asia having remained closed since the Lunar New Year. This has not only caused major disruption to supply chains right now, but will continue to cause huge delays into the foreseeable future. Does your business understand risk versus return? Incorrectly, some Australian businesses make decisions predominantly on price. What is often not understood are all the risks and myriad hidden costs associated with the entire process of importing, particularly when the product is a high value asset or safety critical. The risk most focused on is the exchange rate. This is easily identified as it has a direct and immediate impact. Unfortunately, when the global economy experiences a crisis, the exchange rate hit can become even more volatile and costly than in normal trading periods. What many importers often fail to fully understand are the hidden costs. Some of
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these costs include: -The risk of non-compliance with relevant standards, safety and design rules together with the wide-ranging impact that poor quality has throughout their business. -If a product failure was to occur, resulting in injury or even death, the Australian directors and employees are personally liable for criminal penalties. -Importing poor quality products has
or civil proceedings here in Australia. You and your business are left with all the risks. Is buying from Asia a false economy? Holding larger inventory levels to compensate for delays, failed deliveries or quality concerns is one way to reduce some of the risks. However, this causes a negative impact on cashflow in these uncertain times where cash reserves are critical to sustaining businesses. The interest charged on your additional finance
"If you do not have the goods, how can you make a sale?" a direct impact on productivity, profit and brand reputation.
facilities is another hidden cost of larger working capital.
-Lengthy time delays and the costs associated with reworking errors or writing off non-complying rejects.
Can your business control the international geopolitical landscape?
-Time lost on communication difficulties with Asian suppliers including design or specification issues and misinterpretations.
Of course not. Unfortunately, Asia of recent times has become a real hot bed of tensions.
If something goes wrong, who do you take legal action against?
There are major concerns in respect to the possible shutdown of major shipping lanes and the rising conflict over China’s claims to the South China Sea, which has large reserves of untapped oil and natural gas. The situation has antagonised many competing claimants including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
It is next to impossible to sue someone over international legal jurisdictions, in particular when dealing with Asia. An Asian supplier cannot be joined in criminal
Any flare up could completely close these critical shipping routes. Also, the ongoing disputes with Taiwan and Hong Kong, together with North and South
-Having additional local quality inspection processes to compensate is costly and time consuming.
It can actually be a false economy to buy important products and parts from Asia. Spreading risk by having two suppliers, one in Australia and one in Asia, is another strategy for risk minimisation and profit enhancement that can be considered. Why Townley? As a trusted Australian manufacturer for over 100 years, we can shore up your supply line and enhance your profitability. There will be no hidden costs or time wasted. We will even hold stock for you. Townley is an expert in design, manufacture and testing of forged products to exacting standards. In addition to lifting and rigging components, Townley offers a custom forging service and can work collaboratively with you to enhance your designs and specifications. With access to our expertise in metallurgy and heat treatment methods, we also provide inhouse NATA mechanical testing to ensure design specifications or relevant Australian Standards are met. Our team also provides marketing, warehouse and distribution solutions so that you can concentrate your efforts on engineering, design and your own business initiatives. Support Australian manufacturing. Townley 1300 869 653 townleydropforge.com.au
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www.smcanz.com AUSTRALIAN MADE
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RESHORING AUSTRALIA’S MANUFACTURING SECTOR SMC Corporation Australia | New Zealand Group
support our customers.” In a new move, the company has moved towards offering hands-on remote support to customers. The company’s wide range of available products are backed by its virtual support strategy. “We are helping customers futureproof their business remotely,” Lebihan says. “For the first time our customers have access directly to our applications engineering team and can set up and conduct remote meetings, consultations, assessment of current systems and technical advice with no strings.” This translates into hands-on assistance should the customer need it at the conceptual, installation or programming phase.
“After two decades of offshore production in low-cost countries, many manufacturers are now asking: do we continue offshoring or should we consider reshoring?” (AMTIL (2020)) One of the many learnings over the past few months is that of self-sufficiency. In the past, Australia and New Zealand, like many other countries, gradually outsourced a large part of its supply chain internationally to reduce costs. COVID-19 saw the best and worst of supply chain management – some companies came to a grinding halt while others couldn’t keep up with manufacturing demand. SMC itself has managed to deliver consistently throughout the pandemic because of their local stocking policy and commitment to local manufacturing. William Lebihan, head of sales for SMC Corporation Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) says the past few months have helped strengthen the belief in local manufacturing: increase local revenues and to safeguard the economy. “Businesses that relied on importing were caught in a supply chain drought and I sincerely hope that as we all emerge from COVID-19 that these examples are still front of mind to help drive a change in attitude towards Australian manufacturing,” he says. “Unfortunately, it’s not a simple matter of just switching it all back on again and hoping for the best; government has a massive role to play here to help support
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a ‘reshoring’ of Australian manufacturing. Time is of the essence.” As an established player in the market, SMC has noticed a trend towards more flexible manufacturing and a big drive among local companies to look at how they can improve their local manufacturing facilities.
resources we have at our disposal available to customers in our effort to support local manufacturing.” Founded in Japan in 1959, SMC Corporation opened its first subsidiary in Australia in 1967 with New Zealand opening in 1984.
"We are helping customers futureproof their business remotely." Lebihan says SMH remains ever committed to its local customers. “SMC has resources, people, skills and products to support our customers across both Australia and New Zealand,” he says. “Whether you’re investing in IoT technologies to enable more flexible manufacturing, ramping up your automation to cope with demand, or diversifying your current product lines, SMC is a partner in the automation process. We offer a practical approach and want to assist our customers by making the
“While we have access to a wealth of global resources from our head office, we have invested heavily in the local market with offices and manufacturing facilities across Australia and New Zealand,” Lebihan asys. “I am pleased to say that as it stands, we have $25 million worth of local stock on-hand; in fact, our logistics and production teams never missed a beat during the worst of COVID-19, working a split shift to accommodate for social distancing requirements and to help
“The team, comprising of 88 salespeople and 12 application engineers, is on standby to assist with product selections, quotes, placing orders, enabling remote access to set up components, delivering product training, technical advice and more,” he says. In terms of lead times, Lebihan notes that popular products are available locally within a day or two while products on request from its head office in Japan can be imported in as little as five days. The local engineering team is also able to design and engineer solutions which may not yet be a standard product. “Nothing has changed in terms of our delivery and customer offering,” he says. “We still offer high quality products at low cost with rapid delivery. This is part of our commitment to reaccelerating and invigorating the local manufacturing sector. We want customers to feel safe knowing that no matter where they are in their journey, we are there every step of the way.” Lebihan notes that keeping costs down remains critical. “Rather than upgrading entire systems, there are smart and affordable decisions that can be made,” he says. “We offer a practical approach for new and existing customers to sharpen up their digitalisation, without the hefty upfront investment costs – even if the project is a basic concept only.” SMC Pneumatics 1800 763 862 AUSales@smcanz.com
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BONFIGLIOLI SUPPORTS LOCAL MANUFACTURING
alia | New Zealand Group
across every industry,” he says. “During these difficult times where customers need to ramp up and make up for lost time quickly, we want to be there for them. The last thing they need is a production line standing still due to a lack of spare parts or delayed product supply, and this is where we come in.” Broglia says Bonfiglioli has developed an “impressive” local supply to meet the demands of the market.
It’s full steam ahead for local manufacturing. Businesses are rapidly accelerating production efforts to meet demand and recoup profits. The need for a reliable supplier in times where many have limited stock and on-hand support is, of course, critical to a company’s success.
According to Martin Broglia, Managing Director for Bonfiglioli ANZ, Bonfiglioli is ready to meet the demand. “Since our inception in the local market, Bonfiglioli has made a name for ourselves in the ‘gearbox game’. We offer a large local stockholding ($10 million on-site), and this is backed up by our team of local experts who support companies
“We service local companies from various industries such as wastewater treatment, fruit growers, sugar, timber, food processing and the heavy-duty industry. One of our strengths has always been our wide range of products. We offer a wide selection of reliable, quality products across the gearbox range,” he says. The company’s founder, Clementino Bonfiglioli designed the first worm gear (VF series) to be supplied to major packaging companies in 1988. “Today, what makes us unique is that we offer not only worm units but also both
helical bevels as well as planetary units to deliver a complete range of products to the local market”. Bonfiglioli soon realised that a robust local stock contingent of $10 million could shorten local lead times and improve service levels. According to Martin, the company can also take on more complex jobs that require additional design and engineering thanks to its design department. “This allows us to provide a full plug-and-play solution”. In its efforts to deliver improved customer satisfaction, Martin also notes that the company now runs regular customer satisfaction surveys. “We believe that our service quality should match our product quality. For this reason, we listen to our customers. Our offices are equipped with the people, skills and product required by our customers”. Bonfiglioli Australia 02 8811 8000 www.bonfiglioli.com/australia
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VISIT VISIT VISIT TOWNLEYDROPFORGE.COM.AU VISIT TOWNLEYDROPFORGE.COM.AU TOWNLEYDROPFORGE.COM.AU TOWNLEYDROPFORGE.COM.AU CALL CALL CALL 1300 CALL 1300 1300 869 1300 869 869 653 653 869 653653 OFFICE OFFICE OFFICE OFFICE 98-100 98-100 98-100 98-100 BAKERS BAKERS BAKERS BAKERS ROAD, ROAD, ROAD, ROAD, COBURG COBURG COBURG COBURG NORTH, NORTH, NORTH, NORTH, VIC VIC VIC 3058 3058 VIC 3058 3058
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Contact us for more information or to request an appointment: AU – 1800 763 862 or AUSales@smcanz.com
www.smcanz.com AUSTRALIAN MADE
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TOUGH CLADDING BOOSTS TASSIE MANUFACTURING SMC Corporation Australia | New Zealand Group
through several Federal Government programs and has created new jobs and increased international trade to Hobart. CSIRO chief executive Dr Larry Marshall says the partnership proves the power of science to solve real world challenges. “By working side by side with industry, innovative science and technology creates new value and growth for Australian businesses to grow our way back from the current crisis,” he says. “This home-grown Aussie innovation has enabled CBG Systems to become an advanced manufacturer of globally-competitive marine insulation products and services, which is now bringing in valuable export dollars from around the world.” Ships around the world are about to receive a facelift thanks to a new lightweight, fire-resistant cladding co-developed by the CSIRO and Tasmanian business CBG Systems. The cladding, which has already been installed on two new ships and used to replace cladding on another, is set to create advanced manufacturing jobs in Tasmania and reduce carbon emissions. Rapid Access Composite (RAC) Plus is the first panelling of its kind in the world. The prototype uses a thermal protective coating that can withstand temperatures of over 1000 degrees C and remains structurally stronger
than conventional fire protection coatings. The innovative, water repellent panels are reversible, potentially doubling their service life. The current design has been specifically made for high speed aluminium ships, but the composite has the potential to be modified for construction products. RAC Plus weighs about half as much as traditional medal cladding. The resulting reduction in fuel consumption will lower carbon emissions and lead to greener ships across the globe, as well as enhancing overall operational efficiencies. The new technology was supported
CSIRO senior experimental scientist Mel Dell’Olio spent four months at CBG’s Hobart location, training and upskilling employees in advanced manufacturing techniques and assisting with the commercialisation process. In that time, the team manufactured 2500 insulation panels that are now being built into new ships to supply international customers, all meeting the relevant fire standard tests for the marine industry and offering at least 60 minutes of fire protection. CBG Systems’ long history of research and development in marine fire protection is demonstrated through the innovative RAC Plus, Dell’Olio says.
“To be filling production orders within two years of the first project meeting demonstrates how Australian SME manufacturers can benefit from positive research partnerships,” he says. CBG’s managing director Javier Herbon says the CSIRO has decades of experience and expertise in developing advanced new materials with special properties for industry, such as fire resistance, durability and protection. “Being able to access the wealth of scientific knowledge and innovation within CSIRO has been an incredibly enriching experience for everyone at CBG Systems,” he says. Three ships have already ordered, and two ships have been completed. CBG has hired six new roles as a result of the increased workload, with partners and suppliers also increasing their staff. “This project shows how innovations from CSIRO can help Australian businesses create manufacturing jobs.” CBG Systems has lodged their own patent on RAC Plus and recent fire tests indicate the new and improved panels, with greater durability and fire resistance, can be used on steel ships and aluminium high-speed crafts. There are also potential applications in aerospace such as for battery enclosures and the civil construction industry, enabling CBG to expand into new markets.
AUSSIE MADE KANGAROO HERE TO STAY Reports of a new global product symbol for Australia have been greatly exaggerated: the famous green-and-gold kangaroo logo of the Australian Made brand is here to stay. Australian Made Campaign chairman Glenn Cooper AM says the Australian Made logo will continue its pivotal role in Australia’s domestic and overseas branding strategy. “The iconic green-and-gold kangaroo logo has been clearly identifying Australian goods in export markets for more than 34 years with great success,” he says. “It is by far Australia’s most recognised and trusted country-of-origin symbol and is central to the export strategies of Aussie exporters taking their goods abroad. There is no need to make a change in this space.” Roy Morgan Research reveals that the Australian Made logo is recognised by 99 per cent of Australians and trusted by 88 per cent.
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More than 3000 businesses currently use the logo on thousands of products sold all over the world. Its international reach is supported by its legal registration in key export markets such as China, South Korea, Singapore, India, Taiwan and the USA – with many more to follow. In 2019, the Australian Made Campaign was awarded a Federal Government grant to promote and protect the Australian Made logo in key export markets for the next three years. Furthermore, the Australian Made logo is now a central plank of the Government’s mandatory country-of-origin food labelling laws, and appears on nearly all Australian food products for sale across the nation. These very products are also sent into numerous export markets carrying the distinctive green and gold kangaroo. “The Australian Made logo is entrenched
in the domestic and export activities of thousands of Aussie brands,” Cooper says. “The kangaroo will continue to connect overseas customers with Australia and help businesses leverage Australia’s reputation for creating products in its clean, green environment to high quality and safety standards.” Currently, the Australian Made logo is in extraordinarily high demand as Australia deals with the impact of COVID-19. The brand has experienced a four-fold increase in applications to use the logo, a 300 per cent increase in engagement with its social media platforms and a more-than-doubling of traffic to the official Australian Made online product directory at www.australianmade.com. au. The green-and-gold kangaroo is perfectly positioned to work in concert with a new
overarching Nation Brand to promote Australia beyond products overseas, should the Federal Government proceed with such an initiative. “For decades now, the Australian Made logo has been used as a trusted country of origin mark alongside other Australian brands, and has a strong track record in this regard,” Cooper says. “For now, it’s business as usual for the Australian Made logo, providing recognisable and trusted country of origin branding that makes the Australian connection instantly and clearly, here and overseas.”
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By Leo Kerema, IMA Strategy Director The current shift in sentiment towards Australian Made products provides local manufacturers with a unique opportunity that needs to be pursued in a timely manner to extract the greatest benefits. From a marketing strategy aspect, there are some important issues to consider when leveraging Australian Made. Don’t expect buyers to proactively change suppliers because you are an Australian Made option, especially in the business to business sector. We continually research our clients’ customers and have found that across all markets, business buyers don’t change suppliers easily or frequently. Sticking to what they know is a great form of managing risk. The starting point is always to have an up-to-date and real understanding of what is valued by your target markets. The ‘rusted on’ internal views can often be way off the mark.
Put some time into customer and non-customer research. It doesn’t need to be lengthy and costly, just a check to see if internal opinions are relevant. If there are some surprises, then explore those in more detail. The next step is to ensure your value proposition is in line with what your customers need. It’s no use pushing Australian Made if you don’t satisfy their most basic requirements. With your VP now matching your customers’ needs, the Australian Made angle should be the major point of difference. However, you need to answer the ‘so what’ response to promoting being Australian Made. What are the benefits for the buyer – both emotional and functional – from you manufacturing locally? Functional benefits are obvious and just need to reinforce the value of local supply and support. The emotional benefits need to be explored but should trigger the current
sentiment towards manufacturing in Australia. Local jobs will increasingly be the major emotional benefit, especially as government support packages diminish and unemployment increases. Other benefits of a local presence can be around your ability to also satisfy certain social procurement goals with public companies and government, who are increasingly seeking support with their compliance around these social issues. Tell the market – don’t assume everyone knows there is an Australian Made option. And keep it simple; tell them you’re an Australian manufacturer and this is how you satisfy their needs. The timing is now. Leverage from the current Australian Made campaigns, political focus and ongoing editorial in trade and mainstream press. Leo Kerema is the strategy director for Australia’s leading business to business marketing agency, IMA. Prior to being a consultant Leo was the corporate brand
Leo Kerema - IMA Strategy Director.
manager for BlueScope Steel and previously held the position of brand manager responsible for the company’s coated product range including Colorbond and Zincalume steel. Leo assists Australian manufacturers such as BlueScope, BOC Gas, Dincel and Bisalloy with their brand and marketing strategies. www.imab2b.com IMA 02 4627 8011 www.imab2b.com
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COMMUNITY SUPPORT BOLSTERS AUSSIE MADE CAMPAIGN
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Australian Made Campaign Limited’s new ad campaign has received an outpouring of community support as it seeks to raise awareness of the value of buying local. The multimedia campaign, which launched on 1 June, is designed to help local manufacturers and brands capitalise on a renewed interest in Australian made products. According to Federal Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews, the campaign reflects the ground-swell of support from the community for Aussie products. “In my time as a Minister I’ve never had as many people contact me as I have in recent weeks supporting our government’s push to grow Australian manufacturing and about wanting to support Aussie Made,” she says. The COVID-19 pandemic - and the subsequent lockdowns – exposed the nation’s overreliance on overseas supply
chains. Local businesses were hit hard by the economic downturn, and imports slowed to a trickle. Now that Australia has flattened the coronavirus curve, calls to revive domestic manufacturing and support local businesses are louder than ever. “As a country we’ve rallied together to slow the spread of coronavirus, now we need to pull together to back our local businesses and manufacturers,” Minister Andrews says. The Australian Made logo lets consumers know that a product is wholly Australian, and purchasing that product has a powerful knock-on effect, she adds.
the world. This is about embracing the incredible quality of Australian products – products that nations around the world associated with being top-notch.” Australian Made Campaign Limited CEO Ben Lazzaro says the campaign is designed to build on the huge grassroots movement spawned during the COVID-19 crisis. “Our website is attracting more than 250,000 visitors a month – a 130 per cent increase on normal,” he says. “Our social media audience has grown ten-fold since the beginning of this pandemic.”
“When you buy Australian Made you’re not just helping the local shop, you’re supporting Aussie manufacturers and all the businesses in their supply chains – from farmers to designers.
The new ad campaign comes after the Morrison Government committed $5 million to expand the reach of the Australian Made logo so that manufacturers could take on new markets around the world.
“This isn’t about being insular or shutting ourselves off to the rest of
Lazzaro says the value of Australian Made has never been higher.
“Australian brands are also seeing the value in using our logo, with a four-fold increase in applications and a doubling in new licencees.” For a complete list of businesses and products certified Australian Made, or to achieve certification for your own business or product, visit the Australian Made website at australianmade.com.au.
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3D PRINTING CREATES WORLD FIRST STENTS
In a world first, CSIRO researchers have made possible the 3D printing of bespoke stents, a biomedical device used to treat narrow or blocked arteries. The breakthrough was made in partnership with Wollongong firm Medical Hub, and is a game changer in the production of self-expanding nitinol stents for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), which affects more than 10 per cent of Australians.
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People afflicted with PAD experience the collection of fatty deposits and reduced blood flow in arteries outside the heart – most commonly in the legs. Patients typically experience pain when walking, and may develop gangrene in severe cases. The home-grown technology has the potential to revolutionise the $16 billion global stent manufacturing industry, says Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews. “This is a great example of industry working with our researchers to develop an innovative product that addresses a global need and builds on our sovereign capability,” she says. Until now, surgeons have been forced to use ‘off-the-shelf’ stents for operations. The ability to 3D print stents could improve sizing options, preserve essential anatomy, and enable diameters and shapes to suit individual patient requirements. Surgeons could also direct the creation of individual stents on-site, reducing inventory and saving money.
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The challenge metallurgists around the world have faced was to find a way to 3D print a self-expandable nitinol stent without compromising the metal’s unique properties. That problem was cracked by the team at CSIRO’s Lab22 in Melbourne by using
a cutting-edge 3D printing process called selective laser melting. CSIRO principal research scientist Dr Sri Lathabai says the process allows the creation of complex, patient-specific products with high geometric accuracy. “Nitinol is a shape-memory alloy with superelastic properties,” Dr Lathabai says. Nitinol is a tricky alloy to work with in 3D printing conditions due to its sensitivity to stress and heat. “We had to select the right 3D-printing parameters to get the ultra-fine mesh structure needed for an endovascular stent, as well as carefully manage heat treatments so the finished product can expand as needed once inside the body,” he says. Medical Innovation Hub’s chief executive Dr Arthur Stanton, a vascular surgeon who has treated thousands of patients, saw a need for an improved treatment. “Currently, surgeons use off-the-shelf stents, and although they come in various shapes and sizes, there are limitations to the range of stents available,” Dr Stanton says. “We believe our new 3D-printed selfexpanding nitinol stents offer an improved patient experience through better fitting devices, better conformity to blood vessel and improved recovery times. “There is also the opportunity for the technology to be used for mass production of stents, potentially at lower cost.” A new company, Flex Memory Ventures, has been established to drive commercialisation of the technology.
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LOOK LOCAL TO FIX THE CHAIN “Especially given the design, installation and logistics challenges,” he says. “And I’m equally proud of what our company was able to achieve. Few could have met the Mills Group timeframe, but thanks to our local manufacturing capability and expertise,
our team could respond.” Hunt believes the COVID crisis is an opportunity for business and government to rethink their supply strategy. “The COVID crisis has illustrated how exposed our country’s supply chain
is to disruption. We understand that the budget of many projects necessitates an offshore supply solution. That said, the crisis highlights the need for business and government to consider, in a postCOVID economy, the benefits of a dual Australian and Chinese supply strategy for appropriate goods.”
The fragility of Australia’s domestic manufacturing capability has been exposed by the COVID-19 crisis. Subsequently, manufacturers and engineers have sought to fix the links in their supply chains locally. Wilson & Gilkes, an Australian engineering and manufacturing firm, recently demonstrated some of the advantages of homegrown capability when a large retailer sought a largescale fitout of sale safety screens in its outlets across the nation. The Mills Group, which supplies and manufactures a range of shopfitting and signage essentials to clients all across the retail sector, called Wilson & Gilkes to request the outsourcing of a steel bracket required for the safety screens. “Due to the need for retailers to protect their staff and customers from the risks of COVID-19 as quickly as possible, this project required delivery in incredibly tight timeframes,” says a Mills Group representative. “So we needed Wilson & Gilkes to be responsive.” Immediately, Wilson & Gilkes was able to partner with the Mills Group to quickly turn around bracket prototypes, sometimes within hours. “Wilson & Gilkes supported us in that development process,” the Mills Group says. “And the project was able to get to the very critical roll out phase extremely quickly as a result.” Within 10 days, Wilson & Gilkes satisfied the order for thousands of brackets. The essential component was freighted around the country and installed on-site by the Mills Group. Wilson & Gilkes CEO James Hunt says the execution of the retailer’s requirement was a spectacular success.
JUNE / JULY 2020
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ACTION KEY TO INDUSTRY SUCCESS The COVID-19 pandemic may be laying waste to economies the world over, but Adept Conveyor Technologies appears to be immune. “We’re having our biggest year ever, actually,” says Adept’s director Paul Johnson. “We’ve had more enquiries than ever.” One of those was from a large E-Commerce supplier and led to a new deal that came about when the multinational giant was unable to purchase from China due to time constraints. “I’m not sure whether that’s an internal edict or if it’s down to Trump,” Johnson says. “Either way, they’ve turned to us and asked ‘can you do this?’”
“Success comes down to our massive stock holdings. We have almost $1 million worth of stock on our shelves, and no one can compete with that.” Johnson says he learned the lesson early on in his career that customers are often impatient, and that it’s therefore prudent to have stock on hand. “You need to have stock ready to go, and we do. No one else has the flexibility we have,” he says. “Our competitors all have to import.” And that’s bad news in the midst of a global pandemic. The COVID-19 crisis forced many overseas supply chains to collapse – particularly those that rely on China. “The damage caused by the
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Paul Johnson - Adept's Director
pandemic, which I believe is as big an act of terrorism as we’ve ever seen, has been monumental,” Johnson says. “But much of what’s wrong with Australian manufacturing comes down to poor management, and that was happening way before COVID-19.” Johnson believes that the “questionable” quality of Australian business middle management made the economic fallout from the pandemic worse than it had to be, long before many of us had ever heard of Wuhan.
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The answer was, of course, affirmative, and the Adept warehouse is bubbling with energy as a result. The deal is the latest triumph in Adept’s buoyant year, the
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“A lot of middle management want to cut costs so that they look good to their bosses, but all that does is leave you with an inferior product,” he says.
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Much of Australia’s componentry is sourced from China, which proved problematic when COVID hit.
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“Even then, it’s possible to undercut China on price with quantity, if we want to,” Johnson says. Adept’s robust range of conveyors and components are sourced from its partner company, German conveyor components experts Marx-Rollentechnik GmbH. “The prices are terrific, the quality is unbeatable, and we make sure that if our inventory is getting low, we’ve got a topup on the way. There is always stock on order,” Johnson says. “Our clients often come to us with unique challenges. In fact I’d say 75 per cent of the business we do is bespoke. But it’s important to give the customer what they want, and we can do that because we’ve got the stock.” They’ve also got the warehouse expertise. The Adept crew all come from engineering backgrounds, and have plenty
of hands-on experience with the tools of the trade. “When the pandemic first hit, we didn’t know if we’d be classified as essential,” Johnson admits. “But the phones kept ringing, and we kept working. We’re surprised that we’ve done as well as we have.” Adept has continued to design bespoke conveyor systems for clients of all sizes, including a big job for a large online bookseller. Johnson says the Adept team loves a challenge. “We’ve got the capability to create whatever a client wants,” he says. “When there’s an engineering challenge involved, we embrace it. And if there’s a component with an unreliable source, we always develop and offer a local alternative. That way, it’s up to the client.” Johnson breaks Adept’s business modules down into four pieces: integrated systems, or the big one-off projects that can cost up to many ($) millions; simpler unit conveyors; static conveyors without motors (“We churn those out like spaghetti,”); and component sales for DIY repairs or scratch builds. “And again, for those you need to have the stock on hand.” As Adept continues to succeed into Australia’s post-COVID landscape, Johnson believes that success comes from the attitude the company has held throughout its 20-plus year history. “We just go ahead and do it.” Adept Conveyor 02 9771 4655 adeptconveyor.com.au
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Australian manufacturing company ResMed has delivered more than 3,000 ventilators to the Federal Government to assist in the coronavirus response. The delivery comprises more than half of the 5,500 ResMed ventilators purchased by the Federal Government for its COVID-19 stockpile. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews cited ResMed as a “terrific example” of Australia’s manufacturing capacity.
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“ResMed is a wonderful Aussie manufacturer that has stepped up in these unprecedented times to ramp up its production of ventilators,” Minister Andrews said. “ResMed is a terrific example of the incredible manufacturing capacity that Australia has right here at home, and shows how Aussie ingenuity can save lives.” The Government’s acquisitions from ResMed include 500 Astral invasive ventilators and 5,000 Lumis non-invasive ventilators. So far, 260 Astral and 3,000 Lumis models have been delivered. Minister for Health Greg Hunt said the new delivery of more than 3,000 ventilators with 2,500 to come builds on Australia’s 4,400 existing units. A further 2,000 ventilators are being manufactured by Australian firm Grey Innovation and its local manufacturing and engineering associates. “We have been working closely with ResMed and across government to establish procedures to use the company’s non-invasive ventilators within the care continuum for COVID-19
patients,” Minister Hunt said. “These additional ventilators will help to ensure we have sufficient supplies to meet the increased demand we expect in coming months.” Minister Hunt said the national aim is to suppress the virus, increase testing and tracing, and slowly ease restrictions over the next few months. ResMed President and COO Rob Douglas said the company is proud to support Australia’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic. “We will continue to work with the Australian Commonwealth, state and territory governments, as well as with suppliers and governments from around the world, in a strong public-private partnership to support health care workers in their valiant efforts to save lives.”
With their epic scope and generous advertising real estate, wide-format print products are an ideal way to expand and enhance your service offering to new and existing customers. The CM Wide team – a part of the Cheque-Mates brand – has partnered with HP for the initiative, which provides wall and floor coverings that are suitable both indoors and outdoors. Your company’s graphics can make an impression as a mural, a poster, a decal or even as textiles. From magnetic signs to window stickers to cinema-style poster to wall and floor graphics, there’s a canvas for your brand in the CM Wide range. Lately there has been enormous demand for social distancing flooring stickers. CM Wide produces these on an anti-slip product designed for Australian standards. Whatever your desired application, CM Wide has the signage to make your brand pop. Backlit or illuminated applications add an extra dimension to your visuals, and the possibilities in
creating eye-catching light box displays are virtually endless. You can even take your show on the road with ‘moving billboards’ – durable, bright vehicle graphics that are easy to apply and hard to ignore. The widest canvases can feature your signature look: CM Wide can create construction and site signage that, when emblazoned along fences, transform a forbidding worksite into a statement for your brand. CM Wide’s bold visuals can help businesses stand out in trade shows with arresting displays suspended high above exhibition floors. Even underfoot, your brand can stand out. CM Wide’s floor graphics - as tough as they are colourful – can motivate impulse buys and drive traffic even in the most sprawling retail outlets. Increase your margins and unlock additional revenue streams with the CM Wide series of wide-format print and marketing solutions. Whatever your surface, CM Wide has the solution. Cheque-Mates 02 9743 9547 www.chequemates.com.au
Business as usual, in unusual times Bonfiglioli is always here to support you – 24/7– no matter what. We support local manufacturing and offer local stock, local service and delivery to your area. Put us to the test. Forever Forward, Together
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SMC Corporation Australia | New Zealand Group THE HON. KAREN ANDREWS MP – PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
MINISTER SIGNALS RETURN TO QUALITY OVER QUANTITY FOR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY Minister for Industry Karen Andrews has outlined the Federal Government’s vision for the future of local manufacturing despite “a long, hard road ahead” for the industry.
While the pandemic has proven to be the biggest disruption event in recent times, Minister Andrews said the disruption was necessary to challenge Australia’s culture of capability.
“One of the markers that our Government has set for that road is to secure our nation’s economic sovereignty by building an even stronger local manufacturing sector,” she said.
“Capability exists in this country,” she said.
In her National Press Club address, Minister Andrews highlighted the strength and achievements of Australia’s manufacturing sector during the COVID-19 crisis. “It’s fair to say that over the last few months, our manufacturers have displayed incredible ingenuity, resilience and collaboration in meeting the difficult challenges of our Covid response,” she said. “They’ve had to pivot so many times to meet the needs of a rapidly changing Australia.” Of late, those needs have largely centred around personal protective equipment as the nation combats the coronavirus pandemic. Minister Andrews pointed out that industry’s response exceeded her expectations. “When we first began preparing for this crisis, I was told that Australia would not be able to make more than about 37 million surgical masks a year,” she said. “We’re now expecting to produce more than 200 million this year.”
“There are dozens of examples that demonstrate the adaptability and resilience of our manufacturing sector.” The end of Australia’s automotive sector has acted as shorthand for a perceived decline across the entire industry. According to Minister Andrews, “the
commercialised, improved access to export markets, especially for small and medium enterprises, and lower taxes and a stronger economy.” These improvements lay the groundwork for plans to make Australia a leading digital economy, she said. “This is not about re-creating the past, or re-living a golden era. It’s a newer, richer and more highly developed industry that we’re cultivating.” Despite the pandemic exposing gaps in Australia’s manufacturing supply chains, Minister Andrews was quick to shoot down
"Manufacturers have displayed incredibile ingenuity, resilience and collaboration during our COVID response." fact is that many other sectors have been succeeding and growing in recent years.” The minister, an engineer by profession, took the opportunity to discuss the Morrison Government’s efforts to “change the fate” of Australian manufacturing by improving “the building blocks” of the sector. “Cheaper gas and electricity, a highly skilled workforce, better alignment of government services and reduced red tape, greater collaboration between research and industry, support for more good ideas to be
any plans for complete self-sufficiency. “There are many things Australia won’t and shouldn’t be making,” she said. “We can’t supply all our wants locally but we have to be able to supply, or at least pivot our production processes to produce the goods we need.”
commitment to industry growth preCOVID. “We’re backing businesses to back themselves,” she said. “It speaks to the optimism of our manufacturers that in the current economic climate, they are still very much willing to back themselves and plan for the future.” One of the biggest lessons the Government has learned during the crisis, Minister Andrews said, was the need to streamline bloated project approval systems. Manufacturing Australia has noted that factories built from scratch can become operational in America in less time than it takes to begin approval processes in Australia. “That’s simply not good enough,” Minister Andrews said. “We’ve seen what is possible if we facilitate rather than over-regulate. Things that would normally take years can actually be achieved in weeks when the will is there.” Ultimately, Minister Andrews reiterated that there would not be a return to “business as usual” once restrictions ease.
Australia must also compete on value rather than cost, she added.
“Just as we’ve dedicated ourselves to an effective pandemic response, we need to put no less importance on building national manufacturing capability to ensure our economic sovereignty.”
Minister Andrews also pointed to the Manufacturing Modernisation Fund as an example of the Federal Government’s
The Hon Karen Andrews MP is Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.
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AUSTRALIAN MADE SUCCESS FOR BONFIGLIOLI
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Local quarries and similar industries have been quick on the uptake of the new Helical Bevel Gearmotor from power transmission and drive specialist Bonfiglioli.
and thermostat sensors, independent forced cooling, incremental encoders and anti-condensation heaters are also available.
The A Series Helical Bevel Gearmotor has proven to be a sales success for the company, which prides itself on its relentless commitment to excellence, innovation and sustainability.
Bonfiglioli country manager Neil Pollington says the company is committed to local manufacturing and the economy.
Bonfiglioli poured that commitment – along with its more than 60 years experience – into the A Series, which combines high efficiency, reliability, low maintenance costs and a wide torque range. Reduced standard backlash and a wide output speed range means the A Series can operate safely in a wide selection of environments. Compact motor coupling and a right-angle layout between the input and output make the unit especially suitable for applications where minimised mounting space is required. Optional extras such as thermistors
“We have invested heavily in our local stockholding to the value of $2.5 million. This ensures that we are well placed to assist customers with quick deliveries and a range of available spare parts,” he says. The complete range of A Series products to suit IEC motors from 0.18kW to 75kW in hollow keyed bore output, shrink disc output and solid shaft output is available from the Australian assembly plant. Established in 1956, the company ascribes their direct presence in local markets is the key to their long-lasting success. Bonfiglioli’s international network of
sales branches and closely interconnected production plants guarantees the same high standards of quality anywhere in the world.
“Customers can therefore rest assured of quality products available in quick turnaround times,” Pollington says.
In Australia and New Zealand, Bonfiglioli offers local assembly, spare parts and service to customers across the region.
Bonfiglioli Australia 02 8811 8000 www.bonfiglioli.com/australia
IF YOU’RE AN AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURER, IT’S TIME TO SHINE. So much of business success is about opportunity and timing. The current wave of support for Australian Made means you’ll get noticed and considered more…NOW. But you still need to deeply understand your customers and develop the right value proposition. That’s where we can help. We are a specialist industrial marketing agency that’s been assisting Australian Manufacturers for 21 years, including strategy and campaigns for leading Aussie manufacturers – BlueScope Steel, Fletcher Insulation, Dincel, HPM, Bisalloy, Iveco Trucks, Lysaght, Cabac, BOC Gas and Prysmian Cables. Let’s chat and see if we can add value to your marketing challenges.
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GOVERNMENT SUPPORT CRUCIAL FOR INDUSTRY GROWTH A western Sydney engineer says the Federal Government’s backing is crucial for manufacturing to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic at full strength. Ox Engineering Managing Director Terry Tisdale, a 33-year industry veteran, says manufacturing should look at Med-Con, the Shepparton business that has partnered with government to manufacture and supply surgical masks, as an example of how government and business can successfully team up. “Shepparton is a fantastic example of what we can do with government support,” he says. The $1.44 million grant Med-Con received from the Federal Government allowed the manufacturer to purchase more machinery and scale up its operations. Med-Con went from running one manufacturing shift a day, four days a week to three shifts a day, seven days a week to keep up with demand for surgical masks. The company now manufactures 1.8 million masks per week. “Now we just need to repeat that success about 3,000 times,” Tisdale says. “Imagine the number of jobs we’d create.” In Tisdale’s estimation, Australian manufacturing was in a bad place prior to the pandemic: “We have gone from 30 per cent of the GDP to just six per cent.” Ox Engineering got its start in 1987 as a component manufacturer working for clients like Westinghouse, Victa, Sunbeam
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and Hoover. “We worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, just like Medcom does now,” Tisdale says. Most have since sent their manufacturing operations offshore. “They suffered the same fate as us all and I have seen way too many businesses close,” he says. “Our company never made finished products, only engineering the componentry. But once things started moving offshore, business slowed down. Much of the chain of supply has been disconnected, so 80 per cent of what we buy here now is made in China.” Tisdale says part of the problem is that Australian manufacturing became somewhat of an island, expected to keep itself going against cheap imports and free trade. “I invested in a laser cutting machine in 1987, and to do that I had to get a $270,000 loan from the bank,” he says. “Back then, you could buy a decent family home for $130,000, and we had our own government-run banks.” Recently, Tisdale says, he took all the risk of another investment, and when the large imported machine arrived broken beyond use, he lost $2 million. “There are no guarantees in manufacturing,” he says. “The banks see us as high risk, whereas in China the government partners with
industry. “Here, there has been no one to share the risk, and that’s why what’s happened in Shepparton is so important.” Ox Engineering has persisted, even through what Tisdale names as the key cause of the decline of Australian manufacturing. “It has to be said that the Australian manufacturing industry was brought to its knees by cheap imports,” Tisdale says. “We have been targeted and highvolume production has all but gone offshore.” The COVID-19 pandemic brought about the collapse of many overseas supply chains, and exposed this vulnerability and weakness in the Australian manufacturing industry for all to see. Now that calls are becoming ever louder for a return to local manufacturing, Tisdale, who recently shared his outlook for Australia’s manufacturing industry with Ian “Macca” McNamara on Australia All Over, says there’s work to be done. “The banks still believe we’re high risk, so it’s hard for manufacturers to get loans,” he says.
“That’s why government backing is crucial.” Tisdale is quick to add that imports aren’t entirely anathema. “We must keep importing, but we need to consider especially recycling tariffs,” he says. Tisdale also insists all these imports should be 100% recyclable here in Australia. “That way we can claim the raw materials,” he says. “Way too much of our imported goods end up on the rubbish tip. China has strict requirements on imports and flex their might to get it.” While Tisdale believes the manufacturing situation in Australia can’t get much worse (“The true extent of the recession won’t reveal itself until later in the year”), he says the passion and energy Australian manufacturers have for their industry has never died. “Australian manufacturers are passionate about what we do,” Tisdale says. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here.”
BLAST LOCAL WITH INSTANT ASSET WRITE OFF Take advantage of the Australian Government’s instant asset write-off scheme and buy local for your 2020 surface preparation needs. Victorian OEM W. Granowski P/L designs and manufactures abrasive blast equipment and degreasing machines and is currently taking orders to meet the 31st December 2020 deadline. Specialising in custom made machinery and turnkey solutions, Granowski Engineering works with each client to ensure the surface preparation requirement is fulfilled by the right design.
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Drawing upon 70 years of standard Granowski-designed wheel-blast machines, air-blast equipment, dust collectors and hot wash equipment, the in-house engineering team can design or adapt equipment to meet any application. Granowski service technicians are Australian (therefore not subject to international quarantine orders) and are available to install and commission or service new or second hand equipment. No matter the age of the equipment, Australian made genuine Granowski replacement parts and subassemblies can be obtained for any existing Granowski machine.
Buying locally means that excessive lead-times, weight limits and supply problems Covid-19 presents to the importation of goods are eliminated. Fabricating in Kilsyth, W. Granowski has recently completed a reengineered standard hot-wash machine for use in an explosive atmosphere. The fully automated and insulated stainless steel machine, used to wash gas bottles at 80 degrees, included a 1.35m diameter basket that had been redeveloped for super heavy-duty use. Every machine is custom made, so don’t miss out! Place your order for
Granowski capital equipment now to take advantage before the 31st December 2020 instant asset write-off scheme deadline. W Granowski 03 9729 4333 www.granowski.com.au
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AUSSIE MANUFACTURER TURNS ADVERSITY INTO OPPORTUNITY
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Aus J Hot Water Solutions, an enterprising Australian manufacturer of convenience hot water products, has stepped up to meet expanding world demand for portable hot water systems.
latest Duoetto was from Californian RV specialist Mark Gibbs, who says his longestablished (1971) business is “going mad” meeting demand from people who want to get away from it all.
As COVID restrictions ease, RV holidays and expeditions are growing in popularity. Adventurers looking to go off-road need portable hot water to bring with them, so it’s the perfect time for Aus J to launch its latest 12v/240w Duoetto MK2 water heater.
Gibbs has been an enthusiastic proponent of the original Duoetto for more than a decade, fitting it OEM to the RVs produced by the American Camper Shells and Van Works company of which he is managing director.
degrees C and 70 degrees (86-158F) on 240v so people can shower, wash, clean and enjoy abundant hot water whether mains power is available or not.
King designs the water heaters himself and ensures production to Australian standards of toughness and quality.
The heaters can also be calibrated for 110v markets.
King is also targeting Europe with the new Duoetto, sending review examples to leading international publications such as Britain’s MMM magazine, an RV bible for English-language audiences.
“Automatic sensors allow switching to 12v when mains power is not available,” King says.
The product is also being promoted in South Africa and South-East Asia, where local travel promotions are also expanding demand for holidays within local borders.
“The domestic adventure travel boom is a global phenomenon happening now,” says Aus J Hot Water Solutions designer and managing director Jay King.
“We see the post-COVID era as a time of renewal for the local holiday industry, an enormous update in scale and scope on the old convoys of caravans you used to see in Australia and New Zealand 50 years ago,” King says.
“People just about everywhere are taking to the roads in RVs, ranging from mobile palaces costing millions of dollars right through to the camping, caravanning, power boat, yachting and adventure RV market that we serve.”
Now the market is much more sophisticated, and owners of mobile homes and boats want hot water at call to shower, cook and preserve hygiene, even when they are self-isolating out in the bush.
Aus J has already sold tens of thousands of its home and portable water heaters in Australia, New Zealand and globally, but now it aims the Duoetto MK2 10-litre water heater at RV travellers going off the beaten track. The Duoetto is also ideal for work vehicles used to tow RVs to remote places and worksites in which it’s important to maintain optimum cleanliness and comfort.
“This product – and the backup they give it – is perfect for us,” Gibbs says.
As the immediate threat of the COVID pandemic abates in some areas – but international borders remain closed – King has seen a distinct uptick in inquiries both from around Australia and New Zealand, and from areas such as Europe and the USA.
“We use it in truck and lifestyle conversions with just a 12v connection and simple set up. We install a one-hour timer to auto shut-off when the right temperature is attained.”
One of the most recent calls for the
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Gibbs says he’s used many Duoettos for many years with very few issues.
The tough, Australian-designed compact and durable water heater offers selectable temperatures between 30
“This enables the Duoetto to deliver ample hot water in remote areas such as campsites or on boats where mains power is unavailable, which it often is in large areas of major RV, marine and work vehicle markets.” The project is the latest for King, a keen RV designer and user whose recent triumphs include a Toyota HiAce conversion that puts all the comforts of home, including hot water, into one of the world’s most popular vans.
Hot water has become even more important for comfort and hygiene with the high level of awareness of COVID risks, not just for recreation vehicles and vessels but also work 4WDs, trailers and boats operating in remote areas far from mains power.
Aus J Hot Water Solutions +61 419 993 042 www.ausj.com.au
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encouraged to do the same. “There are some really innovative ideas coming out of Australia, however the local manufacturing industry isn’t necessarily there to help commercialise – and benefit from – these ideas,” Hodgson says. “The government must do what it can to support and champion local manufacturing, especially now that the risks of an over-reliance on global supply chains are laid bare. While the R&D tax incentive and government grants are welcomed, there are many additional steps that could be taken to bolster Australian manufacturing.
Phil Hodgson - Calix Managing Director
Across every industry, the COVID-19 crisis has caused disruption and highlighted risks in the global supply chain. On the other hand, it has unveiled potential opportunities for Australian manufacturers to reinvigorate the industry and compete more effectively in the future. With innovation booming in Australia once again, technology company Calix says it’s essential for business and the government to take a locally-focused approach to commercialisation. “COVID-19 is highlighting the inherent risks of relying too heavily on an international supply chain,” says Calix managing director Phil Hodgson. “Interruptions due to pandemics, geopolitical tensions or other reasons can affect businesses across the country. With such a heavy dependence on imports, Australia can’t continue to accept the risk that comes with having a hollowed-out manufacturing industry.” Manufacturing’s contribution to the Australian economy peaked in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when it was just under 30 per cent of the GDP. Currently, it sits at around 5.8 per cent. Calix believes a concerted effort from government and industry alike could reverse this contraction.
Australian manufacturers to be able to produce everything the country needs. “Infrastructure, energy, food and water are all basic pillars of society that local manufacturing should be able to support,” Hodgson says. “The more the supply chain for those needs are offshored, the more risk society must bear. However, most private and public sector organisations make purchasing decisions based on price alone.” But price, Hodgson says, is not the only factor that should be considered, as the COVID pandemic has demonstrated. “Choosing a local product over a seemingly cheaper, imported one can protect local jobs, provide guaranteed continuity of supply even during a crisis, and traceability of raw materials,” he says. “The tangible and intangible benefits of such a decision are enormous and farreaching, and could improve the longterm viability of industry in this country.” Ideally, the manufacturing industry would benefit from a balance of global trade and risk mitigation. Local manufacturing could rebound if Australian manufacturers can make at least a meaningful portion of essentials.
Australia’s small economy has forced many innovative Australian organisations to move their manufacturing offshore even though they conduct their research and development locally.
Innovation-wise, success would include the ongoing encouragement of R&D and commercialisation onshore, rather than forcing Australian ideas offshore.
While local manufacturing might not allow for the production of everything the country wants, it’s essential for
A local manufacturing industry would flourish if the Australian government were to take the lead on
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local procurement, so says Calix. If government departments and agencies demanded a minimum local content of suppliers during public tenders, the private sector would be more
“And ultimately, as huge purchasers of goods and services, local, state and federal governments and associated statutory bodies have a responsibility to take the lead on this now, and start buying local.”
Expertise - Passion - Automation
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INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
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JMAR EXPANDS AFTER YAWEI INVESTMENT transforming and expanding our business.” Applied Machinery has provided Jmar with ongoing service and technical support since purchase, something Mark says has been a crucial help. “Like our previous dealings with Applied, the service was just outstanding with the purchase of the Yawei. Every call to (service manager) Matt Keogh and (service engineer) Mark Bury was answered quickly, every technical question was responded to; I couldn’t have asked for a better association with a machinery supplier,” Mark says.
Shepparton engineering firm Jmar, a specialist in component manufacturing, repairs and maintenance, has expanded into the world of sheetmetal and cutting with the addition of a Yawei fiber laser. Jmar founders Mark and Janice Hooper originally invested in a fiber laser with a view to obtaining more local cutting work within the Goulburn Valley area. “Our original laser proved a huge success in securing us heavier and more voluminous work, and expanding our customer base – particularly those companies that had previously sent work to Melbourne or Sydney,” Mark says. A 25-year industry veteran, Jmar’s workload includes a considerable amount of ‘reverse engineering’; fabricating components and parts that customers may have previously bought from overseas suppliers. In many cases, these suppliers are now defunct or uncontactable due to COVID-19.
In addition to component manufacturing, the company supplies the agricultural industry with a unique product called the Christopher Dairy Bails, a retrofit product suitable for herringbone dairies that allows the farmer to feed in the bail at milking time. Jmar has also heavily invested in 3D modelling. The ability to provide customers with an accurate representation of concept designs prior to full-scale production has proven a great sales tool. “We ended up becoming a contract cutter, and it was this that prompted us to invest in an additional Yawei fiber laser,” Mark says. “We were struggling to keep up with the work and we couldn’t afford to let our customers down. This second machine ensured we could always offer consistency of supply and maintain our lead times.” The Yawei HLF, with its 4kW capacity, Precitec auto focus cutting head and
Siemers CNC controller, gave Jmar a step up in terms of cutting speed, material capacity and quality of cut. “This improvement in our lasercut parts feeding into our 7-axis Yawei pressbrake makes the quality of the finished product far superior, particularly with stainless steel,” he says. Purchased from Applied Machinery, the Yawei’s additional capacity and highquality cut has allowed Jmar to fabricate a more diverse range of sheetmetal products never before possible. One of these is a custom, all stainlesssteel evaporative air conditioner that is being manufactured for a local commercial kitchen builder. “We’re seeing work that we would never have seen before and quoting on jobs that we have previously not been able to quote on,” Mark says. “The new Yawei fiber laser is really
“Given our regional location, the quality and speed of service is absolutely critical to us and something we value greatly. It’s so refreshing to know that Applied really has got our back.” Though the COVID-19 crisis has had a devastating effect on global supply chains, it’s created renewed interest in local manufacturing. According to Mark Hooper, the quality that local manufacturers can produce can’t be matched overseas. “The fact that we’ve had to rebuild so many overseas-sourced parts confirms that,” he says. “This new fiber laser not only allows us to produce the highest quality products in a faster time, but also provides us with the opportunity to add to the diversity of products Jmar produces. “I see a very positive outlook not just for us, but for all Australian manufacturers over the next few years.” Applied Machinery 03 9706 8066 www.appliedmachinery.com.au
KEEP AN EYE ON THE PRESSURE Monitor pressure and flow of your compressed air system with the new pressure sensing digital flowmeters from EXAIR.
The measurement of compressed air is the first step toward identifying high compressed air use areas, compressed air leaks and optimising air use.
The two flow sensing probes feature a pressure sensor mounted between them, and the configurable display can show air pressure or air flow.
Each meter includes the required hardware and tools for installation including a drill bit, drill guide and hex wrenches. Flowmeters of 2” (51mm) or larger include a pressure sensing feature.
A transistor output, also configurable, can provide a low-pressure alarm to protect processes and equipment. Pressure values can display PSIG or BARG.
EXAIR’s pressure sensing digital flowmeters are available in standard units that display airflow values on a bright LED screen, with optional data logger to
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capture and control the data. The pressure signal is also available through optional wired and wireless serial outputs, with airflow values expressed in standard cubic feet per minute or cubic metres per hour. Available now from Compressed Air Australia, EXAIR’s pressure sensing flowmeters are available in schedule 40 iron pipe, Type L Copper and nominal millimetre sizes. The flowmeters are CE and RoHS compliant, and join EXAIR’s full range of digital flowmeters for air lines
from ½” to 8” including Hot Tap, Wireless and Data Logging flowmeters. Compressed Air Australia 1300 787 688 www.caasafety.com.au
JUNE / JULY 2020
INSTANT ASSET WRITE OFF
BUY ONCE BUY RIGHT WITH VEGA Flexibility, versatility and customisation go a long way in any manufacturing venture. If a company is agile enough to handle the needs of its clients, that company will stay ahead of more rigid competitors. “There is no one instrument that does it all,” says VEGA Australia managing director John Leadbetter. This tenet is at the heart of VEGA Australia’s approach to business. Leadbetter, a 40-year industry veteran, firmly believes that a company has to have different technologies to suit different applications in a variety of locations. Since 1984, VEGA Australia has provided instrumentation and measurement technology to businesses in Australia and around the world. From petrochemical and refining to environment and recycling, VEGA’s equipment works hard in a range of industries. VEGA’s sensors ensure safety standards and hygiene requirements in the chemical and food industries; the offshore oil & gas and pharmaceutical industries employ VEGA measurement technology; VEGA instrumentation works within the operations of the paper industry as well as mining and metal processing; the energy sector uses VEGA level, switching and pressure instrumentation; and the ship and yachtbuilding industry is bolstered by VEGA tank measuring systems. With such a disparate range of uses, Leadbetter says that the global clientele demands a scalable product range.
“We’re dealing with a number of industries globally, and there are a variety of applications our solutions have to suit,” he says. “There’s no one solution to do everything, so you have different technologies to suit the variety of needs.” Right now, many within the industry are under exaggerated time and financial constraints. For Leadbetter, this means no two customers are ever in the same boat – and that’s why a blanket approach doesn’t work. “What we strive to do is make sure we solve the customer’s problem, whatever that may be, so that the next time they have a problem, they come back to us,” he says. “We want repeat business, and you only get that by working closely with a customer to meet their specific needs.” The VEGA approach, according to Leadbetter, is to sit down with a customer, understand exactly what they’re trying to achieve, and then come up with the perfect bespoke solution. “And we like to offer alternatives,” he says. “We can say here’s solution A, or solution B. They’ll both do the job, but each have advantages and disadvantages. We let the client decide.” Leadbetter cites as an example the case of a mining company that contacted VEGA for a method of measuring levels of ore in its plant. “We went through the process and
gave them options, but then they told us they’d accepted different technology from another company,” he says.
in the world, someone may have already used it and can give us a reference,” he says.
“So we then kept in touch with them, and three months later they came back to us and said the other company’s technology hadn’t worked.”
“And we can then pass it on to the customer. If you go the extra yard, you get another happy customer.”
In response, VEGA offered the miner references from other companies that had successfully employed the VEGA solutions. This convinced the miner of the VEGA solution’s viability, and the deal was done. “They chose the other technology based on price, but their costs doubled because they bought twice. In the long run, it ended up costing them even more.” Leadbetter says VEGA makes a point of discussing references and how the VEGA process works. “If we come across an application we have no first-hand experience with, we ask our international partners. Somewhere
It’s become more evident in the last five years that businesses tend to make decisions on a product based on its long-term benefits rather than price considerations, a change Leadbetter says is overdue. “You want peace of mind, and you should basically get a lifetime of good operation at no cost,” he says. “If VEGA offers you a unit for $5000 and someone else offers you a unit for $2000, you need to look at the cost of ownership rather than the cost of purchase.” Vega 1800 817 135 www.vega.com/au
INSTANT ASSET WRITE-OFF EXTENDED The Federal Government has extended its Instant Asset Write-Off scheme for a further six months in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The scheme, in which businesses that earn up to $500 million per year can write off new asset purchases worth up to $150,000, was due to end on July 1, but will now remain in place until the year’s end. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the scheme will help recovering businesses weather necessary purchases as they return to work. “(Businesses) will be able to go and purchase equipment or machinery tools up
JUNE / JULY 2020
to a value of $150,000, as many times as they want, and then write it off,” he says. “We’ve flattened the curve and people are getting back to work, and we want businesses to get back to doing what they do best – growing, innovating and hiring people across the economy.” Businesses would be forced to deduct their assets’ depreciation over subsequent tax returns in the absence of the scheme. The success to-date of the scheme is unable to be measured until tax returns are filed. Chief executive of the national employer
association Ai Group Innes Willox has praised the extension as “a sensible forward-looking measure”. “Business investment has been inhabited in recent months both by the drain on cash inflows and the general level of uncertainty and the extension of this measure so that businesses have longer to put investment plans in place makes clear sense,” he says. It’s hoped write-off extension will give an immediate potential boost to business investment over the next six months, particularly for businesses that had put investment plans on hold or are looking to reposition in the wake of the COVID crisis.
“The extension of the instant asset write-off provisions, together with the more generous investment incentives announced earlier in the year, will provide a welcome boost to business investment at a time of lagging productivity growth,” Willox says. The move comes after Australia’s economy shrank 0.3 per cent in the March quarter, officially placing the country in a recession. A more dramatic fall is expected for the June quarter.
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MACHINERY HYSTER INTRODUCES BIG FORKLIFT WITH AN ADVANCED AND ERGONOMIC NEW CABIN Leading materials handling equipment provider Hyster is introducing a new big truck with a series of cabin upgrades for enhanced user comfort and visibility. Hyster’s new H16-18XD series big trucks can efficiently handle up to 16 or 18 tonnes, depending on the model, and are backed by the outstanding quality of the Hyster brand and its network of dealers that provide fast, reliable service. “The new range is cost-efficient and hard-working, but with industry-leading levels of user comfort, visibility and control to make the operator’s job as efficient as possible,” said Hyster-Yale Vice President, Big Trucks and Solutions, JAPIC, Mr Tony Fagg. The new H16-18XD series of Hyster big trucks – which is being introduced to Australia, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific this month as part of a global launch – is one of the first ranges to feature the new XD cabin, which is designed to provide a boost to productivity and comfort for operators in industries such as materials handling, ports, logistics, food and beverage, and more.
Advanced new cabin Hyster’s new cabin provides a ‘cockpitstyle’ workplace by positioning all truck information and controls at the operator’s fingertips. It includes a high-quality interior
finish with a seven-inch touchscreen display, rotary button controls on the armrest and outstanding soundproofing to minimise cabin noise and assist with operator concentration. “The new cabin has heating and climate control, ample floor space and a range of features designed for user comfort. Hyster developed the new cabin because the company understands that a comfortable operator is a productive operator,” said Mr Fagg. The new cabin is designed for excellent all-round operator visibility with curved, scratch-resistant front and rear windows, armoured glass top window and toughened glass doors, with a slimline steel frame. “With the new cabin, operators can lift high with minimal obstruction to visibility due to the tall front window and full glass panel overhead,” Mr Fagg said. “The cab is designed for excellent visibility during driving, reversing and manoeuvring. With the largest full glass panel doors in the industry and class-leading headspace, operators can also get in and out of the cab easily, even when wearing a hardhat."
Enhanced flexibility, simplified maintenance The H16-18XD series’ new cabin provides simple maintenance, due to
universal architecture, a reduced number of unique components and a common interface across all product lines. Additionally, the new cabin provides greater flexibility, both for the operator, and for fleet managers, with new features including: • increased possibilities and options to change settings to optimise the truck for particular applications and personal preferences • a CAN bus system that provides direct information to the service mechanic and reduces wires and additional interfaces and displays • a new structure with additional driver
space and optional trainer seat • a lateral sliding seat to provide space for a trainer seat. “The new cabin has outstanding flexibility, and can be easily tailored to different applications. For example, if the operator is working at night, the display can automatically dim for less distraction and the control arm panels all have back light options, so the switches illuminate when active or an option is present." Hyster-Yale Asia-Pacific Pty Ltd 02 9795 3842 www.hyster-yale.com
SHAKE UP YOUR FOOD PRODUCTION LINE Enmin, Australia’s market leader in vibratory equipment, is set to optimise food production processes with its new electromagnetic vibratory hopper feeder. Whether you need accurate delivery of product or a controlled method of introducing a secondary product on to a production line, Enmin’s robust, compact units deliver bulk dry ingredients at a metered rate. Designed and manufactured in Australia, the electromagnetic hopper feeder is fully customisable to meet any specifications. Its 304 stainless steel construction gives it all the durability and reliability that food production demands.
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“Coming up with custom-designed engineering solutions is something that we excel at, and that’s why so many of our customers return to us time and time again,” says Enmin’s general manager Anthony Gallaher.
High-speed filling and pinpoint accuracy are made possible by Enmin’s proven LD3 electromagnetic drive, coupled within the unit with a multifunction controller that tunes to accurate frequency bands.
The hopper feeder features a manual gate to control the product bed depth, adjustable controller speed to provide fine product rate accuracy, and a hygienic storage and delivery system that significantly reduces manual handling and food wastage.
“Our company electromagnetic hopper feeders are engineered to optimise a company’s food production processes,” Gallaher says. “Our ability to custom-design units to customers’ exact specifications ensures that production efficiencies and staff productivity are maximised.”
Retractable steps are included to ensure production-line staff can easily and safely access the hopper.
With its mobile design and minimal footprint, the Enmin hopper feeder is easily
integrated into modular turnkey systems, or can be used as a standalone unit. Enmin 03 9800 6777 www.enmin.com.au
JUNE / JULY 2020
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MACHINERY
HEAVY MACHINERY UNDER THE HAMMER Hundreds of pieces of machinery equipment will be auctioned online as recent government COVID-19 stimulus measures cause operators to upgrade.
renovate an existing one, was announced on June 4. Similarly, infrastructure projects have been waved through the usual wait times in an effort to keep jobs secure.
Lloyds Auctions’ online platform has seen high demand for civil and transport equipment as sellers scramble to offload and upgrade. Existing fleets are being liquidated to make room for new gear as fast-tracked transport projects get underway.
Many builders left on hold by the coronavirus pandemic took that time to reassess their equipment, and as the work returns, operators want a good deal on new tools – and a quick disposal of old ones.
“Our heavy equipment auctions have increased five-fold,” says Lee Hames, chief operations officer for Lloyds Auctions. “We’ll have five major machinery and transport auctions next week alone for the month of June.” The boom coincides with a similar explosion within the construction industry sparked by the Federal Government’s stimulus activities. HomeBuilder, which affords eligible owner-occupiers with a $25,000 grant to build a home from scratch or substantially
“One of the main advantages of why people are selling at auction is that people need the equipment sold straight away,” Hames says. “These government announcements came at very short notice, and now that the work is picking up, people are planning, so contractors and businesses can buy at auction knowing they can be ready to go at just a moment’s notice.” The COVID-19 restrictions that left traditional equipment dealers struggling have prompted a surge in online auctions. Those dealers are now heading online to boost slumping sales.
As a result, dump trucks, excavators, wheel loaders, trailers and more have found themselves under the virtual hammer as operators prepare to get cracking on infrastructure upgrades and commercial developments. “We expect this equipment to go for a decent price, as it is in high demand right
now,” Hames says. “We’re seeing enquiries flooding in from all over the country.” Major machinery equipment auctions run from June 22 to June 30. For more information and full listings, visit www. lloydsauctions.com.au/heavy.
MAXITRANS BACKS INSTANT ASSET WRITE-OFF EXTENSION Semi-trailer dealer MaxiTRANS has backed the Federal Government’s six-month extension of the Instant Asset Write-Off stimulus measure. MaxiTRANS, Australia’s largest manufacturer and supplier of semi-trailer equipment, believes the package will continue to build confidence through ongoing employment and business continuity for its brands and suppliers. “What it has meant for MaxiTRANS is that we’ve been able to keep our operations going in support of our customers so that they can continue to keep food on shelves,” says Dean Jenkins, MaxiTRANS managing director and CEO. “Just as important is that we’ve been able to keep people employed, which is a really fundamental thing at this point in time.” Announced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Instant Asset Write-Off scheme allows businesses that earn up to $500 million per year to write off new asset purchases worth up to $150,000. Originally due to end on July 1,
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Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced it will now remain in place until the end of the year, allowing businesses to invest in assets as restrictions around the country begin to ease. “What this extension means for our customers is added confidence to continue and to know that the Government is aware of what the Instant Asset Write-Off is positively doing for proud Australian businesses like MaxiTRANS,” Jenkins says. MaxiTRANS is reminding its customers that the Instant Asset Write-
Off and depreciation rules are available for multiple units across both new and used trailers – not just a one-off purchase. Customers may also wish to invest in capital asset upgrades, including upgrading their suspension or fridge plants on existing trailers via the MaxiTRANS service network, which also falls with the Write-Off and depreciation rules. Additionally, a large range of workshop equipment and parts are available from the dealer’s spares division MaxiPARTS.
“For customers looking to invest and take full advantage of the Government’s announcement, we encourage you to contact one of our MaxiTRANS dealers to discuss how you can benefit,” Jenkins says. “We want to reassure our customers that we are here to partner with them to help them grow and succeed, especially during these challenging times – all while knowing they’re investing in high-quality Australian Made products, and therefore supporting the Australian economy during the post-COVID recovery period.”
JUNE / JULY 2020
MACHINERY
HARE AND FORBES CELEBRATES 90TH ANNIVERSARY
been built on the reputation of service to the people.” To mark the momentous occasion, Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse has showcased their expertise by restoring a 1927 Chevrolet flatbed truck very similar to the first ever Hare & Forbes delivery truck from 1930. For 90 years, this mantra has dictated the business approach of Hare & Forbes, Australia’s leading supplier of engineering, metal and woodworking machinery. The family business was determined to “get it right the first time”, and as they celebrate their 90th anniversary, that statement has come true. The Hare & Forbes story spans generations of family heritage, adapting and transforming according to market needs since 1930. Born in Brisbane in 1883, John Edward Hare was a second-hand machinery dealer when he started working with engineer Henry Graham Forbes in 1928. Two years later, the pair formalised a business partnership, and Hare & Forbes was born. Over the decades, the company worked hard to inspire a sense of ease and confidence in clients utilising Hare & Forbes machinery and equipment. For customers, buying from Hare & Forbes can feel more like entering into a lifetime partnership than merely a straight purchase. Strong family values underpin the Hare & Forbes approach, encouraging growth and continuity of business through four generations of the clan at the heart of the company. From a very young age, it became apparent to Hare family members that competition was good for business; a bit of rivalry drives stronger performance and makes for sensible business practice. Even today, that internal competition spurs Hare & Forbes on to new heights as one of the largest stockists and suppliers of machine tools, sheet metal and fabrication equipment in Australia.
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From the beginning, the ultimate goal for Hare & Forbes was to offer Australians an extensive range of workshop machinery and machine tool accessories at the best possible price; a tall order. To realise this dream, the company grew from its original location at the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern to include
sheet metal machinery and fabrication equipment, storage solutions, workshop and welding equipment, meat processing equipment, automotive and restoration products, machine tool accessories, measuring equipment and a wide range of spare parts, all backed by experienced technicians providing ongoing service and support.
“If you don’t buy right, you can’t sell right.” branches in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, along with a host of international clients.
Tall order it may have been, but Hare & Forbes made it – and are still going strong today.
Over the years, the Hare & Forbes line has grown to include conventional metal & woodworking machinery,
As the Hare brothers were fond of saying: “It’s still about the relationships you build with customers. Our business has
The restored Chevy was nicknamed Felix after cartoon character Felix the Cat, who became a mascot for an LA Chevy dealership in the 1920s. OG Customs master builder Sean Hagarty and his team worked tirelessly using purely wood, metal and automotive work to bring “Flatbed Felix” back to its former glory. On the 90th anniversary -to the day - of the original Hare & Forbes partnership on 26 June 1930, Hagarty’s team unveiled the finished replica alongside the descendants of the Hare and Forbes, their families, staff and friends of the company. Flatbed Felix will now grace the Hare & Forbes shopfloor at Northmead in proud tribute to the long commitment of Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse to Australian customers across the decades. “Felix is a beautiful replica of our 1930s delivery truck and a very special salute to the founding members of Hare & Forbes,” says Rick Foster, general manager of Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse. “He’ll live on in our Northmead store floor from now on so next time you’re visiting us, be sure to check him out!” For Hare & Forbes, the restoration project is a sentimental journey, a special project that recalls the great achievements of the company through its years of service to the Australian market. Hare & Forbes Machineryhouse www.machineryhouse.com.au
INDUSTRYUPDATE.COM.AU
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NOW THAT THINKING. ‘The Yawei laser’s
OUR CUSTOMER BASE IS EXPANDING, AND WE’RE EXPANDING WITH IT.
speed and cut quality is brilliant. It has greatly improved our lead times and allowed us to better serve our customers’.
With its extreme accuracy, speed and c Kamal Singh, Owner - KNS Metals, costs, the new Yawei HLF fiber laser is
Dandenong, VIC
Dollar for dollar, the new HLF is in a lea all across the laser cutting sector; from environments.
With a quality German built Precitec au 840DSL controller and a fabricated, str Precision sheetmetal processing solutions. the rest.
For more information: Call: 03 9706 8066 Email: sales@appliedmachinery.com.au Visit: www.appliedmachinery.com.au
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cutting head. The best in German control, motion and cutting technology harnessed on a rigid, ague companies fully heat treated and annealed frame – 100% manufactured in-house by Yawei’s world-class m start-ups through to for fullallproduction, With options available manner of laser 3-shift engineering team. cutting applications from light in-house work, through to a multi-shift full production environment, Dollar for dollar, the Yawei HLF, HLE, HLB and CKY Yawei fiber lasers encompass a total value series fiber lasers rival anything in their respective uto-focus cutting head, source, proposition which stands IPG out in laser a crowded market.Siemens market segments and the Applied Machinery sales network has Australia covered – coast ress-relieved fully annealed frame it really is a and cutservice above The flagship HLF series machines are available to coast. Yawei and Applied are slashing barriers with laser capacity from 3kW to 20kW with a fully to entry into laser cutting, along with offering enclosed processing area from 1500mm x 3000mm established high end processors, a very attractive, up to 3500mm x 12000mm - all with automatic value-packed solution for the most demanding of pallet exchange. Critically, the high speed, precise full-production contract cutting environments. cutting is controlled and optimised by a Siemens 840D CNC, driven by Siemens drives and motor and delivered through a Precitec ProCutter series
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PRODUCTS
PUMP UP YOUR PERFORMANCE might come up with a different view.
10, 15 or more years of the asset life.
Over its life, a wastewater pump is asked to pump all manner of solid materials — things such as rags, ear tags, cans, hooves, bailing twine, grit and much more. As a result, pumps occasionally get clogged, and parts will wear or break.
Some products are built to a price; others are built to a standard by companies that spend millions of dollars in research and development to get their materials correct, their tolerances right, their features with the operator in mind, and their performance to a tested standard.
Having self-priming pumps — such as Gorman-Rupp’s Super T Series —mounted on the surface gives operators very easy access to the pumps. Maintenance, blockage removal and parts replacement is done in a fraction of the time it takes operators to attend to a submersible pump. In industry, as in the rest of life, you can buy a product at any number of price points, depending on your budget, needs and the quality you’re seeking.
potential buyers were to consider only the purchase price, then the submersible pump would be the choice almost every time.
This is true of the pump industry. For example, there are many styles of pumps for transferring wastewater, and within those types there are differing levels of quality and features that engineers and asset purchasers need to consider.
Submersible pumps should be cheaper. Unlike end-suction pumps, they don’t need a dry well. And unlike selfpriming pumps, they don’t need a base plate, drive system or guard.
A food-process company or a municipality can choose from submersible pumps, end-suction centrifugal pumps or self-priming centrifugal pumps for wastewater pumping applications. If
However, if the potential purchaser considers not just the purchase price but all of the costs associated with maintaining the pumps over their life cycle — plus the cost of complying with safety regulations during maintenance events — he or she
These are the companies that build class-leading products and support them with repeatability that ensure repair parts fit every time.
The self-priming pump will also not need a crane to perform the maintenance, nor will it need more than one operator to attend a maintenance event, because all maintenance or blockage removal can be carried out safely by one person.
You will pay a little more for these products, but as Benjamin Franklin said: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”
And because access is so easy on a self-priming pump, and the pump is so simple to service, routine maintenance is more likely to be performed. This extends equipment life and the time periods between major servicing.
More information on Gorman-Rupp pumps and engineered systems may be obtained from info@hydroinnovations. com.au
If these cost considerations are taken into account, then any difference in purchase price may well pale over the five,
Hydro Innovations 02 9898 1800 www.hydroinnovations.com.au
GIVE YOUR INDUSTRIAL FACILITY AN ULTRASONIC CLEAN CleenSonic is expanding its range of Australian designed industrial ultrasonic cleaning equipment. The range now includes standard units suitable for cleaning items as small as electronic PCBs right up to workpieces as large as diesel engines and automotive gearboxes.
ultrasonic process permeate through the cleaning fluid, bursting and releasing the energy that performs the cleaning process. And the fact that the process is environmentally friendly is a bonus. As CleenSonic MD Nick Rassios point out: “Solutions used in our CleenSonic ultrasonic baths are considered carefully to ensure environmental compliance is achieved well above expectation. Managing waste and arresting contaminants is a key focus together with reduced water consumption.”
Although the concept of ultrasonic cleaning is not new, the technology has evolved over the past 60 years, and today’s systems offer highly efficient cleaning performance without the use of toxic chemicals. In a manufacturing environment, ultrasonic cleaning systems can be integrated into the production process and used to remove residues from manufacturing processes (for example in electronics assembly). And manufacturing assets such as moulds and tools can be cleaned after use without fear of damage.
other contaminants from all manner of assemblies – either prior to maintenance or simply to improve performance of components such as filters, radiators and heat exchangers.
In general maintenance work, ultrasonic cleaning systems are perfect for removing dust, dirt, grime, grease and
Regular ultrasonic cleaning can keep manufacturing assets in prime working order, from pumps and nozzles to
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conveyor system components. A key advantage of ultrasonics over other cleaning methods is its ability to clean hidden cavities (effectively in every nook and cranny). No matter how complex the structure of the workpiece, once it is immersed in the ultrasonic bath, the vapour-filled bubbles created by the
In addition to the standard range, the company is also actively involved in designing and manufacturing custom systems to suit all manner of ultrasonic cleaning challenges. Cleensonic 0421 679 058 www.cleensonic.com.au
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Contact Tente Castors & Wheels To Find Your Product Solution Phone: 1300 836 831
sales.au@tente.com
tente.com.au
TENTE CASTORS & WHEELS SPECIAL
AN EDUCATION IN QUALITY FURNITURE
“We’ve tried a few different suppliers of wheels and castors in the past, and there were always failures and returns. Not with Tente, ever.” Tente fills its range with features that set it apart in the industry. Extra soft wheels ensure low vibration and low noise while remaining extremely resistant to wear. An automatic self-cleaning function keeps the wheels pristine. And Tente’s user-friendly kickstop brakes and central locking castors make stopping – and safety - a breeze.
The education space is a brutal environment for furniture. Daily wear and tear is something of an understatement when it comes to equipment in Aussie classrooms, and chewing gum stuck under a desk is the least of it. The problem for classroom furnishers is finding products that offer the perfect mix of comfort and robustness. Imports can be hit and miss; for every quality piece, there’s a cheaply made alternative that’s ready for home time long before the students are. It’s a field where experience definitely pays off; just ask NSW furniture company Batger. Established in 1953 as a manufacturer of furniture for exclusively commercial purposes, and banks in particular, Batger pivoted to the education sector in the late 1970s. They brought with them their years of experience building the kind of hardy, austere furniture found in the bank branches of old. Since then, Batger has carved a niche as a solid, dependable manufacturer of Australian made school fittings. “We make nearly everything in our factory in Girraween, in Sydney’s west,” says Stephen Richards, Batger’s sales and marketing director. “We’ve got a team of about 60 people, but that goes up in the busy season around Christmas and the back-to-school period.” In the Girraween factory, Batger has a full woodwork and metalwork section that includes robotic welding and powder cutting along with cabinet making and inhouse upholstery.
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“We’re known for our tables and cabinetry, but what gives us an edge is our ability to customise and make furniture of all different sizes depending on the job,” Richards says.
Batger team, who found them a boon in the design stage.
“We use Australian steel because this kind of furniture has got to be built tough.”
“They’re stylish, they look professional, and they’ve got an aesthetic that makes them look as though they were always a part of the furniture’s design. They never look like they’ve been tacked on.”
It was in that spirit that Batger teamed up with Tente. Five years ago, Batger’s then-supplier of wheels and castors wasn’t meeting the brief. “We were using basic industrial castors for our tables and wheels for bigger benches, but the quality just wasn’t there,” he says. “We were looking to elevate our products, so when we started working with Tente, it was a revelation.” Tente’s range of high-quality castors and wheels made it easy for Batger to meet the often tricky design challenges of their clients. “We get thrown some design wildcards,” Richards says. “Flexible learning furniture has become really popular in Australian schools, so our work needs to be able to have that flexibility.” The quality of Tente’s castors and wheels was immediately apparent to the
“Tente’s products look great,” Richards says.
Richards puts this down to Tente’s manufacturing process and quality control. “It’s not just the look either, their build quality is next level,” he says. “A Tente wheel feels like a premium product, but without the premium pricing.” That build quality has made a marked difference to how Batger’s products are received by customers. “We have no failures. None,” he says.
Richards says these features are a huge value add. “The brakes, especially in classrooms, are terrific,” he says. “And the Tente aesthetic just lifts our furniture to the next level of quality.” Due to the unpredictable nature of Batger’s workload, the firm needed a supplier that could problem solve with versatility, speed and imagination. Tente soon proved it could do all three. “If the product wasn’t good enough on its own, I think it’s the service that really sets Tente apart,” Richards says. “Their product knowledge is second to none, they’re never at a loss. And if we get a tough design from a customer, our Tente rep is in our factory the next day with a variety of options on the table. It’s just superior service.” For Batger, the Tente partnership has elevated their range of Australian made furniture not just off the ground, but to new heights. Richards says Tente makes it easy for Batger to offer the quality and flexibility for which they’ve become renowned. “Schools are living entities, you can’t just have big, bulky fixtures that don’t move,” Richards says. “With Tente’s range, we’re able to deliver today’s education furniture needs with quality and style, and at a great price.” Tente Castors & Wheels 1300 836 831 www.tente.com.au
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TENTE CASTORS & WHEELS SPECIAL
TENTE KEEPS WORKSHOPS ROLLING or departments, or logo-branded to reinforce company style. Still within Tente’s safe working process, the Alpha Safety castors are automated so that the ma-chine is mobile until the operating handle is released. This adds to being accidentproof because optimum force is required to operate the handle. With workplace safety an essential, product protection is also guaranteed on all Tente castor equipment. The flexible rubber guards on the castors prevents accidental contact between the us-er’s feet and the wheel. Even on inclinations of fifteen degrees it is efficient while the added steel made guard rail ensures the foot are guided to the side of the wheel. The rubber guards are easily retrofitted on the Delta, Zeta and Kappa family of products, which makes it uncomplicated if you have a mix of different wheels.
For industry, the new normal is about moving forward. Much can be gained by businesses that take the time to create pathways to the future with the fewest obstacles in their workplaces and warehouses. Machine and workshop equipment are often found in rough environments and are themselves heavy loads. To make this machinery mobile takes the heaviest-duty industrial castors and wheels. Global intralogistics leader Tente is focused on providing businesses with options to keep them on the move with benchmark standards. Since 1923, Tente’s range, designs and business practice prioritise safety, ergonomics and efficiency. Tente has made it their mission to produce castors and wheels that ensure that client satisfaction and safety are top priority.
is where much of the action takes place. Problems of warehouse wear and tear are easily avoided if businesses make the right choice when it comes to castors and wheels. Tente has a wide range of made-tomeasure mobility solutions for all rough and heavy load envi-ronments where quickly and safely getting from A to B is the desired outcome. The company’s smartest solution is ‘E-Drive’, a powered drive unit that can effortlessly transport large volumes of goods, improves productivity, enhances staff wellbeing and reduces operating costs all at once.
Businesses can rely on Tente products to be constantly innovating according to industry needs while adhering to the company’s tenets of productivity, durability, design, safety and environment.
The high flexibility and improved ergonomics of the E-Drive make it a breeze to operate. The wheel retracts when in standby mode for improved manual movement, while the system itself can be easi-ly integrated into existing appliances.
In many instances of workplace mobility, the wheels sitting under a machine are largely overlooked, but this
In high load capacities, castors that are wear-resistant have safety locking and break guarantees are a must.
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On busy timelines, the Tente Delta’s precision ball-bearing allows for easy manoeuvra-bility and improved driving stability. Its directional locking device can help both with managing the curves and line driving on long roads. The wheel’s optimized rolling resistance helps relieve the us-er. If high wear is the issue, especially with uneven floors the strong housing construction made from extra sheet steel is where Tente’s Zeta castors can help. There is the added bonus of its low maintenance costs for long use, along with its reinforced directional lock and partially elastic foot protection important against accidents.
The wide range of choices and options found in Tente’s product line make planning for the new normal a cinch. Tente’s castors and wheels are designed to save time, effort, energy and operating expenses. The company’s long track record assures clients that working with Tente means opti-mising efficiency and high profitability without the fuss. As the wheels of change roll on for industry, make sure to include Tente in your next business plan. Contact the experts at Tente and ask for their catalogue, or visit www.tente.com for more information. Tente Castors & Wheels 1300 836 831 www.tente.com.au
In our environmentally intelligent industry, ergonomic design is a priority. Little physical effort and low swivel resistance from the Tente Linea twin wheel castors is important in user-led handle opera-tions. For increased safety, the trolley only rolls when actively operated by user. Another unique factor: the Linea can be colorcoded for transport to certain locations
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MATERIALS HANDLING
SCREW JACK SYSTEMS LIFT THE WEIGHT OFF YOUR SHOULDERS T.E.A. Transmissions’ new range of ZIMM screw jack building block systems has arrived. Revised and expanded to include the innovative ZE range, the application potential of the ZIMM line has substantially increased. The development of screw jack systems has evolved to push, pull, lift, lower and position loads of anything from a few kilos to hundreds of tonnes. Today, screw jacks can be linked mechanically or electronically, and with advances in motion-control, loads can be positioned to within microns. At a time when industry demands cleaner, quieter and more reliable solutions, improvements in gear and screw technology make screw jacks a real alternative to hydraulics. The new ZE ZIMM system is compact and corrosion-protected on all exterior components and housing. The ZIMM 3D/AR App for smartphones and tablets provide a look at the ZE evolution, while the ZIMM Online Configurator allows
users to design their own system. The standard Z and GSZ ZIMM range is also available with a choice of screw jack body sizes and material options that include aluminium, cast iron, stainless steel, plated or specialist bodies. All of the above options are available in either a standing or rotating screw.
T.E.A. has also increased their range of available add-on components, including safety nuts, anti-backlash mechanisms, ball screws, stainless spindles, connecting shafts, lubrication devices, linear measuring and encoding systems.
be provided from one supplier, saving time and costs in design, purchasing and assembly. All of this is backed by ZIMM’s top-flight technical support as required.
Customers benefit from T.E.A.’s versatile screw jack product range and its solutions as complete systems can
T.E.A. Transmissions Pty Ltd 07 4129 2533 www.tea.net.au
An Altrac gantry crane will IMPRO V E S AF E TY CRE AT E B ET TE R WOR K F L O W INCRE AS E P R OD UC T I VI TY But don't believe us - ask our satisfied customers . . . .
Frigrite in VIC added a second cross travel rail to maximise machinery use and avoid buying new equipment.
According to Brikmakers in WA, their Altrac crane increased efficiency by 100%.
Hufcor in VIC have end-to-end factory coverage with no impact on floor space and no need to upgrade the structure.
Contact us or visit our website for a free quote (03) 9796 5300
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www.bomac.com.au/get-a-quote
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REDUCE MAINTENANCE COSTS
ON OVERHEAD CRANES LOAD LIMITERS
ROPE AND CHAIN CRANES AND HOISTS • Helps reduce the risk of accidents • Protects against overloading of crane and supporting structures • Quick and easy installation and available for all capacity cranes • Available preset or easily calibrated on site • Helps reduce maintenance costs • Minimises down time • Automatic reset by reducing the load
CONDUCTOR BAR • • • •
Available in steel & copper Quickly and easily installed Supports required only every 1.5m Also available in a compact cluster range
Liftco Industrial Supplies Pty Ltd
(02) 9829 4411 sales@liftco.com.au www.liftco.com.au liftco@optusnet.com.au www.liftco.com.au
SIDE PULL PREVENTERS / ROPE GUIDE PROTECTOR Prevents side pulling and protects rope guides and drums on most multi-fall cranes & hoist • Prevent dragging of loads • Easily fitted to any crane/hoist • Helps reduce down time
PRODUCTS
HYDRAULIC HOSE LINE POWERS DEMANDING APPS Gates Australia redefines highpressure hydraulic performance with the introduction to the Australian and New Zealand markets of the MegaSys MXG 4K hydraulic hose.
hose, so we tasked our engineers to design a new class of premium hydraulics with the lower weight and flexibility driven by Gates’s next-gen wire-braid technology,” he says.
Qualified to one million impulse cycles, this highly differentiated hose is a lightweight, compact, highly flexible dropin replacement for conventional spiral hoses.
They delivered: the MXG 4K is an industry breakthrough.
Gates XtraTuff Plus cover, a standard upgrade on MXG 4K, offers improved abrasion and ozone resistance, providing improved durability when powering the most demanding fluid power applications. The MXG 4K combines the newest materials with Gates’s advanced processing technologies to create a standout product, says Gates vice president of global product line management Mike Haen. “Our customers’ applications require a lighter weight, more flexible compact
Tested under the same conditions as Gates’s popular EFG4K MegaSpiral hose, the MXG 4K offers 40 per cent more flexibility than conventional spiral hoses; 30 per cent lighter weight; a compact design with an eight per cent reduction in size; and extreme durability and high temperature performance.
routings while delivering additional abrasion resistance and ozone protection,” says Cindy Cookson, director of global product line management for hydraulics.
The XtraTuff Plus cover is engineered to be 25 times more abrasion resistant than Gates’s standard cover, and also provides enhanced ozone resistance.
“MXG 4K provides our OEM clients and distributors, and ultimately the end user, with a new, innovative technology that has the ability to improve equipment performance and overall output while reducing warranty and repairs.”
“Truly a multi-use hose, the MXG 4K serves smaller and more congested hydraulic systems, helping to improve assembly line speeds and achieve tight
MXG 4K is compliant with and exceeds ISO 18752 280DC and SAE 100R19 requirements, exceeds performance criteria of SAE 100R12, EN
856 R12 and ISO 3862 R12; size 16 and also exceeds EN 856 4SP ratings. Importantly, MXG 4K is also MHSA, FRAS and MDG41 certified. MXG 4K is now available for order in Australia and New Zealand. For more information visit www.gatesaustralia.com. au/mxg. Gates Australia 03 9797 9688 www.gatesaustralia.com.au
Select the right drum pump safe and easy to use durable and reliable design harsh chemicals and acids ideal for transferring and decanting Electric, pneumatic and hand-operated drum pumps are available with polypropylene, PVDF and stainless steel tube options for whatever your application requires.
Find the right drum pump with our selector
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1300 1 GLOBAL sales@globalpumps.com.au globalpumps.com.au
JUNE / JULY 2020
The SpecialiSTS in elecTronic DriveS for over 30 yearS The SpecialiSTS in elecTronic DriveS for over 30 yearS
• Repairing of complex electronic boards, including boards that are noboards, longer including supported by vendors • obsolete Repairing of complex electronic boards that are no longer supported systems by vendors • obsolete Design and construction of multi-drive Design and construction of multi-drive systems •• Professional Control Systems Integrators • Professional Control Systems Integrators
• Repairing/retrofitting of electronic AC, DC and • Repairing/retrofitting of electronic AC, DC and servo drives servo drives
•• Laboratory Clean Room Laboratory & & Clean Room
•• Large Stocks Spare Parts Large Stocks of of Spare Parts Australia wide 2424 hour service •• Australia wide hour service
Datafactory Datafactory
Call us on 03 9874 7737 www.datafactory.com.au
Call us on 03 9874 7737 www.datafactory.com.au
ON THE ROAD TO EMISSION FREE BUSES An advanced range of electric buses are set to make Australian roads greener. The Element electric bus from Custom Denning is a pioneer in terms of battery and electric motor technology. It boasts a 16-hour (300km) recharge-free running time, with a full recharge cycle expected to take approximately five hours through standardised chargers and connection points. Australia boasts a long and proud history of bus manufacturing. As part of the Dunn Group, Custom Bus Group Pty Ltd, founded in 1950, is one of the earliest Australian bus and coach manufacturing companies. Now in partnership with Denning Manufacturing after acquisition in 2019, the company has recently expanded its manufacturing facilities at St Marys in Western Sydney. This combination of industry knowledge, experience and engineering technologies ensures Custom Denning now have the capability to design and produce an advanced range of buses that are uniquely built for Australian conditions and also cater to a broader export market.
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Incorporating advanced technology, solid state batteries and other proven electric bus components used by OEMs throughout Europe, the Element electric bus is a revolutionary new project. Documented trials conducted in excess of 300 million kilometres have clearly demonstrated the validity of performance claims and the environmentally friendly advantage of the Element’s batteries. With no nickel, cobalt or harmful solvents, the batteries can be easily disposed of or recycled. The Element bus is manufactured using a lightweight yet extremely robust stainless steel monocoque chassis combined with a ZF undercarriage/driveline to provide a 25-year dynamic service life. Durability and reliability are tested using finite element analysis software to evaluate structural integrity of bus design and safety. The Element manufacturing plant houses the latest state-of-the-art equipment to produce precision laser-cut raw materials with in-house tube and flat lasers along with CNC folding machinery and robotic welding machines.
In addition, Custom Denning have opted to install an energy saving, high performance rotary screw air compressor from Kaishan Australia. The compressor is a KHE 30-8 package with variable speed control, allowing for precise compressed air supply dependant on the processes in use at any time. This saves considerable energy costs when under low and variable demand. The air compressor installation includes all electricals and a large ring piping system newly designed to meet the demands for current production and future expansion requirements. With the Element bus now ready for production, Custom Denning are already
looking to the future. The company is working on an even more advanced model, the Element H2, which will incorporate hydrogen fuel cell technology that increases the electric bus range to 500km before requiring a recharge. The St Marys plant now has the capability to roll out up to 25 buses per month with the new upgrades designed to accommodate production of the new Electric and Hydrogen fuel cell buses from 2020 onwards. Kaishan Australia 1300 098 901 www.kaishan.com.au
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LATERAL THINKING
THEY SAID IT.. The best industry and political quotes of the past and present: “It’s not over. It’s not over until there is no virus anywhere in the world.” Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson on the worldwide loosening of restrictions as COVID-19 cases decline “There’s nothing I’d rather do than get rid of my whole Twitter account.” Donald Trump, US President
“It’s certainly something that I never wanted to see happen in Australia ever again. I really didn’t want to see a recession ever again.” Scott Morrison, Prime Minister “I call on all organisations not to interact with citizens from Melbourne at this stage.” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian reacts to Victoria’s seventh straight day of double-digit coronavirus infections in late June.
“The greatest prime minister Australian never had.” A caller’s take on Alan Jones during the shock jock’s final program
“The greatest failing would be to not learn from the crisis and to leave the world in the same vulnerable state it was in before.” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
“Yes.” Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s one-word reply when asked in June if Australia was already in recession.
“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” Henry Ford, US automotive industrialist
1. King Henry VIII gave his wife a bottomless container to put flesh and blood in. What did he give her? 2. What is the third hand on a watch or clock called? 3. If you were to put a coin into an empty bottle and then insert a cork into the neck, how could you remove the coin without taking out the cork or breaking the bottle?
NEXT ISSUE
“I’ve sought to dismantle coronavirus hysteria by sticking to the facts.” Alan Jones
TEABREAK TRIVIA
4. In how many films did Sir Roger Moore play secret agent James Bond? 5. Where would you find Lasseter’s Reef? 6. William S. Preston, Esquire and Theodore Logan are better known as which cinematic duo? 1: Gallipoli landing and the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. 1: Apiphobia. 2: The V-shaped formation of hair in the middle of the forehead is known as a widow’s peak. 3: The Appian Way. 4: Seven. 5: You wouldn’t. The gold-rich reef was said to exist somewhere in the MacDonnell Ranges of Central Australia but has never been found. 6: Bill and Ted, of Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey fame. 7: Bruce Lee. 8: London. 9: Five. 10: The 1920s. Teabreak Trivia
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9. How many “canonical” victims died at the hands of Victorian-era serial killer Jack the Ripper? 10. In what decade did the first industrial hard hats enter mass production?
Australian manufacturing has been on a roller-coaster ride throughout 2020, but the final destination remains unclear. “Is industry poised to make a massive domestic comeback?” – the question is on more than a few minds as the economic impact of coronavirus continues.
focus on test and measurement: weighing, sensors and instruments. And if all that’s not enough, we’ll get down and dirty with fluid controls, pumps, pipes and valves.
In the August/September edition of Industry Update, we’ll don our masks and gloves to take a look at industrial cleaning products. With a second wave of COVID-19 on the horizon, keeping (industrially) clean is a good idea.
On top of that, there’s the usual segments on Business, Finance and Marketing, Education and Training, Workplace Safety, Security, Waste Management and Machinery, Metalworking and Machine Tools. See you then.
We’ll make room for a series of features that will explore what’s up (and down) in the world of compressors and pneumatics, we’ll put our ears to the ground for an industrial flooring special, and we’ll break out the tape measures and metre rulers to
If you’d like to be a part of our August edition, call Scott or Glyn about advertising on 02 9439 1288, or send your editorial to editor@industryupdate. com.au before Friday, 7th August. It’s always good to have a deadline.
ANSWERS
3. Which of the most strategically important roads in Ancient Rome was known as “the queen of the long roads”?
8. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott was born in which international city?
Lateral Thinking
2. Where would you be most likely to see a “widow’s peak”?
7. Which famous martial artist made “using no way as way” his philosophy?
1: A ring for her finger. 2: The second hand. 3: Simply push the cork into the bottle and shake the coin out.
1. Which phobia is the fear of bees?
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Industries
Water and wastewater
Building materials
Chemical
Energy
Mining and metal processing
Oil and gas offshore
Paper industry
Food industry
Pharmaceutical industry
Refining and petrochemical
Ship and yacht building
Environment and recycling
Cement Industry
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Phone: 1800 817 135 E-mail: info.au@vega.com Website: www.vega.com/au
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One radar sensor for liquids.