Manufacturers' Monthly June 2012

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ANALYSIS >> TECHNOLOGY >> SOLUTIONS

Est. 1961

June 2012

Print Post Approved PP255003/00324

The next generation in Operator Terminals

INSIDE Industry News & Comment >> Guide to Government Grants >> Industry Opinion >> New Products >> IT@MM - Mobile Technology >> Motors & Drives >> Materials Handling

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS 2012 >> Winners Anounced

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Publisher Martin Sinclair martin.sinclair@reedbusiness.com.au Acting Editor Alan Johnson Ph: (02) 9422 2325 Fax (02) 9422 2722 alan.johnson@reedbusiness.com.au Deputy Editor Annie Dang Ph: (02) 9422 2964 Fax (02) 9422 2722 annie.dang@reedbusiness.com.au Journalist Angela Welsh Ph: (02) 9422 2898 Fax (02) 9422 2722 angela.welsh@reedbusiness.com.au Graphic Designer Ronnie Lawrence ronald.lawrence@reedbusiness.com.au Creative Director Julie Coughlan Production Co-ordinator Mary Copland Ph: (02) 9422 2738 mary.copland@reedbusiness.com.au VIC/Overseas Sales Michael Northcott PO Box 3069 Eltham VIC 3095 Ph: 0448 077 247 michael.northcott@reedbusiness.com.au NSW Sales Anthony Head Tower 2, 475 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW 2067.

Ph: (02) 9422 2368 Fax: (02) 9422 2722 Mobile: 0414 644 664 anthony.head@reedbusiness.com.au QLD Sales Sharon Amos PO Box 3136, Bracken Ridge QLD 4017 Ph: (07) 3261 8857 Fax: (07) 3261 8347 Mobile: 0417 072 625 sharon.amos@reedbusiness.com.au NSW, SA/NT & WA Sales Reed Business Information Ph: (02) 9422 2368 anthony.head@reedbusiness.com.au Head Office Tower 2, 475 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood NSW 2067 Locked Bag 2999 Chatswood DC Chatswood 2067 Ph: (02) 9422 2999 Fax: (02) 9422 2966 Published 11 times a year Subscriptions $140.00 per annum. (inc GST) Overseas prices applyPh: 1300 360 126 Printed by Geon Impact Printing 69 – 79 Fallon Street, Brunswick VIC 3056 Ph: (03) 9387 7477

Inside

For daily news visit manmonthly.com.au

JUNE 2012

4 Editorial Q It’s

the carbon tax that’s toxic.

24

6 Comment Q Budget

doesn’t add up for

industry.

16

10 Analysis News Q Lighter,

greener cars on the

way.

Q Doubts on car parts future.

14 Management Q Government

grants: free

money.

16 IT@MM Q The

age of the app.

Q Starting small with a digital revolution.

Q Handheld computer.

20 What’s New Q Latest

products for Australian manufacturers.

Q Accelerometer for industrial vibration monitoring.

Q Dual high-temperature cabinet cooler systems.

Q Heavy duty triple scissor table.

manmonthly.com.au

ANALYSIS >> TECHNOLOGY >> SOLUTIONS

Est. 1961

June 2012

Print Post Approved PP255003/00324

ABN 80 132 719 861 Average Net Distribution Period ending September 11 15,273 ISSN 0025-2530

INSIDE Industry News & Comment >> Guide to Government Grants >> Industry Opinion >> New Products >> IT@MM - Mobile Technology >> Motors & Drives >> Materials Handling

24 Endeavour Awards 2012 Q Manufacturer

of the Year

revealed.

Q Winners of all 13 categories announced Q Australian Manufacturing’s Dick Warburton calls on Government to do more.

50 Motors & Drives Q Improving

ENDEAVOUR AWARDS 2012 >> Winners Anounced

Q Better

performing electric drives.

Q Positioning controller.

Q Shock resistant encoders.

54 Materials Handling Q Pallet

trucks for hard-wearing applications.

Q Robotic palletising package.

Q Heavy duty triple scissor table.

motor efficiency

Behind the cover The new GT14 from Mitsubishi Electric sets new performance benchmarks for 5.7” panel-mount terminals.

The colour version boasts a TFT screen displaying 65,536 colours for enhanced clarity instead of the 256 colours more typical at its price-point.

The monochrome version employs an STN screen offering 16 grey scales.

Both offer features such as long-life LED backlighting, screen resolution of

The next generation in Operator Terminals

50

Homart Pharmaceuticals - Endeavours Manufacturer of the Year for 2012.

320 x 240 pixels, analogue touch functions, front-face USB port, an SD card slot, and IP67f front panel sealing.

Another key feature is its advanced communications options. RS232, RS422/485 and Ethernet ports are included as standard.

For more information visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com.au

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Website: www.profilecuttingsystems.com Manufacturers’ Monthly JUNE 2012 3

Editorial

ALAN JOHNSON – Editor

editor@manmonthly.com.au

It’s the carbon tax that’s toxic Next month sees the introduction of one of most absurd taxes in Australia; one that will damage our industry and lower our standard of living for absolutely no benefit to the environment.

W

ITH this the last issue of Manufacturers’ Monthly before the introduction of the carbon tax, I cannot let this opportunity pass to highlight how damaging this absurd tax will be on Australia’s economy, and our manufacturing industry in particular.

One only has to look at the history books to realise the earth is in a continual state of change, and no matter how much spin the Gillard team put on it, carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound; it is not a pollutant or toxic, it is colourless and odourless.

Even if we accept that manmade carbon dioxide does have some influence on climate change, I fail to see how the introduction of a carbon tax in Australia will have any effect on world-wide carbon dioxide levels. The figures just don’t add up.

Australia contributes about 1.5% of global carbon emissions, and that includes man-made and natural production (the vast bulk).

If we closed every power station in Australia, took every car, truck and bus in Australia off the road, and grounded all aircraft, the reduction in carbon dioxide levels would still be less than the forecasted growth (not

This is how carbon dioxide is portrayed by the Gillard Government, but in reality the gas is colourless and odourless, as well as being non-polluting and non-toxic.

the total, just the growth) in China’s output of carbon dioxide every year.

Interestingly, China is currently the number one producer in the world of wind and solar power systems. But they don’t use them. While they manufacture 80% of the world’s solar panels, they install less than 5% of them.

Instead China builds a new coal fired power station every week. In just one year they

turn on more new coal powered electricity than Australia’s total output.

What does Gillard and her team of fraudsters think happens to all those tonnes of coal being shipped to China. They are not buying it because they like the taste of it – they will use it to make cheap electricity for their people and industry. Exactly what Australia should be doing.

Basically, the carbon tax will have zero effect on global carbon

dioxide emissions, instead it is a tax on everything, as higher energy costs flow through the economy. It’s a massive exercise in tax churning and will introduce a new layer of complexity to the economy.

It’s not as if the federal government has a good record in delivering large-scale interventions, think pink batts, school revolution etc etc etc.

The tax represents a massive transfer of wealth and power to the bureaucratic class which benefits most from a new labyrinth of compliance and compulsion. ,Q WKH ORQJ UXQ KRXVHKROGV ZLOO SD\ DOPRVW WKH HQWLUH FDUERQ SULFH DV EXVL QHVVHV HLWKHU FORVH WKHLU GRRUV RU SDVV FDUERQ FRVWV WKURXJK WR WKH XVHUV RI WKHLU SURGXFWV For manufacturing it’s another dagger in the competitiveness of our industry, especially when our trading partners have rejected or delayed indefinitely a carbon tax.

Australia must be the laughing stock of all our competitors around the world, as they watch us throw away one our biggest competitive advantages.

This is a toxic tax and must be repealed.

Please let me know your thoughts, email alan.johnson@ reedbusiness.com.au.

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Comment

INNES WILLOX – CEO Australian Industry Group

editor@manmonthly.com.au

Budget doesn’t add up for industry The Government’s promise to deliver a surplus in 2012-13 will come at a considerable cost to industry.

T

HE Federal Government has put a strong emphasis on boosting consumption by households in the short term, but a number of measures – in particular the abandonment of the commitment to cut the company tax rate – will undermine businesses’ ability to boost productivity and growth over the longer term.

Manufacturers are undoubtedly among those that will see the scrapping of the company tax cut, which was to be financed from the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, as a major blow.

It will reduce incentives to invest and innovate and is a particular setback for those businesses in non-mining tradeexposed industries.

Manufacturers need to be able to invest in lifting productivity to overcome the impacts of the

6 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

strong Australian dollar, weaker global demand and the impending carbon tax.

The lack of commitment from both sides of politics to reach a consensus on business tax reform is deeply disappointing, as Australia clearly needs an agreed long-term path to substantially lift the competitiveness of the business tax system.

The Government sought to soften the blow of failing to deliver the 1% company tax cut by giving incorporated businesses the ability to claim back tax losses against previous profits, with effect from 2013.

This will be worth an estimated $713m over four years, but its impact will primarily be felt in the later years and it will not provide immediate relief.

There were also a number of other positive developments for

industry to take from the 201213 Budget announcement, these included initiatives in the areas of skills, education and training, a commitment to a higher permanent immigration intake of 190,000, and initiatives to boost skills excellence and manufacturing innovation.

Higher education, vocational training, education and workforce participation programs were largely quarantined from cuts.

The participation of older workers was highlighted, and general workforce participation will be encouraged by raising the tax free threshold for low income earners.

A $54m package investing in initiatives to boost student enrolments in maths and science and the professional development of teachers is a welcome develop-

ment, as escalating skills shortages in these core subject areas are having a significant impact on a broad range of industry sectors.

Further, $29.8m has been allocated over four years for the establishment of a Manufacturing Technology Innovation Centre (MITC) to better link business capability, innovation and commercialisation.

The MITC will create networks with manufacturers, industry bodies and research organisations to improve business performance through utilising new technologies, business processes and technical knowledge.

However, manufacturers will certainly be concerned by the significant cuts that have been made to defence spending, especially delays to the JSF.

manmonthly.com.au

EFIC DID MORE THAN FINANCE OUR CONTRACT

THEY ENABLED IT. Cory Stevens, Managing Director, Lean Field Developments

When we won the contract to be part of the supply chain to the massive Queensland Curtis LNG project, we were delighted. This was an opportunity to further establish our track record and reputation within the oil and gas industry in Australia.

However, like other suppliers, we were required to provide performance bonds in support of our contractual obligations. We also needed to ensure that we had access to additional working capital for other contracts. Yet, as a company without a long

trading history in Australia, we couldn’t get sufficient bonding or bank finance for our needs.

Luckily we knew in which direction to turn. With the support of EFIC’s export working capital guarantee and bonds, we were able to meet the financial requirements and demonstrate our company’s ability to take on such challenging projects.

Overcoming financial barriers for exporters Visit efic.gov.au/mm

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AnalysisNEWS

Doubts on car parts future

By Madeline Prince

T

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10 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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HE recent receivership of APV Automotive Components and CMI’s factory lock-out due to unpaid rent has highlighted the uncertain future of the automotive parts industry in Australia and the need to adapt to the new economic climate.

The automotive components manufacturing sector is an industry under threat from the high Australian dollar, high wages and the balancing act between the unions and employers.

In early April, APV Automotive Components went into receivership after a planned restructure was blocked by workers on the advice of Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. They could not agree on a proposal for a voluntary redundancy scheme.

After two weeks of negotiations, the outcome was a positive one of sorts with customers Toyota, Ford and Holden all agreeing to an increase in pricing and compulsory purchase over the short term and 34 workers opted to take a voluntary redundancy package, meaning the company is again operating, but under receivers.

Stephen Longley, the receiver from PPB Advisory, said that other manufacturing companies, particularly in the automotive industry will need to adapt to the changing economic climate by diversifying and looking globally or risk a similar fate to that of APV. “Look at who you’re selling to and what are the risks in that relationship. If you don’t have the strength in the relationship, like a lot of suppliers don’t, then you need to diversify that risk by

Australia’s once vibrant automotive parts industry now under threat.

looking into other industry segments or sectors or geographic areas,” Longley told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

He said that the power struggle not only exists in the automotive parts supply chain but that many businesses are faced with the burden of redundancy costs, while employees face an uncertain employment future.

“The challenge for employees is how long it takes for them to get another job. If they agree to a redundancy entitlement originally up front, then why would they want to re-negotiate it?”

Longley asked.

He pointed out that the government now has in place a payment scheme for businesses who cannot pay the full redundancy in the form of the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS).

The scheme is designed to create a safety net for employees, however Longley says that it could be to the detriment of businesses as employees may “hold out” for the full redundancy paid by the government rather than negotiate a lesser amount in order for the business to stay in operation.

Longley believes more help should be offered to failing companies in order to keep the industry within Australia.

“The government should help businesses fund a reduction in employees, help them fund redundancies without them having to go broke to get that funding.

“And secondly help companies look at internal consolidation and organisation, and technology to make the businesses more efficient, more globally competitive.

“Without that sort of two pronged approach, many of our businesses are not going to be able to go the distance in a global automotive manufacturing landscape,” he said.

Richard Reilly Chief Executive of the Federation of Auto Parts Manufacturing says that diversifying and looking overseas will the key to longevity within in the sector.

“Automotive parts manufacturers’ have to look globally, they have to be as competitive as they can and there are a range of challenges around that,” Reilly said.

As this issue goes to print, APV Automotive Components is currently for sale. manmonthly.com.au

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AnalysisNEWS Lighter, greener cars on the way

By Hartley Henderson

E

SCALATING prosperity in China is leading to an increasing demand for automotive mobility, and a focus on more sustainable vehicles.

The company’s CEO of Greater China, Martin Kraemer, points out that China is now the biggest automobile market in the world and that the Chinese government has set ambitious goals to promote energy conservation and efficient utilisation of resources.

“Government targets include a reduction in CO2 emissions per unit of GDP of 40 to 45%, and 5 million electric vehicles are expected on the road by 2020. In particular, by reducing the weight of vehicles, electric mobility can be made more practical,” Kraemer said.

“We have developed Durethan and Pocan high-tech plastics to allow designers to reduce the weight of vehicles, and invented plastic-metal hybrid technology to replace metal in car parts. Other innovations include the development of rubber to make ‘green tyres’ that reduce rolling resistance and provide fuel savings of up to 7%.”

According to Kraemer, the

Exciting new plastic-metal hybrid technology set to replace metal in car parts.

rolling resistance of tyres is an important issue in China and there are plans to significantly increase the percentage of high performance tyres on the road.

“Lanxess rubber products are used to produce tyres with reduced rolling resistance. In Europe, tyre labelling will soon be mandatory to show the extent that tyres contribute to the fuel consumption, safety and noise emission of the car, and this could also be introduced in China,” he said.

Composite sheet hybrid According to Dr. Christof Krogmann, Lanxess’s VP AsiaPacific for Semi- Crystalline Products, innovative polyamide composite sheet hybrid technology is an ideal alternative to metal or carbon fibre thermosets.

“We see enormous potential for polyamide composite sheet hybrid technology, such as electric vehicles. It makes cars lighter, yet still offers sufficiently high strength,” he said.

“Possible applications include engine bearings, door structures, pedals, front ends, and seat cross members. The world’s first brake pedals made of polyamide reduce weight by 50%, while the weight of airbag housing is cut by more than 30% and sidewall

thickness is reduced to less than 1mm.

“There is also a trend to smaller turbo charged engines with less weight but more power that run at higher temperatures and require heat resistant plastics.

We have developed a wide range of pseudoplastic polyamide grades for blow-molded parts in engine air-management systems.

“Advanced polyamide technology is one of the keys to smaller, more efficient and more powerful engines. By replacing metal components, products such as Durethan and Pocan make cars lighter and thus contribute to fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

“In addition, these advanced products enable carmakers and car parts suppliers to achieve considerable savings through easier assembly.”

Lanxess is also developing nontoxic chemicals for automotive parts, including Macrolex dyes to colour parts such as taillights and signal lights, thereby avoiding the use of heavy metals that were used in the past.

The company also has a strong focus on biodegradability with development of the third generation of biopolymers, which involves a shift towards biobased raw materials.

For further information go to www.lanxess.cn

Sharp fall in manufacturing activity in April

By John Allen

A

USTRALIA’S manufacturing fell sharply in April according to the latest Australian Industry Group – PwC Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) with the seasonally adjusted index dropping 5.6 points to 43.9 in the month (readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity with the distance from 50 indicative of the strength of the decrease).

The basic metals, textiles and wood products and furniture 12 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

sub-sectors recorded the largest falls while construction materials and paper, printing & publishing expanded in April.

Employment (46.1) and production levels (43.9) across manufacturing moved into negative territory in April while new orders (42.0) fell further.

Australian Industry Group Chief Executive, Innes Willox, said while it is a reading of only one month, the steep fall in manufacturing activity in April rings true and is of serious concern.

“The fall in theAustralian PMI

is consistent with what we are hearing from Ai Group members and a range of other data.

“Manufacturers continue to be adversely affected by the strong dollar, comparatively high unit labour costs and rising energy prices.

“Production, employment and new orders all fell sharply in April pointing again to the importance of lower interest rates both in reducing borrowing costs and in easing pressures on the currency,” Willox said.

Only two of the 12 subsectors recorded an expansion in activ-

ity: Paper, printing and publishing (59.2) and construction materials (64.3).

The strong Australian dollar, softer demand, import competition and the impending carbon tax were once again cited as factors affecting manufacturing growth.

The new orders index was 6.2 points weaker at 42.0 in April.

While wages (58.3) and input costs (60.9) continued to rise in the month, selling prices (44.3) continued to decline as evidence of further narrowing of manufacturer’s profit margins. manmonthly.com.au

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AnalysisMANGEMENT Government grants: free money With Federal and State Government grants for manufacturing companies ranging from $20,000 to $10m the effort put into applying for a grant can be well rewarded. Alan Johnson reports.

T

APPING into the billions of dollars available in Federal and State Government Grant funding can appear daunting at first glance, but for the dedicated business owner or manager that has set their sights on business growth the pain is worth the gain.

There are numerous Federal and State Government grants and incentive schemes that can help Australian manufacturers.

The following are just some of the many available: R&D Tax Incentive is designed to encourage companies to engage in R&D in Australia. It has two core components: * a 45% refundable tax offset (equivalent to a 150% deduction) to eligible entities with an

14 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

J Smith & Sons used $20,000 of Enterprise Connect funding to engage management consultants to help the company develop and execute a strategic plan for its manufacturing.

aggregated turnover of less than $20m per annum • a non-refundable 40% tax offset (equivalent to 133% deduction) to all other eligible entities.

Commercialisation Australia is available to organisations that are about to commercialise new

products and services. It helps companies access: • Skills and knowledge - up to $50,000 to access specialist advice and services.

• Experienced executives - up to $350,000 to engage a CEO or other senior executive.

• Proof of concept funding

- $50,000 to $250,000 to prove the commercial viability of new Intellectual Property.

• Early stage commercialisation funding - $50,000 to $2m to take a new product, service or process to market.

Enterprise Connect aims to support SMEs transform and grow their businesses by helping them: • Receive a free business review by a skilled business adviser.

• Access up to $20,000 funding to engage consultants to help improve business performance.

• Access up to $50,000 in dollar-for-dollar funding to help develop an idea with commercial potential.

• Connect with experts that

manmonthly.com.au

can solve technology and knowledge issues for their business.

Clean Energy Future Plan provides competitive, merit based grants to help manufacturers improve energy and/or carbon efficiencies of their production processes, facilities and/or products.

It includes the recently announced $800m Clean Technology Investment Program and the $200m Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program.

ICN (Industry Capability Network) is a not-for-profit organisation and offers Australian manufacturers and suppliers the opportunity to get involved with major new projects in Australia and overseas, with no cost to the business or its suppliers.

Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) is the national body responsible for workforce development in manufacturing and acts as a broker for many of the government’s funded initia-

tives. It works with companies to determine what their skill needs are, what options are available to address them, and how solutions can target manufacturing workforce issues.

Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) is the Federal Government’s export credit agency and provides finance and insurance solutions to help Australian exporters overcome the financial barriers they face when growing their businesses overseas.

The organisation can assist companies to secure finance for export trade when their bank is unable to provide all the support they need, and can work directly with exporters or with their banks to provide loans, guarantees, bonds and insurance products for large and small exporters.

Tips Develop a Grant Funding Strategy - Different grants apply to different stages of the

product development or business lifecycle. Proactively targeting government grants for different stages of your business may give you the leverage you need to finance product development and business transformation projects.

Get to know the agency that administers the grant Building a relationship with the Government agency helps you tailor your application and demonstrate how your project can help the agency meet its objectives.

Successful applicant In 2009, Peter Birch, financial controller of J Smith & Sons, a Queensland truck manufacturing business, was pleasantly surprised when his application for an Enterprise Connect Business Review took less than 20 minutes to complete.

Within 24 hours his application had been approved and an Enterprise Connect Business Adviser commenced work on a

strategic review of the business.

The company used the $20,000 of Enterprise Connect funding to engage management consultants BDO (Qld) to help the company develop and execute a strategic plan for its manufacturing and engineering companies.

Birch said the process provided a range of valuable benefits for the company.

“One of the outcomes of the strategic plan was to streamline our manufacturing processes and we have reduced operational costs by up to 10% as a result,” Birch said.

The company has successfully secured more than $100,000 in grant funding over the past two years from various agencies.

AusIndustry 132 846, www.ausindustry.gov.au BDO 07 3237 5999, jeremy.hayllar@bdo.com.au DEEWR 1300 363 079, www.deewr.gov.au EFIC 1800 093 724, www.efic.gov.au Enterprise Connect 131 791, www.enterpriseconnect.gov.au ICN 1300 961 139, www.icn.org.au MSA 1800 358 458, www.mskills.com.au

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Manufacturers’ Monthly JUNE 2012 15

TechnologyIT@MM Brittain-White said.

Retriever Communications develops software that is compatible with different mobile operating systems.

Manufacturers can either purchase these apps to use on their existing mobile devices, or go for devices already loaded with manufacturing software.

Location important

Manufacturers can use PDAs and smartphones to receive productivity and logistics reports remotely.

The age of the app Manufacturers can use mobile apps to improve their processes, hook consumers and increase user experience, writes Sarah Falson.

I

N ten years time, the word ‘app’ won’t be exclusive to Generation Y and their mobile phones. Smart manufacturers will use apps on smartphones, PDAs and tablet computers to improve business operations, increase customer experience and attract new business opportunities.

Already, manufacturing executives and operations management can use mobile apps (‘applications’, or software) remotely to gain critical insights into their production processes,

perform inspection and maintenance tasks, receive productivity and logistics reports.

However, uptake has been relatively slow and, according to Mary Brittain-White, co-founder and chief executive officer of Retriever Communications, this is due to cost, ease-of-use, and an understanding of the benefits of incorporating the technology in to existing operations. “Every manufacturer is different but some of the roles that benefit most from mobile devices include quality inspec-

tors, inventory managers, and engineers fixing equipment in factories or on customer sites. “However, I would emphasis the quality and compliance capability as it is very quick to implement and has a fast payback in reduced reworks and paperwork for safety compliance,� she told Manufacturers’ Monthly. “Mobile technology will also encourage intercompany communication and knowledge sharing in the manufacturing industry, and bridge silos in the production and maintenance life cycle,�

Tony Repaci, MD of Intermec Australia and NZ, says manufacturers should first identify where they will use the mobile device – such as the warehouse – and then identify what features they require, for example barcoding, scanning and printing. “The primary areas that the warehouse is looking for mobile improvement are for: increased accuracy and productivity; data capture at the point of the transaction or process; reduced operating costs; increased customer satisfaction; improved workforce morale and safety; and revenue growth,� he told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

Brittain-White agrees that starting simple is the best policy, and advises manufacturers investing in software to look for a system that is above all easyto-use. “It’s paramount that mobile applications are well designed, easy to use, fit for purpose, and end user friendly. Field technicians should be able to have a solution that reflects their company’s processes and customer needs, not some software vencontinued on page 18

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TechnologyIT@MM Starting small with a digital revolution

DEMATIC has released a new handheld computer, the Psion Omnii XT15. It is fully modular, so components can be exchanged as advancements are developed and has the ability to withstand a 1.25 Joule impact breakage.

The computer features an accelerometer, GPS and digital compass, which provide screen rotation, data geo-tagging, compass calibration detection and motion sense capabilities. The unit comes equipped with a range of high-performance sensitive scanners, supported by a battery that can last up to 20 hours. The unit is designed to be held in one hand, and its display is visible even in dark environments.

process, each staff member is required to initial a QA document to confirm that the proc-

ess they are responsible for has been completed.

With U-Docs, this document could then be scanned and archived based on a unique identifier such as serial number, batch number or manufacture date, and archived for easy retrieval later. The time saved by such a simple system allows staff to focus on other tasks.

Another area of constant concern to manufacturers is the freight process and accurate tracking of goods. Our solutions, for instance, allow customers to create their own proof of delivery documents and inset a unique tracking barcode. * Matthew Coad is Solutions Services Manager with Upstream Print Solutions.

consider mobile devices and apps in their own processes, but also how they can use them to improve user experience and attract new customers.

An example of a vendor taking advantage of mobile use is Nissan, with its smartphone app that allows LEAF drivers to be in direct contact with their electric vehicle at all times to check vital data including battery status.

When using apps to attract new business however, manufacturers need to look not only at how customers use apps, but also at their own web presence and how effective their marketing is.

Though this is arguably the role of marketers, the reality is that managers of SMEs often

wear multiple hats, including MD, operations management and marketing.

A recent study, ‘Telsyte Australian Smartphone Market Study 2011-2015’, estimates that 10 million Australians would purchase smartphones between 2011 and 2015, taking the total number of smartphone users to 18.5 million.

Another study by IPSOS Research on behalf of Google found that Australia has the second highest global smartphone usage, above the US and the UK in terms of mobile use per person.

They also found that one in three internet searches is used to find local businesses, which is especially significant for SMEs.

However, 80% of Australian businesses don’t have mobileoptimised websites, and many think having an app alone is all they need for a successful mobile strategy, the survey found.

One example of how mobile technology can increase sales is a mobile advertising technique using QR – or Quick Response – barcodes, which consumers can ‘scan’ using a mobile phone and are then automatically transferred to a vendor or manufacturer website, where they can receive more information about the advertised product or service.

By Matthew Coad*

WHILE many manufacturers understand the need to improve the productivity of their operations, few know the best place to start. For many manufacturers, taking small steps to improve productivity is often more beneficial and achievable.

One area that is often ignored by the manufacturing sector is the adoption of digital technology. One such product the recently released U-Docs, designed to help manufacturers get documents where they need to be faster.

One such example is the quality assurance necessary on a production line. As a product moves through a manufacturing

continued from page 16 dor’s idea of a standard service process that their competition may also use,” she said.

“Also we recommended native applications as they can utilise the device’s features such as camera, barcode/RFID scanner, screen rotation, GPS, and gestures (e.g. flicking) – they are quicker and have no reliance on mobile connectivity availability.

“Last but not least, some businesses pursue the idea of the perfect mobile app. They overengineer and thus create unnecessary complexity rather than starting simple,” Brittain-White said.

Industry take-up Manufacturers should not only

Handheld computer

The most cost effective system involves a combination of both digital and paper-based systems.

Dematic 02 9486 5503 www.dematic.com.au

Retriever Communications 02 9006 8600, www.retrievercommunications.com Intermec 02 9330 4400, www.intermec.com.au

Hydraulic components to complete packages Six companies merged to provide your hydraulics needs: gear pumps, piston pumps, monoblock to proportional valves, piston motors to suit gearboxes and more. Call us NOW for details.

Phone 1300 657 771 18 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Email sales@brevini.com.au

www.brevini.com.au manmonthly.com.au

There’s nothing like A ustralia to inspire the world’s grea te st minds

I was proud to host our global congress in Australia, especially as it was the first time it had been held in the Asia-Pacific.

The congress was the perfect platform to showcase exciting new developments from our Australian research teams. It was also an opportunity for our young professionals to meet with experts and build working partnerships.

Being the congress host was a once in a lifetime experience. It was a great way to build networks with our international colleagues and we’ll be talking about it for years to come.

Dr David Williams Head of Organising Committee Visit businessevents.australia.com/associations for everything you need to plan your Australian event.

What’sNew See more new products at manmonthly.com.au

Cost-efficient compressors COMPRESSED Air and Power Solutions (CAPS) Australia has launched an extended range of Conquest compressors. The available range includes versions with singlephase electric motors up to 3hp and 3-phase motors of 5, 7.5, 10 and 15hp. Petrol motor compressors range between 5.5 and 20hp, along with a 14 hp diesel model.

The fuel-driven compressors are

designed for use in truck mounted applications, or in remote areas, where electricity is not available.

The extended range also includes one model with a unique vertical design which was developed for workplaces with a need for air tools, but with only access to single-phase power.

Full body harnesses for fall protection CAPITAL Safety Australia has released of its new DELTA II Fall Protection Full Body Harness Range, the next generation harness in the popular Delta style.

The new range includes enhanced features typically only available on the company’s premium models. It incorporates the patented No-Tangle design, stand-up spring loaded dorsal D-ring, velcro-covered label pack that protects the new permanent indented print labels.

20 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

The fuel-driven compressors can be used in vehicle-mounted applications or in remote areas.

CAPS Australia 08 6250 9800 www.capsaust.com.au

The harnesses include quick connect buckles for fast and efficient donning, and REPEL technology webbing that provides superior abrasion resistance, repels liquids and is naturally self-cleaning.

A rip-stitch impact indicator allows the user to quickly and easily inspect the harness and identify if it has been involved in a fall.

Capital Safety 1800 245 002 www.deltaII.capitalsafety.com.au

Food-grade lubricants FUCHS has updated its Cassida range of food-grade lubricants to minimise the risk of contamination due to human error.

The updated product range features a clean, white appearance to differentiate it from other non-food grade products.

Grease cartridges and aerosols in the product range will now be colour-coded based on application. The changes aim to clearly differentiate the different greases for different applications in the

food, beverage and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries.

The distinctive labelling is designed to minimise the risk of a fitter or a technical assistant picking up the wrong grease cartridge or grease gun and filling a lubrication point with the wrong grease.

It allows manufacturers to integrate the Cassida colour system into their HACCP policy program.

Fuchs 1800 180 013 www.fuchs.com.au

manmonthly.com.au

Accelerometer for industrial vibration monitoring METROMATICS has announced the Dytran model 3059A, a low profile IEPE accelerometer designed to monitor the vibration of rotating machinery and other equipment.

The instrument features a throughhole 1/4-28 mount and radial 2-pin MIL-C-5015 connector. This configuration allows the sensor to be turned 360° prior to securing

during installation.

The accelerometer incorporates a ceramic shear sensing element packaged in a rugged, stainless steel housing. The low-end frequency response of 0.5Hz and effective low noise performance mean that the device can accurately monitor the vibration of slowly rotating machinery. Units are hermetically sealed for reliable opera-

Centrifugal turbo blower

The accelerometer is available with a sensitivity of 100 mV/g.

tion in high humidity and dirty environments, and are internally case-isolated to avoid EMI/ground loop interference.

Metromatics 07 3868 4255 www.metromatics.com.au

Heavy duty triple scissor table ACTISAFE has made available to Australian industry its new heavy duty triple scissor table for safe lifting of merchandise and work items.

The company has developed this product as an answer to the call for

safer vertical transport of items specifically for those users who need to pick and place stock to and from fairly high level racking. Being a triple scissor table, this unit can achieve heights of up to three metres and is operated by

a hand-held remote control.

All the moving parts are enclosed by an expandable safety skirt to ensure nobody is exposed to the hardware.

Actisafe 1300 852 397 www.actisafe.com.au

Mobile half-frame bulk bag discharger FLEXICON has released the Mobile Half-Frame Bulk Bag Unloader with multi-purpose hopper. The unit allows material to be discharged from bulk bags, manually tipped from sacks, and

conveyed to downstream processes and storage vessels dust free. The system minimises weight and achieves a low centre of gravity by eliminating upper frame components, relying

instead on the user’s forklift or plant hoist to suspend the bag above the unit during operation.

Flexicon 1300 353 942 www.flexicon.com.au

GARDNER Denver has launched a new range of centrifugal turbo blowers. The high-speed single-stage centrifugal blowers are suitable for waste water treatment plants.

The turbo blowers are fitted with a variable speed drive as standard for optimised system efficiency. The use of frequency inverter technology aims to ensure the turbo blower only produces the actual compressed air required at any given time.

According to the manufacturers, meeting compressed air demand reduces the energy consumed and wear to the motor, optimising energy usage and enhancing the lifetime of the blower.

With sound emissions as low as 75dBA, the blowers create minimal vibrations and run oil-free, making them an environmentally responsible option. The blowers have no wearing parts. Only the filter mats require periodic replacement.

Gardner Denver 03 9212 5800 www.gardnerdenver.com.au

THIS MONTH’S PRODUCT FEATURE IS THE VACUUM LIFTER JUMBO FLEX 35

The vacuum lifter that can lift and move a huge range of products weighing up to 35kg and can handle boxes, bags, sacks, rolls of film and many other items as well.

Lifting, lowering and releasing of the load are controlled with a single trigger action on the operator control handle, this handle is also suited for both left and right handed operation

Millsom’s also have a great range of vacuum lifters capable of lifting up to 2000kg and jib cranes, bridge cranes and low friction track systems to suit most applications.

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www.millsom.com.au email - sales@millsom.com.au

Manufacturers’ Monthly JUNE 2012 21

What’sNEW Motion control couplings

The couplings feature high torsional stiffness.

ZERO-MAX has produced a new series of its CD A1C high performance couplings, designed for demanding servo motor and motion control applications.

Featuring high torsional stiffness and high dynamic load capacity, the couplings are built for reliable machine operation. They provide precise positioning under high speed reversing loads without fatigue.

The company claims the couplings have zero-backlash, are well-suited for reversing loads and provide smooth operation.

The design is compact to allow for a smaller assembly, enabling a smaller machine footprint. With improved clamp-style hubs for handling larger shafts and higher torque, the couplings offer a high level of shaft engagement.

Zero-Max 03 9489 9811 www.zero-max.com

Dual high-temperature cabinet cooler systems EXAIR’s new Dual High Temperature Cabinet Cooler Systems are designed to cool overheated electrical control panels in harsh environments up to 93°C. The cabinet coolers circulate -7°C cold air through the electrical enclosure to eliminate high temperature malfunctions and protect sensitive electronics from hot, dirty environments, such as in foundries, glass plants or steel mills.

The high cooling capacity up to 5600 Btu/hr is suitable for large elec-

trical enclosures and high heat loads.

Models with lower cooling capacities for NEMA 12, 4 and 4X enclosures are also available.

The cabinet coolers incorporate a vortex tube that cools ordinary compressed air to cold air without the use of refrigerants.

Applications include variable frequency drives, programmable controllers, industrial computers, motor controls, microprocessors and robotics.

Express module for industrial computing

Linear blow moulder for wide-mouth PET containers

The module is suitable for industrial and harsh environments.

GE Intelligent Platforms has recently announced the bCOM6-L1200 rugged type 6 COM Express Module, which is geared towards OEMs designing computing platforms into equipment for industrial or harsh environments.

By separating the carrier card from the processor, the module’s Express architecture extends the useful life of the sub system by allowing the proc-

Compressed Air Australia 1300 787 688 www.caasafety.com.au

The coolers circulate -7°C air through the electrical enclosure.

ess to be upgraded alone.

The module offers a range of five VIA Nano and VIA Eden processor options, with performance between 800MHz and 1.2GHz (x2) and power consumption between 3.5W and 13W. Up to 8GB of DDR3 SDRAM can be configured for demanding programs.

Moulder, designed for wide mouth bottles and containers up to 10L capacity.

The linear blow moulder is available in two configurations— Fast and Flex.

Both models are available in Australia through HBM Plastics & Packaging Technologies.

The company says the Fast model can produce containers with neck diameters up to 95mm, and capacities up to 3L, with output rates of up to 6,000 containers per hour.

The Flex model is intended for customers who change their containers more frequently.

It holds up to four cavities and can make containers of up to 10L with neck sizes up to 130mm.

According to the company, mould changeovers take less than 20 minutes and neck changeovers take 40 minutes.

Metromatics 07 3868 4255 www.metromatics.com.au

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HBM Plastics & Packaging Technologies 02 8814 3100 www.hbm.com.au

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manmonthly.com.au

EndeavourAWARDS 2012 Winners

Enter online at manmonthly.com.au

Strong manufacturing spirit drives success Taking smart, bold steps sees Australian manufacturers large and small winners at Manufacturers’ Monthly 2012 Endeavour Awards. Annie Dang reports.

N a tough economic landscape for industry, the ninth annual Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards proved that Australian manufacturing still has the fighting spirit as well as the talents to back it.

Held at Doltone House in Sydney on 9 May, the awards evening drew together over 250 guests from large and small manufacturers, government bodies and industry associations to celebrate the “best manufacturing practice” the industry has to offer.

Keynote speaker Dick Warburton, executive chairman of Manufacturing Australia, highlighted the key issues the local industry is facing to a supportive audience.

“We’re currently fighting multiple fires on multiple fronts,” Warburton said.

“We hear about the challenges like the high Aussie dollar, high input costs, the unbalance competition with international markets and importers, the war on talent, industrial relations, the cost of running and constructing manufacturing plants, and excessive or inconsistent regulation.

“Individually, none of these challenges are completely insurmountable, but accumulatively they are absolutely formidable. And yet the silver bullet solution to stop this patterned decline has eluded us because there is simply no silver bullet.”

More damaging to industry, Warburton said,

I

Homart’s Stanley Hong and Lynn Yeh with Manufacturers’ Monthly’s Alan Johnson (right).

is creating and fuelling a national mindset that believes Australian manufacturing can’t be saved. “This line of thought is not only dangerous, but misconstrued.

“Manufacturing is value-adding lifeblood of a balanced economy. Until recently, this sector employed 10% of Australia’s pollution in stable rewarding jobs, these are the kind of jobs where communities are built on, and ancillary businesses established, cities grown and families raised,” he said.

“To put simply, manufacturing is too important to the Australian economy and to the nation to allow its continued decline.”

One example of local manufacturing resilience and brilliance is Homart Pharmaceuticals, who took out Manufacturers’ Monthly’s 2012

Manufacturer of the Year award, as well as the Exporter of the Year award.

While many local manufacturers are sinking under a high Aussie dollar, Homart’s story demonstrates that local manufacturers can build a successful export manufacturing business.

According to Manufacturers’ Monthly’s editor-at-large Alan Johnson, Homart Pharmaceuticals is “a great coals to Newcastle story”.

“Homart has demonstrated that when R&D is strategically focused on products for China, success will follow,” he said.

The company has been able grown its export by 850% in the last three financial years, despite the global financial crisis and strong Australian dollar.

The following pages contain coverage of the all winners of the 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards and their stories about achieving “manufacturing excellence”.

Johnson thanked this year’s Endeavour Awards judges: Dr John Blakemore, Blakemore Consulting; Dr Ivan Cole, CSIRO; Mark Goodsell, Ai Group; Derek Lark, ICN; and Stephen Johnson, NSW TAFE, and 2012 Endeavour sponsors: ABB, Advanced Manufacturing CRC, Atlas Copco, BOC, BlueScope Steel, EFIC, Enterprise Connect, ICN, IFM Efector, Sick and SMC.

Susan Heaney - female manufacturer of the year USAN Heaney, MD of Heaneys Performers In Print has won the inaugural Endeavour’s Female Manufacturer of the Year Award.

Located on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Heaneys is a supplier of printed products and deals with design through to preparing for print, finishing and delivery of the product.

Since becoming MD in 2004, Susan is in charge of establishing strategic direction, monitoring finances, leading the development of the marketing and sales strategy, ensuring compliance with statutory obligations, monitoring finances, quality control and technical oversight of the printing

S

24 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

process. She has also been an active member of the Board of the Printing Industries Association of Australia and currently serves as president.

She has provided leadership to the Association at both a state and national level.

She has also been an organiser and advocate for Women in Print which aims to create a productive networking environment for all women within the printing industry.

While Susan could not make it to the Sydney event, speaking from Germany, she told Manufacturers’ Monthly that she was honoured to win award.

“I understand there was some

very stiff competition, and I hope we can all be role models to other ladies in the industry. “Over the years, I have combined sound business practices, continually innovated and have strived to be exemplary in introducing systems and environmental processes.

“Being innovative, I have been able to guide the company through many extreme changes over the past three decades, such as extreme economic conditions, technological changes and the current communication revolution.

“I have done this by being an early adopter of ISO 9001 and SGP (equivalent to ISO 14001) and these processes have helped steer my company to its current

I have guided the company through many extreme changes over the past three decades - Heaney.

position. As a relatively small company being an early adopter of these processes is unusual but in my mind imperative,” she said. manmonthly.com.au

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Safety Scheme of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

EndeavourAWARDS

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Enter online at manmonthly.com.au

Winning system tackles driver fatigue An alertness monitoring system that can accurately measure a driver’s alertness in real time took out this year’s safety award. Alan Johnson and Madeline Prince report.

PTALERT took out this year’s Endeavour Safety Scheme of the Year Award for its revolutionary Fatigue Risk Profiler which iZ [OL VUS` HSLY[ ULZZ TVUP[VYPUN [LJOUVSVN` PU [OL ^VYSK [OH[ JHU HJJ\YH[LS` TLHZ\YL H KYP]LY»Z HSLY[ULZZ PU YLHS [PTL HUK KL[LJ[ [OL LHYS` VUZL[ VM KYV^ZPULZZ [V WYL]LU[ HU HJJPKLU[

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The company’s Chief Scientist Dr Murray Johns has been at the forefront of researching the physiology of drowsiness which includes new methods of measuring eye and eyelid movements and the proprietary drowsiness detection algorithm.

Dr Johns has developed the Johns Drowsiness Scale over the past 15 years and it has proven to be the world’s first validated scale for drowsiness.

The compan has gone through a series of design perfections to deliver to the transport and mining sectors a behaviour based safety tool that constantly supports the need of the driver to remain safe during their journey.

Unfortunately no senior managers from Optalert could attend the presentation ceremony, however the company’s marketing manager Ana Kolembus told Manufacturers’ Monthly later the company was thrilled to hear that it had won the prestigious Endeavour’s Safety Scheme of the Year Award for its profiler.

“We are very privileged to be recognised for the work we do in leading the safety space both in Australia and across the world with regards to decreasing a business’ fatigue risk profile.

“Managing driver drowsiness is a challenge on any work site, but the challenges of the mining and support sectors is especially great for many reasons.

“The challenges of travel and distance means a driver’s working day can be far longer than the 12 hour shift they were rostered for.

“Combine this with working at night and in uncomfortable climates and you have a great fatigue risk on your hands,” Kolembus said.

She said the most innovative aspect of the profiler was the smart technology and now its ease of transportion from vehicle to vehicle.

“However, the predictive nature of Optalert is by far its most unique feature. There is no other technology that can measure the physiological signs of an impending fatigue incident the way that Optalert can,” she said.

“Now being able to use Optalert as a portable unit has added to the flexibility of a fleet and ensures they maximise the amount of data 26 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

The system can now make a driver’s level of alertness visible to management via the Internet.

With 20-30% of all road accidents involving driver fatigue, the system is a welcome tool in the fight to reduce road accidents.

they gather.

“It is this data, via the Fatigue Risk Profiler, that really shapes lasting and positive change on site.”

She said the biggest challenge faced by the company when designing the Profiler was how to design a graphic user interface that allowed managers to quickly determine the real time alertness level of hundreds of drivers at the same time, and still identify those that needed closer attention while at the same time triggering visual and audible alarms for drivers at medium and high levels of fatigue risk.

“This problem was overcome by conceptualising a solution never before used in this application. The resultant software challenge to make the design a reality, further stretched our resources,” she said.

The technology has now been perfected to allow managers to better share the burden of responsibility with their drivers when it comes

to behaviour based safety and open the lines of communication between management and drivers in real time.

With the development of the Optalert Fatigue Risk Profiler, Optalert can now make a driver’s level of alertness visible to management via the Internet.

In doing so, Optalert assists those in the ‘control room’ to share in the responsibility of safe driving, while also improving safety for all road users including forward thinking fleet managers, mining operators, long haul bus and 4x4 drivers.

“This is science fiction meets reality. What was once thought of as future age – being able to view in real time the alertness levels of your whole driving fleet at one time, regardless of where they are in the world – is real. We do it every day. We are now looking at the next generation and expanding our markets.”

The importance of drivers being alert while driving is well known and researched, with 20-30% of all road accidents involving driver fatigue costing Australia $3bn per year. Studies show that going without sleep for 17 hours has the same effect on driving ability as a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.05. Being awake for 24 hours has the same effect as a BAC of 0.1.

“The Optalert Fatigue Risk Profiler is an important addition to the manufacturing landscape.

“We are continually working on new projects and are looking to broaden their scope into the aviation, military, rail and security industries,” Kolembus said. manmonthly.com.au

EndeavourAWARDS Technology Application of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

Proudly sponsored by

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Win for flexible automation project has won this year’s Endeavour Award’s Technology Application of the Year Award.

Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson report.

MCOR Cartons, a global leader in supplying plastic, fibre, metal and glass packaging products, in conjunction with Robotic Automation created a winning global packaging system to solve packaging problems as well as address risks to staff and improve profitability.

The Robotic End-of-Line Solution, which won this year’s Endeavour Award’s Technology Application of the Year Award, sponsored by SMC Pneumatics, consists of three main component technologies including robotic palletising, automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) and automatic pallet wrapping.

The design and integration, including R&D, manufacture, build, testing and final on-site installation and commissioning was performed

by Robotic Automation to increase staff safety, product quality, and reduce costs while providing a strong boost to productivity Colin Wells MD at Robotic Automation said the use of AGVs has allowed a more efficient and flexible use of current floor-space and cost-free adaptability to changing needs.

“Laser-guided accuracy optimises efficiency and safe motion of the vehicles,” he said.

Accepting the award, Wells said he was very proud to accept the award, but was a little surprised that the project had won, and credited the win to the company’s engineers who came up with the solution.

“Actually we didn’t set out to do this in the first place. We didn’t sell Amcor the system, we persuaded them. All credit to our engineers. It’s great,” Wells said at the event.

He said the best aspect of the entry was the technology used for the AGVs and the fact that the project has the ability to be moved around the factory.

“The system has boosted productivity by 235% and opens up the Amcor factory.

Instead of having a fixed thing moulded to the floor, we made a very flexible island of automation connected by AGVs, which are like forklifts without anybody driving them.”

He said the AGVs have allowed a more efficient use of floor space and has incorporated cost free adaptability to changing needs with laser guided accuracy which best optimises the most efficient and safe motion of the vehicles.

The judges commented that the partnership between the two companies is what had lead to the success of the end of line solution.

“A successful strategic alliance between Amcor and Robotic Automation has resulted in

A

28 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

The use of AGVs has allowed a more efficient and flexible use of current floor-space and cost-free adaptability to changing needs.

Colin Wells MD at Robotic Automation (right) and David Jamieson, SMC Pnematic’s Sales & Marketing Manager.

admirable enhancements in productivity,” the judges said.

To maximise space efficiency and utility, the team devised a solution incorporating AGVs which take no permanent space. This still offers staff and servicing access around all equipment as the AGVs safety features allow shared routes with pedestrians, plus AGVs easily reprogrammed laser-navigation paths allow greater flexibility to rearrange equipment layouts in the future.

He said the AGVs also have the advantage of an easily scalable solution, allowing Amcor to efficiently invest in the full solution in workable stages, adding extra vehicles to the fleet as the solution is proven, investment returning, and Amcor ready to proceed.

The robotic palletising process involves each robot performing at a rate equivalent to two

manual staff per shift, in up to three shifts per day without the obvious need for breaks or shift changeover.

The six robots can do the work of more than 42 staff per day. With the RA team’s extra improvements, the cells can now use a smaller amount of space and the smallest, best-value choice of robot payload-models, yet still have the efficiency of a multi-function gripper – able to handle sealed or lidless boxes as well as slip-sheets and layer caps.

Wells said one of the key advantages of the new end of line solution is the acknowledgment that staff are happier with the new system as there were many flaws in the old system.

The manual loading and wrapping tasks were highly repetitive and physically very demanding, with strain and injuries a risk.

Workplace OH&S incidents in the loading/ wrapping area were numbering at approximately seven per year, with associated costs in management, labour, claims and lost production time.

There was also the risks associated with manually driven forklifts operating around manual-loading staff also which presented potential dangers and the associated OH&S hazards and costs. With the inherent variability of manual operations, and typically low personal commitment in menial tasks, staff performance in loading and wrapping is often less than best and presentation of the product to the customer suffers. manmonthly.com.au

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EndeavourAWARDS

Enterprise Connect’s Significant Achievement of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Lean implementation reaps hefty rewards Therma Truck shows that a business turnaround doesn’t have to be drawn out with its Lean Implementation scheme facilitated by Enterprise Connect. Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson write.

INNER of this year’s Enterprise Connect Significant Achievement Award, Therma Truck, commenced building refrigerated truck bodies and vans in early 1970 and soon achieved a reputation for its high quality workmanship.

The company started with two main objectives; to build a high quality product that was robust and reliable and secondly the product had to be competitively priced.

In July 2011, Enterprise Connect Business Adviser John Mills conducted a workshop with the management team at Therma Truck which concluded that adopting Lean Manufacturing principles would reduce lead times, improve ability to complete work within budget estimates and improve profitability.

Funding from Enterprise Connect helped minimise the initial financial impact of engaging an external consultant.

The results experienced were transformational in that labour hour variations were reduced by half and average hours per job reduced.

There was also a significant reduction in overall inventory, simplified purchasing process from use of Kanban and improved employment prospects for staff.

Despite these achievements, Lance Raines, Therma Truck’s GM said he was shocked at winning the award.

“I had a look at the other finalists and I thought we didn’t have a hope in hell,” he said on the night.

The judges obviously disagreed with Raines assessment as they commended the changes and the diversification that has taken place within the company.

Enterprise Connect judge, Narelle Kennedy founder and CEO of Australian Business Foundation said that Therma Truck adoption of lean manufacturing had unlocked value in the business, plus the company had deliberately sourced new ideas and trends which were supporting the product range and a clear path of innovation had been set for the future.

“Therma Truck has demonstrated results that are transforming their business of producing high quality refrigerated truck bodies and vans,” said Kennedy.

Fellow judge, Andrew King chair of the NSW Manufacturing Industry Taskforce acknowledged that efficiency was a key factor to them winning and was positive about the future of the company.

“I was impressed that in a fairly short time

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30 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Therma Truck’s Steve Scott (left) and Lance Raines (centre) receiving the award from Judith Zielke, Head of Enterprise Connect.

since Therma Truck’s introduction to Enterprise Connect they had taken decisive action to implement Lean and the gains are evident from the wide range of metrics reported.”

“The speed with which these gains have been achieved suggests they have more benefits to come as the management and workforce adopts the philosophies and culture beyond the first flush of energy,” said King.

Therma Truck has invested considerable resources into developing new innovative ideas and products to support their current product range as well as looking at long-range trends in the industry to improve their refrigerated truck bodies and vans.

Raines said he was initially hesitant about enlisting the help of the Enterprise Connect program, believing it to be too good to be true.

“From a management point of view we thought this is Wizard of Oz stuff, click your heels together and everything will be fine but we said yes we are going to support it and we did everything possible,” said Raines.

“We have made significant progress in a very short space of time. We’ve only been in this lean process for a matter of about five months and we’ve made significant in-roads.

We’ve halved some of the production figures from what we had before,” Raines said.

When asked why he thought Therma Truck won, Raines emphasised the role that Production Manager Steve Scott had played in the fast implementation of the lean processes.

He said Scott had worked with the consultant to ensure that visible and sustained results were achieve and new concepts such as identifying and eliminating “non-value add” were soon being used by staff.

“We embraced it so quickly and much of the thanks for that must go to Steve Scott, he’s really driven this and taken it on board.

Kanban material replenishment and decentralised store points have significantly reduced stock outs and overall inventory levels.

Of course he’s had the support from management but he’s the one that really deserves this. This is his,” said Raines.

Key achievements in Therma Truck’ Lean journey include: • Assembly area divided into four stages with dedicated staff in each stage. This simplified training, supervision and performance measurement.

• Dedicated mobile tool and materials trolleys. This reduced movement and time looking for tools and materials.

• Staff cross trained by their peers on rotations through production stages also creating task variety.

• Process changes simpler to implement as only relevant staff require training on the new process.

• Weekly toolbox talks in combination with action boards to engage staff in decision making.

• Visual techniques to highlight material shortages • Supervisors allocated geographic areas of responsibly to ensure routine tasks such as housekeeping and maintenance.

• A tidy efficient workplace increases safety and general pride amongst our personnel.

• Kanban material replenishment and decentralised store points were implemented, which significantly reduced stock outs and overall inventory levels.

Chocolatier Australia was highly commended by the Enterprise Connect program. manmonthly.com.au

EndeavourAWARDS Global Intergration of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Persistence drives global supply chain success Aerospace engineering company, TAE, took out the Global Integration Award for its successful engagement in aerospace and defence global supply chains. Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson report.

INNING Manufacturers’ Monthly 2012 Global Integration Award is a clear indication that aerospace engineering company TAE Gas Turbines (TAE) is doing everything right when it comes to global supply chains.

The company which provides a combination of aerospace manufacturing, gas turbine engine maintenance and engineering support services to industry, works with multiple products and the technology is used in a growing number of applications such as advanced liquid-cooled electronics enclosures, cold plates, waveguides and radar assemblies.

Accepting the Global Integration Award, presented by Derek Lark, executive director of Industry Capability Network (ICN) and also sponsor, Greg Twiner, Business Development Manager with TAE, said the key to the company success has been a lot of handwork and persistence by a dedicated team of engineers.

The company which is largely geared to work export markets, with almost all of it customers being international companies, told award attendees that if TAE was able to find success in a highly-competitive niche market, there is definitely a future in Australian manufacturing exports.

“We talk about the difficulty of manufacturing locally, but Australia has a lot of potential,” Twiner said.

“If TAE can succeed in the global aerospace business, a market which is one of the toughest you can think of, there is definitely a future for manufacturing in this country, so I commend you to all to try, and to just keep trying.”

TAE’s pure work ethic and drive has seen the company engage with a number of international supply chains predominantly within the global aerospace and defence arena.

The focus for this engagement has been primarily with TAE’s Aluminium Vacuum Brazing manufacturing capability.

Over the last 12 months TAE has signed long term agreements and winning production contracts from international multi-national aerospace companies such as Harris Corporation and BAE Systems. Included amongst these contracts have been situations where TAE is now the sole, global supplier for complex components on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Harris Corporation deal, signed in July last year, is a long-term agreement which sees TAE manufacture and supply of liquid-cooled electronics enclosures for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

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TAE is the first Australian company to have developed Aluminium Vacuum Brazing technology and one of only a very small number world-wide able to offer the capability.

Hard work is the backbone to success according to the TAE team who accepted the Award from Derek Lark, executive director, ICN (third from left).

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At the time, Andrew Sanderson, General Manager of TAE said the deal had a potential worth in excess of $15m and is the first of many expected to be signed by the company for the F-35 programme. Sanderson said the key to the deal was TAE’s Aluminium Vacuum Brazing technology.

Headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, TAE is the first Australian company to have developed this technology and one of only a very small number world-wide able to offer the capability. The technology is used in a growing number of applications such as advanced liquid-cooled electronics enclosures, cold plates, waveguides and radar assemblies.

The electronics enclosures produced by TAE have attracted the attention of local and global manufacturers of military and commercial passenger aircraft, as well as stakeholders in the maritime and land vehicle sectors.

Endeavour Awards judges noted TAE’s long term strategic planning as one key factor to the company’s global success.

“TAE has shown considerable success in entering the long term supply arrangements with its Aluminium Vacuum Brazing manufacturing capability,” the judges said.

TAE offers a one-stop-shop capability, with its associated processes (chromate conversion, painting, heat treatment), CNC machining and flow and pressure testing to complement the AVB process. The company also provides design and prototyping support to customers wishing to develop new products using this sort of technology.

TAE has developed partnerships with organisations in the defence force, original equipment manufacturers, large airlines, regional airlines and maintenance organisations.

The company operates across seven sites around Australia. Its aerospace engineering services include maintenance, manufacturing, overhaul, repair and engineering, for turbine engines, passenger and military transport aircraft, fast jets, helicopters, regional aircraft, general aviation and agricultural aircraft.

The TAE Group is made up of three operational businesses: TAE, TAE Aviation and Masling Industries comprise the TAE Group.

TAE Aviation and Masling Industries business has allowed the company to develop successful engineering partnerships with regional, general aviation and agricultural operators.

The company has an industry-leading list of approvals for both commercial and military aviation MRO services. manmonthly.com.au

All the right connections for the manufacturing industry.

When it comes to finding new business opportunities, one of the biggest challenges can be breaking into new or expanding supply chains.

Industry Capability Network (ICN) is an organisation that introduces local suppliers to the supply chains of major projects.

Even if you’ve never imagined your business supplying goods and services to a major state or national project, ICN could uncover an opportunity that’s just right for your business.

With more than 25-years experience helping Australian and New Zealand manufacturers find opportunities in major projects, ICN is a great place to start when looking to expand your business. ICN consultants have a thorough knowledge of existing and planned projects.

So, if you’re looking to expand your business opportunities go to www.icn.org.au or call your local ICN office on 1300 961 139

EndeavourAWARDS Lifetime Achievement of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Frank Seeley proves to be more than hot air A long way from teaching grade five in Adelaide, Frank was overjoyed to accept the Endeavour Lifetime Achievement Award. Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson write.

RANK Seeley AM founded Seeley International in 1972 when he began manufacturing portable evaporative coolers, and has now grown to include Breezair, Braemar, Coolair, Convair and Climate Wizard.

Known for its technical innovation and product leadership, Seeley International is Australia’s largest air conditioning manufacturer and offers complete climate control solutions including ducted gas heating, evaporative cooling, indirect evaporative cooling and integrated heating and cooling.

Frank, one of Australia’s manufacturing industry’s true characters, was clearly thrilled to have won the Endeavour’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which is sponsored by IFM Efector.

“We are delighted to be recognised in such a wonderful and special way. I’m on top of the world.”

Somewhat tongue in cheek, Frank praised the judging panel for choosing him as winner.

“I’d especially like to thank the judges, because they’ve done such a wonderful job,” Frank joked.

In his acceptance speech, Frank reminisced about starting out life in Adelaide as an idealistic school teacher.

“I taught grade five at Port Adelaide Primary School and endeavored with all of my power to help those little kids crawl their way up the lower slopes of the knowledge curve and I have to say I was very unsuccessful at it.”

He went on to express his relief at finding a career path he excelled in.

“Fortunately before there were any major catastrophes, I got out of teaching and I have to say that this has been a fabulous journey and I’m still enjoying it and I hope to go on enjoying it for a long, long, long time to come.

I’m only 70 years of age, I’ve got another good 20 years in me yet!”

Frank continues to be the driving force in all aspects of the business from the design and engineering of world leading product developments such as Climate Wizard through to the commercialisation of new technology.

Frank has aggressively pursued a policy of vertical integration, manufacturing almost all products in-house.

He has also had a strong focus on supply chain management ensuring flexibility and responsiveness to meet fluctuations in market demand.

Seeley International’s vertical integration has enabled it to develop high level skills in tool

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34 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Dave Delany (left), MD of IFM Efector presenting the Award to Frank Seeley.

manufacturing and maintenance, metal fabrication, die casting, plastic injection moulding, paper handling, vacuum forming, rotational moulding, electric motor manufacturing, product assembly and electronics.

This philosophy has been the driving force behind world first innovations like Breezair Icon motor technology and the development of Climate Wizard, indirect evaporative cooling.

Frank is passionate about his product and took every opportunity to share this at the Awards.

“The problem with our Climate Wizard is it’s so good with some people thinking it is snake oil. But it’s starting to take traction now and is going to be a godsend for the whole of the world,” he said.

Frank shows that the business is a family affair as he spoke about the recent involvement of his second son in promoting Seeley International overseas.

“I have my second son now director of the company and he’s actually come on board full time to promote Climate Wizard, and has just signed up a very enthusiastic distributor in California. It’s fantastic,” he said.

Frank’s ongoing commitment to energy efficiency is evidenced in the fact that the products manufactured by Seeley International are world leaders in energy efficiency.

• The Breezair Icon cooler is the most energy efficient whole-of-home evaporative cooling system available in the world - capable of cooling a whole home from as little as running a light bulb.

• The Braemar Ecostar range of ducted gas heating is Australia’s most efficient range of ducted gas heating. It regularly offers the highest star ratings in Australia in the three, four, five and six star heating categories.

• The Braemar space heater has the highest star rating of any comparable space heater

Under Frank’s guidance, Seeley International has grown to become Australia’s largest air conditioning manufacturer.

available in Australia • Climate Wizard, is forging a completely new high efficiency cooling category that is attracting keen interest from around the world, and; • Seeley’s latest innovation, the world’s first six star ducted gas heater from Braemar is the most energy-efficient ducted gas heater on the market (see page 46).

Seeley International has two manufacturing plants in Australia; one in Lonsdale in South Australia, the otherr in Albury in NSW. The company employs more than 300 staff.

Over the years, Frank has won numerous awards.

In 2001, Frank was made a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2005, was named South Australian Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2010, he was state winner of the Jason Lea Award at the South Australian Family Business of the Year Awards. The Jason Lea Award recognises an ideas person who has demonstrated outstanding entrepreneurship.

Seeley International was also named national winner of the First Generation Family Business of the Year Award in 2010.

Frank continues to win awards year after year, taking out the Advantage SA South Australian of the Year Award for 2011. manmonthly.com.au

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efector

Exporter of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Australia a premium brand in Asia Homart Pharmaceuticals takes out Endeavour’s Exporter of the Year Award for its incredible success in the Asian marketplace. Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson report.

STABLISHED in 1992 from a humble two-person operation in Sydney, Homart Pharmaceuticals has grown strongly into a successful mid-size Australian manufacturer with annual turnover over $10m.

Homart has cornered the niche market of manufacturing, wholesaling and exporting of premium quality health supplements and skin care products.

A major part of Homart’s business is in marketing and exporting its brands of products throughout various Asian countries, especially to China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Korea.

Homart’s export has been growing at breakneck speed of 850% in the last three financial years since July 2008 with its Export to Greater China Countries project, despite the GFC and strong Australian dollar.

The biggest current export market is China but there are plans to increase its presence in other countries such as Korea, Singapore and Dubai. It currently manufactures an extensive range of over 100 products in its Sydney factory, and continues to invest in R&D and launches seven to ten new products every year.

Homart also provides contract manufacturing services to companies in Australia but also creates its own brands of products and wholesales them successfully in the niche tourism markets in Australia through more than 500 Australian retail stores.

Operations Assistant Manager, Stanley Hong explained that with the high Australian dollar it’s a tough market out there for exporters.

“But we believe in manufacturing premium Australian complimentary health foods.

“It’s our 20th year and we are so confident in ourselves that we are expanding to a bigger premises and hopefully we can increase on the huge increase in exports we got last year and make double that figure next year,” said Hong.

Homarts Export to Greater China Countries project, which started in 2001, aimed to market and develop over the following 10 years.

According to Hong, the project has been a resounding success. “By 2011 an export market for the “Spring Leaf” and “Top Life” health supplements are now the premium Australian health supplements brands in the greater China region (China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan).

The project was planned and executed in

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36 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Coals to Newcastle - Homart exports product to China from its Sydney factory.

a staggered fashion in different according to market conditions and potentials, regulatory difficulties, and risk assessments to maximise success while minimise the amount of risk.

Homart has been proactive in developing marketing strategies through extensive research which found that the Chinese market was regionalised and that while mainland consumers were purchasing the higher strength products, consumers in Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan preferred luxury packaging.

Another strategy which boosted sales immensely was the naming rights to the “Exclusive Australian Health Supplement Supplier at the Shanghai World Expo 2010”.

Although this event was little known in Australia, it was the biggest international event in China since the Beijing Olympics and was highly respected in the greater China region.

This sponsorship association instantly created strong brand awareness of the company which resulted in booming sales during 2010.

The growth of Homart has not been without some difficulties especially within China and the un-authorised use of the brand’s name.

Homart has since registered in China and other important markets the copyrights for all its packaging designs, as well as the trademarks for all its companies and brands to prevent this reoccurring.

Although Homart did have its share of difficulties, Mr Hong said that it is all worth it and advises other manufacturer’s to keep trying.

“It’s tough in the beginning but I believe we are reaping the rewards now,” said Hong.

EFIC’s Robert Dravers Director – SME and Mid Market (left) presents Homart’s Lynn Yeh and Stanley Hong with the Award.

“Focus on your strength and work hard and believe in yourself and you will get there in the end.”

“We want to actively promote this image of Australia as producing premium, quality health food. Even though it’s tough out there with the high Australian dollar we want to compete with our strength and that is our quality and the Australian natural image,” Hong said.

As this category had a very high number of nominations, there was a highly commended award which ANCA won for the exporting success of its MX7 - Mass Production Grinding Machine. Despite the strong Australian dollar, the company expects significant growth in sales with up to 200 machines being planned to be sold. Strong demand remains even in this difficult economic climate with recent orders from customers globally including from Europe, China, Japan, Thailand and the US. manmonthly.com.au

EFIC DID MORE THAN FINANCE OUR EXPORTS

THEY BACKED THEM ....AGAIN. Rod Sawyers, Managing Director, Bronx International

It was an opportunity 20 years in the making. A leading steel company in Latin America awarded us a large contract to upgrade an old galvanising line provided to the original buyer almost 20 years ago. They were willing to provide an advance payment as part of our contract terms, but naturally required an advance payment bond to protect both parties.

We knew where to turn for support. EFIC has a history of financially backing us on successful contracts in Turkey, Ukraine and Argentina. The outcome of working with them this time was just as positive.

EFIC supported us by issuing the bond to the buyer on our behalf. This allowed us to hold onto the working capital we needed to deliver on a contract we saw as key for our growth in Central America.

Overcoming financial barriers for exporters.

Visit efic.gov.au/mm

EndeavourAWARDS Australian Industrial Product of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Revolutionising automated safety Smart, simple and marketable – CASWA’s innovative access control system wins Endeavour’s Australian Industrial Product of the Year Award. Madeline Prince and Annie Dang report.

ASWA is changing the pace of automated safety systems with its innovative access control system, AccessPack, the only system of its kind on the market.

Taking out the Australian Industrial Product of the Year Award, AccessPack ensures equipment can only be used by authorised personnel. “It is smart, simple and marketable,” the Endeavour judges said.

Accepting the award, Director of CASWA, Paul Kelly, said that the use of automation, rather than relying on a dedicated person to monitor employees, increases occupational health and safety in the industrial space.

“The Access Pack quite simply extends the existing safety practises and principles that are in place at the moment and extends them into the physical realm, whereas before you told someone who wasn’t meant to use a piece of equipment they shouldn’t use it well now the equipment simply doesn’t work for them,” Kelly said.

“The changes from an administrative control into a physical control are a safer thing to do.

People recognise the safety benefits and that is what has really made it a success in the market.”

AccessPack uses wireless technology through Bluetooth to ‘communicate’ with other systems.

A ‘control puck’ (containing an RFID reader and other smart electronics) is fitted to the machine and programmed with relevant information about the machine, its location and the qualifications required to operate it. Machines will only work when the user swipes the puck with a valid RFID card.

One key safety advantage of the AccessPack is that the machine will only operate with a valid ticket and will lock out those without.

It also has an automatic system of recording when the operator starts and stops, which increases accountability and can lead to changes in behaviour thereby preventing abuse of equipment.

Kelly said receiving the Australian Industrial Product of the Year Award, sponsored by BOC, was recognition that hard work leads to success, “a fact that is not only true for CASWA, but for manufacturers in general”.

“This isn’t a surprise, we work really hard in innovation and manufacturing as do all of you and none of us should be surprised by success. We all know how hard it is to get there,”

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38 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

AccessPack is an access control system that ensures equipment can only be used by authorised personnel.

Bruce Currie (left), Director Strategic Marketing, BOC, congratulates Paul Kelly of CASWA for winning the Award.

Kelly said.

“As innovators and manufacturers, I think the hardest part that any of us is having to source the sheer gumption to persist and create that which was not there before.

“My hat goes off to all of you because I seem to find myself in a room that has half the world’s supply of gumption in it,” Kelly said.

This relentless persistence was also demonstrated by CKAS Mechatronics who were highly commented in this category for its “Cranky” Full Motion Wharf Crane Simulator which offers training for crane operators on a full motion, high fidelity device.

The replication is full scale of a typical cabin

and has highly accurate software and a full six degree of freedom motion system.

The hardware was developed in-house with the resources available to a small engineering innovation company. There are currently orders for the machine both domestically and internationally.

While Kelly is not sure what the thoughtprocess was in selecting the winner, he is certain that Australia has the talent and innovation capability to be global manufacturing leaders.

“I have no idea what went into the judges minds when they were judging, but I certainly think that there is a great pool of talent and innovation capability in Australia,” he said.

“I think the other finalists did just as well as we did frankly. We may have just pipped them because we were a little more out there and a little bit more innovative, but not a lot.”

CASWA is a Perth-based SME that develops innovative solutions for helping customers translate data from equipment sensors into better business decisions.

The company also manufactures and sells a range of unique industrial devices for improving safety associated with operating high risk equipment, including AccessPack which can be fitted to any type of electrically powered device such as mobile, remote and battery operated equipment. manmonthly.com.au

Supporting innovation and success BOC would like to congratulate all winners of the 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards!

It is ľtting that we supported the category which recognises innovation in new industrial products, as it is something that is very close to our hearts at BOC and an important hallmark of our own business.

At BOC we aim to be admired for our people, who provide innovative and sustainable solutions that

make a difference to the world. These awards reĿect and promote the same kind of spirit, and we acknowledge the terriľc efforts of all entrants who share our passion to excel.

BOC wishes to congratulate CASWA who won the Industrial Product of the Year Award for their AccessPack. BOC would also like to congratulate the other Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards winners as well as everyone who participated in this prestigious industry event.

BOC Limited Riverside Corporate Park, 10 Julius Avenue, North Ryde, NSW 2113 Australia contact@boc.com BOC is a trading name of BOC Limited, a Member of The Linde Group. © BOC Limited 2012.

A Member of The Linde Group

MP12-0439-5A|MA|MM|0612

BOC was the proud sponsor of the Australian Industrial Product of the Year category in the 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards.

EndeavourAWARDS Australian Steel Innovation of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Storage systems made steely tough Dematic has scored the Australian Steel Innovation Award for its precision storage systems for automated materials handling. Madeline Prince and Annie Dang report.

EADING supplier of logistics automation, warehousing, materials handling and automatic storage systems, Dematic took out the Australian Steel Innovation award at the 2012 Endeavour Awards.

Winning for its precision steel rack solutions range used in its Multishuttle and Mini Load automated storage systems, the company is proving that locally made steel is indeed globally tough.

Accepting the Award in Sydney, Simon Barrow, Dematic’s COO for Australia and NZ, said Australian made-steel is the backbone of the company’s unique racking product used to make its multi shuttle and mini load system across the globe.

Barrow said the recognition by Manufacturers’ Monthly and sponsor BlueScope Steel was “a fantastic honour” of the company’s achievements and its role in supporting local industry.

“We fit out warehouses for Woolworths, Coke Startrack, we integrate and install the conveyers, the rack and the IT into a materials handling system, that’s what we’re all about,” Barrow said.

“What the guys have done is create a unique racking product which is used for our Multishuttle and Mini Load systems throughout the world. Not only did they create a great product for the Australian marketplace, it is being exported to the US and to Europe.”

According to Barrow, the racking product is a milestone in innovation for the company.

“It’s a tremendous product and a tremendous innovation. Innovation has been part of our company’s DNA for many, many years.

“The biggest benefit is being a materials handling automation company where every dollar and cent in the supply chain is critical to produce something of high tolerance enables us to create a very highly mechanised automated solution which takes costs out of the supply chain.”

Barrow said Dematic system configurations are built around process and supply chain improvements and can be manually operated, mechanised or automated.

Achieved through ownership and control of design services, real time WMCS software, material flow technologies and engineering, project management and customer services, Barrow says its single source, vertically integrated capability reduces time, cost and risk.

Steel components in Dematic storage products are manufactured from high tensile grades

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40 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Dematic’s Simon Barrow (right) accepting the award from Steve Gregson, director of manufacturing markets, Bluescope Steel.

Steel components in Dematic storage products are manufactured from high tensile grades of steel supplied by BlueScope Steel.

of steel supplied by BlueScope Steel.

The high precision steel racking components within Dematic Multishuttle and Mini Load solutions are used extensively across a wide and varied range of applications which require automated materials and storage handling.

Key features of the steel storage components are: their modularity, patented components, being globally standardised and the design was optimised with regard to steel content and structural efficiency.

The components can be used within standalone automatic crane storage retrieval systems and in-rack shuttle systems and have been designed to be used in storage systems destined for both non-seismic and seismic areas.

These innovations were designed by the company’s Structural Engineering Design Team based in the Dematic’s Asia Pacific head

office in Belrose, NSW. The team, led by Dr Murray Clarke, is committed to achieving continuous innovation and improvement in steel rack performance.

The precision steel rack solutions were driven by benchmarking against competitors which highlighted the need to achieve competitively priced steel racking solutions designed with precision components capable of meeting the exacting tolerances required in automated storage and retrieval systems.

Dr Clarke said one recent Australian customer order was expanded by 35% from the original project scope as a result of the capabilities of the storage rack aspects of the solution.

“We now export thousands of tonnes of Australian manufactured steel product per annum, one order to the US comprising 600t of steel product alone, with larger projects typically comprising 1000t of manufactured steel product,” he said.

The Endeavour judges said Dematic’s Multishuttle and Mini Load steel racking systems showed delivery of value to customers and a strong acceptance within the marketplace.

With a turnover of $160m and 385 employees in Australia and NZ, Dematic’s Australianbased structural engineering team has a worldwide reputation throughout the Dematic global group for excellence in storage system innovation and design.

“We’ve got a very dedicated bunch of people and this is just rewards for what they’ve done, a really tremendous effort,” Barrow said.

“I think teamwork gave us the edge over the competition.”

“It’s great to be an Australian manufacturer, and despite all the challenges thrown at us, that we can still succeed says a lot,” Barrow said. manmonthly.com.au

EndeavourAWARDS Environmental Solution of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Sustainable tile production takes out award The production process uses no raw materials. The tile production is a continuous process of recycling materials life after life, using no raw materials. Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson report.

RMSTRONG Australia, manufacturer and supplier of resilient floor finishes to commercial markets, took out the Endeavour’s Environmental Solution of the Year Award for 2012, sponsored by Atlas Copco, for its Eco-Terazz End of Life Vinyl Composition Tile Recycling process.

Michael Jenkins, the company’s Southern Asia/Pacific VP, said he was proud of what the company has achieved.

“It’s great to receive recognition of the people who work for us.

“We’re a vinyl flooring manufacturer who does most of the supermarket floors in Australia. Today we can take an old floor up at its end of life, take it back to one of our plants and have it back on site as a new floor in seven days.

“That’s a fantastic achievement and from an Australian manufacturing point of view we believe that sustainability is the number one issue to give us a competitive advantage and the differentiation.

“All we ask for is the support of the local population around those sites, around those activities.”

Jenkins acknowledged the hard work of the staff and the use of innovative thought processes, saying this is what sets Armstrong apart.

“It’s a great recognition of the people who did the work. It’s very tough to take back a lot of end of life material, sort it, re-process it and get it back into a new product and get it out into the marketplace.

“Our people show enormous dedication and it really is the way of the future for us to remain in manufacturing in such a product as this,” he said.

“It is vital to be a sustainable manufacturer and this is the critical way to do it.

“We don’t need to use raw materials. It’s a continuous process of recycling materials life after life.”

“It’s incredibly innovative, it’s never been done as far as we’re concerned and we are unaware of any product that has been able to be completely taken back and re-processed back into itself life after life,” Jenkins added “Thank you to all the people who contributed to this. It’s a wonderful recognition,” he said.

The project started back in 2010, when Armstrong, a large user of post consumer and post industrial recycled plastics which were often in short supply, sought other means to

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42 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Recycled tiles can be back on the floor within seven days.

Armstrong’s Michael Jenkins (right) receiving the Award from Johannes Fourie, GM Atlas Copco Compressors Australia

supplement these materials.

The team at Armstrong wanted to be more environmentally focussed and sustainable as the management believed that this is where the future of manufacturing lies and so they created a point of difference in the Eco-Terazz End of Life Vinyl Composition Tile Recycling.

After much research and development, the company approached corporate end user clients and arranged to collect End of Life vinyl tiles from refurbished department stores and supermarkets for recycling back into a new product, Eco-Terrazz.

Firstly Armstrong concentrated on environmental changes within the business to do with consumption and had exceeded a goal to reduce potable water usage by 30% (sustained improvement is 50%), and met a goal to reduce CO2-e emissions by 40%; a third

goal to achieve zero net waste from operations (defined: waste to landfill =< purchased recycled materials) proved difficult as existing external recycling streams did not produce enough suitable material.

A natural extension was to accept our own product back at the end of its life and produce a new floor from it. The initial objective was to develop a cost neutral end-of-life stream of material to meet our zero waste to landfill objective.

This recycled material enabled Armstrong to produce 200t of finished Eco-Terrazz, doubling their initial target. The development of EcoTerrazz with 60% recycled content, has saved thousands of tonnes of material from landfill, as well as creating a new product for valuable export and local markets.

Some of the hurdles that had to be overcome in the process of creating the product was that after a review of local and export markets regulations it was uncovered that there were restrictions in the use of some raw materials in common use 10 years ago which necessitated strict material testing.

Further challenges were from: the likely quality of materials to be returned given construction waste was simply binned for landfill, returned multi coloured materials could not be easily be sorted for use in standard products, and there was no Australia wide developed supply chain.

Jenkins said these were overcome and capital investment was approved and the product was launched in the fourth quarter of 2011. manmonthly.com.au

The environment is in safe hands with Atlas Copco Compressors

For the seventh consecutive year, Atlas Copco has been named one of the world’s most sustainable companies.

In addition to social indicators, companies were measured against an objective ‘sustainable path’ standard for: energy, carbon, water and waste ratios.

As a founding member of the Endeavour Awards (currently in it’s 9th year), we are once again proud to be a sponsor of the Environmental Solution of the Year award and would like to congratulate the winner, Saurin Group and Longwarry Food Park.

Atlas Copco Compressors Australia 1800 023 469 ausairinfo@au.atlascopco.com www.atlascopco.com.au

Young Manufacturer of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Bright future for young manufacturer Endeavour Award winner, David Michel, has a promising career in telemetry design and manufacturing.

Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson report.

AVID Michel, engineering manager at Automation Control Systems (ACS), an Australian company which designs and manufacturers fleet management technology for the materials handling industry, took out Endeavour Awards Young Manufacturer of the Year Award for 2012.

On accepting his Award, David expressed surprise and gratitude for the recognition and expressed his desire to continue working for ACS over the long term.

“I’m very honoured to win this Award. After reading the other finalists I didn’t really expect to win.

“I really enjoy the company I work for. Right now we’re in the middle of a big project that is going to be released to the market just after the financial year so I’m really hoping to bring the company forward and get on to bigger and better projects in the future,” he said.

At the heart of ACS’s fleet management technology is the use of real time telemetry with web technologies to provide unprecedented levels of information for fleet operators to manage their operating efficiencies.

David designed ACS’s Fleet Online telemetry device which sells over 200 units annually to the equipment dealer network. He also helped in the development of Speedshield which controls speed in large and heavy equipment.

“I’m most proud of our Fleet Online product that is sold all over Australia and America and the UK. I personally put a lot of work into that so I’m quite proud of it,” David said.

In his speech, David was quick to acknowledge his team and the work that everyone puts in to complete the projects to a high standard and on time.

“I’m very honoured to receive this award, it’s fantastic. Congratulations to the other finalists.

Thanks to my engineering team, it’s not just the efforts of one person that makes ACS a successful company.”

He explained he is now an engineering manager at ACS, working with the company for over five years.

“In that time I’ve had the privilege to work on many different projects, mostly developing products that measure, sensor and collect data in automotive environments.

“Over my time working on our Speedshield product I’ve learnt it’s important to design to world standards and to implement rigorous product testing on all parts of design and manufacture,” he said.

According to Jason Ko, ACS’s Director,

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44 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

After reading the other finalists I didn’t really expect to win - David Michel.

Adrian Heaton, National Marketing Manager Discrete Automation and Motion, ABB Australia, (left) presenting the award to David Michel.

David has also successfully designed a power supply for next generation devices.

“Designing a reliable power supply in materials handling equipment is challenging due to the voltage requirement from battery electric forklifts spanning anywhere from 12V to 80V. “Automotive products require only to work at 12V meaning very specific circuits can be designed. Designing power electronics for internal combustion and electric forklifts was an achievement David met,” Ko said.

“David has also achieved non-tangible outcomes for ACS, which in many cases are just as important as his technical achievements.

“He has positively impacted the engineering work culture, and because he is an engineer at heart before a manager he understands what drives engineering staff.

“As such David has streamlined good engi-

neering practice into a business environment such as design standards, version control, and how ACS manages its valuable intangible assets and its intellectual property,” Ko said.

David began at ACS as a graduate in 2006 and has worked his way up to his current position as Engineering Manager.

He is now in charge of design of hardware, firmware and programming as well as managing a team of four staff and two contractors.

He deals with international heads of design and has worked to develop a strategy that ensures his team develops on time, in rhythm and shows consistent performance.

Ko said, David has helped establish the R&D culture to promote creativity without compromising accountability and specifically, and has played an important part in the FM1 Telemetry Projects with Nacco Materials Handling Group (NMHG).

“David cultivates brainstorming activity, which is an important part of the creative process, and ensures every voice is heard and every opinion is considered. Ultimately the solution design is always a joint effort by all those involved, “He brings the hardware engineering and firmware development to reality.

His initiative and attitude towards work is one that colleagues emulate by demonstration.

“His value in the business is much more than the technical expertise he brings, but also the operational aspect of ACS’ identity as an innovative engineering company,” Ko said. manmonthly.com.au

Your network.

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Talk directly with us or make contact through our ABB authorized value providers or any other member of our network. We are all here to listen and meet your needs.

This convenient network delivers high quality ABB services and product-specific authorization, knowledge and local expertise. Our promise is to be near you, for you.

Please visit www.abbaustralia.com.au/productguide to learn more about our sales and service network near you, and our unique ABB authorized value providers.

ABB Australia Pty Limited Phone: 1800 222 435 www.abbaustralia.com.au/productguide

Australian Consumer/Trade Product of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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World-first gas heater wins top award Seeley International won the Consumer Trade Product of the Year Award with the world’s first six star ducted gas heater. Madeline Prince and Alan Johnson report.

EELEY International won this year’s Endeavour Award for Consumer Trade Product of the Year for its ‘world-first’ Braemar 6 Star Ducted Gas Heating Range, which was launched earlier this year.

The new heaters are the highest rating available with the lowest costs associated. They also have zone heating capability and a corrosion-resistant heat exchanger.

Frank Seeley, founder and chairman of Seeley International was very excited about winning the award saying “it’s wonderful, it’s fantastic, it’s even better than that but words fail me.”

Seeley International has two manufacturing plants in Australia, Lonsdale in South Australia and Albury in NSW, and employs more than 300 staff. Its products are market leaders in energy efficiency with the Braemar range Australia’s most efficient range of ducted gas heaters.

All Braemar heaters also feature the InShot Burner, combustion inducer fan, electronic ignition, Home/Away setting, heat exchanger, multi-level safety controls as standard and flexible installation.

In 2009, the Braemar’s ducted gas heating range hit 5.6 stars. However, the company did not stop there and continued to invest in product development to improve the energy efficiency of the ducted gas heating range.

The engineering team faced many challenges including the design and optimisation of the control system to achieve the correct balance of gas input, combustion air flow and burner stability to achieve optimum efficiency over a much wider modulating range than other ducted gas heaters on the market.

The team overcame these issues, and more, and now has the world’s first six star heaters, however, Seeley is encouraging his team to create even better products.

“When we achieved the six stars, I said to the guys now go back and make a seven star heater, so the challenge is there.”

Seeley International has a strong focus on research and development, investing more than $4m annually. This ensures it meets its corporate vision – “to lead the world in creating climate control solutions which continue to be highly innovative, of premium quality and inspirational in their delivery of energy-efficiency”.

Braemar ducted gas heating offers two zoning options: standard zoning and Spectrolink Multizone zoning, which allows users to have different temperatures, and different user-

S

46 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Braemar’s 6 Star Ducted Gas Heating Range a world first.

MM’s Anthony Head (left) congratulates Frank Seeley on winning the Award.

programmed automatic operating times, in each zone. All Braemar heaters also feature the InShot Burner, combustion inducer fan, electronic ignition, Home/Away setting, heat exchanger, multi-level safety controls as standard and flexible installation.

According to Seeley, the company relies on continuous innovation and being the first to market as the company’s competitive advantage over companies that manufacture products overseas with lower labour costs and poorer quality.

“Each extra star rating represents a 10 to 15% drop in running costs which shows the savings that can be made through the new Braemar range which is especially important with the increase of electricity prices.

“The fact is, it is the most energy efficient product in the world. And with the cost of energy going through the roof, couple that with what our government is doing is going to take prices higher and higher, no wonder Australians are concerned.

“But here we have a product that will out perform anything in the world in terms of energy efficiency. It has to be a plus for Australia and for all those who buy it,” he said.

Seeley was moved by Dick Warburton’s keynote speech at the start of the Awards ceremony and believes that Australian manufacturing needs to keep creating better ways of doing things in order to survive the current tough climate.

“I appreciated what Dick Warburton had to say, he’s right as always. I am also passionate believer in Australian manufacturing.”

“I believe that we can compete with anybody in the world if we do just two things; we’ve got to innovate like crazy as if there is no tomorrow, and we have to automate.

“And ladies and gentleman if we’ve got the guts to do those things really well and keep on doing them we can be there,” Seeley said.

Armstrong Worldwide won the highly commended award in this category for its EcoTerazz End-of-life tile. The development of Eco-Terrazz with 60% recycled content, has saved thousands of tonnes of material from landfill, as well as creating a new product for valuable export and local markets. manmonthly.com.au

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Most Innovative Company of The Year Award - 2012 Winner

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Innovation integral for Integra win Innovation is not about being first, it’s about being the smartest and the best, according to winner of the Most Innovative Company of the Year Award. Madeline Prince and Annie Dang report.

VERYONE strives for innovation, but not everyone understands what the word actually means. This year’s winner of this year’s Most Innovative Company of the Year Award, Melbourne-based product development and design and manufacturing company, Integra Systems seems to have decoded the “innovation secret”.

Innovation is not about being “first” said Erika Hughes, marketing director of Integra Systems when accepting the award.

“Over time, we at Integra Systems have learnt that innovation isn’t always about being the first at everything; it’s about being the smartest and being the best, and makings sure that we are globally competitive,” Hughes said.

According to Hughes, innovation is the foundation of the family-owned company. “It’s entrenched in everything we do. It was the cornerstone of where we began 21 years ago,” she said.

“We were the first to produce the fastest high speed coil processing line, which has

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48 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

Integra Systems is currently developing in-house, a range of products including, playground equipment, office workstations and workspace solutions.

been a globally competitive.

“We’re just absolutely honoured to be accepting this award. We want to thank

Manufacturers’ Monthly for recognising all manufacturers and the contribution that everybody makes to this valuable industry.”

manmonthly.com.au

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The company developed the first high speed coil processing line, the “Punch-IT Coil Processing Line” in 1995 – it was also the first of its kind in the world.

This breakthrough production system became the foundation of ‘Punch-IT Systems’.

The application of other Integra tooling innovations, combined with state-of-the-art CNC plant and equipment has built the framework for the company’s delivery of world class engineering and manufacturing solutions.

Also, proving that innovation is indeed about being “smart” rather than “first” is green tech renewable energy company Dyesol, who manufactures and supplies Dye Solar Cell (DSC) materials and technology.

The company was highly commended on the night for its DSC technology innovation – DSC is a photovoltaic technology enabling metal, glass and polymeric based products to generate energy and improve energy efficiency particularly in the building, transport and electronics sectors.

While manufacturers large and small are driving innovation to achieve best practice, only one company can take the title of Most Innovative Company of the Year Award; a title which can surprise even the winner themselves.

“Looking at all those other companies we

manmonthly.com.au

Bruce Grey, MD, Advanced Manufacturing CRC (left) presenting the Award to Erika and Paul Hughes of Integra Systems.

thought, well if you’re here tonight then you’re obviously an innovative company, and to then be selected at the top of all those innovative companies was a real honour and we’re really humbled by it,” said Paul Hughes, MD and CEO, of Integra Systems .

Looking forward, he sees the challenges facing industry as an opportunity for Integra, and Australian manufacturing, to discover, develop and competitively implement new technology, solutions and processes.

“The high cost of production will always be an issue unless we are smart about how our technology is applied,” he said.

“We will always support our brand’s promise of ‘manufacturing innovations’ by not offering the world; but by providing our customers with innovative thinking, innovative use of technology, and always challenging the expected to provide the unexpected – the only way to stay ahead of import competition.”

According to Paul Hughes, harnessing the brainpower and inventive nature of Australians will enable the local industry to stay ahead of the high volume imported products.

“Innovation has always been in my upbringing, being proud to be Australian and feeling like we can do something better; that has been the philosophy of our business, and that always trying to do things as best as we can to compete against the rest of the world – knowing that we can do it best in Australia.”

Regular product iterations and smart manufacturing can help keep Australia ahead of the game, Hughes says. “State of the art technology needs to be engaged to ensure quality is second to none, and that the productions services remain lean,” he added.

Founded in 1991, Integra manufactures globally competitive, contract manufacturing for fully specified products and components.

The company’s proprietary product ranges are developed from concept through to distribution.

Manufacturers’ Monthly JUNE 2012 49

Motors& DRIVES 1hp motor, or a 10 or 20A motor without knowing the efficiency or the load requirements.

“There are motors available that meet and exceed the highest global efficiency standards we just need engineers to be mindful of this during the selection process,” Motum said.

Energy performance

Manufacturers shouldn’t look at the motor in isolation.

Improving motor efficiency Selecting the right energy efficient motor can deliver significant cost savings for local manufacturers. Annie Dang writes.

W

HEN it comes to assessing the energy efficiency levels of motors, manufacturers need to consider the design of the motor in context of the application and operating system it is used.

Brett Motum, Maxon Motor’s Australian MD, says the prime focus for manufacturers should be the design principal and quality of a motor.

“Some motors by design are more efficient than others. For example, if a motor contains a laminated stack then eddy currents which represent a loss are generated within the iron laminations,” Motum told Manufacturers’ Monthly.

“From a design standpoint, companies can select an ironless motor to eliminate this loss altogether or from a quality standpoint they can select a motor with very thin iron laminates and higher grade metals to reduce this eddy current loss.”

Motum says there a huge number of additional factors to consider at this point, such as bearing type and quality, the air 50 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

gaps within a motor the type of magnets and so on.

The importance of considering factors other than design was also noted by Frank Cerra, SEWEurodrive Australia engineering manager.

“What it also comes down to is not only the motor, but what the motor is driving,” Cerra said.

“Manufacturers and motor users shouldn’t just look at the motor in isolation. They also need to look at the type of gear box, the process that is being driven by the motor and how they are doing things in order to improve their efficiency.

“They might have a super premium efficiency motor, but if coupled with a very inefficient gear box, they would have lost all the efficiency gains from the motor.”

“They need to look at the whole system, not just the components in the system,” Cerra said.

Non-compliant motors Once a non-compliant energy efficient motor is already installed in application, it is then

difficult to get that motor to meet energy efficient standards.

Motum says applying a “band aid solution” will not bring about greater motor efficiency.

“The most gains to be made here are on the controller side.

“If speed, torque or position control is required for the application there are newly released controllers on the market with over 95% rated efficiencies,” Motum explained.

However, he says the main loss is in the conversion of electrical to rotary.

“The mistake made most often here in Australia is a result of familiarity. An engineer with a machine to build will select the motor he knows and has always used.

“Sticking with something you know is eventually going to mean you are not going to be using a motor design with the latest advancements.”

Motum says common mistakes companies make is operating manufacturing equipment with large AC motors to move tiny loads or companies asking for a

In Australia, the current efficiency standard is AS1359.5 2004.

There is also the international standard IEC60064-30, which is currently under review for a second edition.

In its current form, the international standard defines all efficiency levels and assigns each level of efficiency percentage figures for each motor power rating.

Levels include IE1, which defines the motor as old and non-efficient, IE2 which classifies motors as high efficiency, IE3 for premium efficiency motors, and IE4 which is for super premium motor efficiency.

To make sense of this, Cerra explained that most motors in the IE2 category – the most popular and common energy efficient level for motor choice – typically meets Australian energy efficiency standards.

This according to Cerra, is a good indicator that local standards are in many ways on par, if not higher than international standards, and the need for improvement is not so immediate.

“The Australia standard is high in some areas; there are some differences compared with the international standard, but overall the local energy efficient standard is higher,” Cerra said.

As an example, Cerra says, the Australian standard still covers 8-pole motors, where as the international one doesn’t.

However he believes that the two standards will blend once a review of the international standard is completed and the new IEC standards covers 8-pole motors.

SEW-Eurodrive 03 9933 1000, www.sew-eurodrive.com.au Maxon Motor Australia 02 9476 4777, www.maxonmotor.com.au manmonthly.com.au

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Motors & DRIVES Absolute single and multiturn encoders The drives allow replacement of a pneumatic air cylinder without the need for mechanical alterations.

Better performing electric drives METAL Work has introduced a range of electric drives – Elektro ISO15552 – said to have the same overall dimensions as ISO 15552 pneumatic cylinders.

This feature allows replacement of a pneumatic air cylinder without the need for any mechanical alterations. Additionally, all the accessories of traditional cylinders can be used.

If the application requires the following: controlled ramping of acceleration and deceleration during the stroke of the cylinder; the ability to accurately stop at any point or points of the stroke with high repeatability; and higher forces and accuracy than normal pneumatics, the company says an electric cylinder will performs the task better than conventional pneumatics.

The actuators are offered as a complete solution, allowing users to just specify a few key requirements for stroke, speed, load and orientation, or a fully supported solution, which includes electric drive, servo or stepper motors and motor driver.

Alternatively users can select hardware only solutions based on size and specifications and use their own motor and drive combinations.

Metal Work Pneumatic Australia, 03 9706 6718, www.metalwork.com.au

52 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

MOTION Technologies has introduced the ELAP MEMBUS encoders – an absolute encoder available with direct interface to either CAN open or PROFIBUS network.

MEM-Bus encoders can be supplied both in single and in multiturn version. The singleturn encoder has a resolution of 13 bit and the multiturn type has a resolution value of 29 bit (8192 steps/revolution x 65536 revolutions).

Different mechanical versions are available for application

The encoder has a stout aluminum case to ensure a high protection degree in demanding industrial environments.

requirements, such as square flanged, round flanged with

Positioning controller MAXON Motor Australia has introduced the digital positioning controller EPOS3 70/10 EtherCAT, said to meet the highest demands in realtime positioning of synchronised multi-axis systems.

Compact in size, the digital positioning controller offers a wide nominal power supply voltage range from 11 to 70VDC and delivers a continuous output current of 10A, during acceleration and deceleration up to 25A. Designed for DC and EC motors with a power range up to 700W, it provides uniform running for motors equipped with incremental encoders.

The digital positioning controller can be integratee as slave into real-time EtherCAT protocol-based Ethernet networks, and, with the provided device

The positioning controller supports a broad bandwidth of encoders.

description file and device-specific configuration guide.

A range of operating modes allows flexible use in a wide range of drive systems in robotics, automation, and mechatronics.

Maxon Motor Australia 02 9476 4777, www.maxonmotor.com.au

servo coupling, and with hollow shaft to couple directly to a motor shaft.

All the types are said to offer different options for the shaft/ hole diameter. The electrical connection is by cables. Two- or three- cable gland options are available.

The MEM-Bus encoder is designed with a stout aluminum case to ensure a high protection degree in demanding industrial environments.

Motion Technologies 02 9524 4782, www.motiontech.com.au

Shock resistant Encoders AUTOMATED Control Engineering and AMCI have introduced the DC425 DuraCoder – an absolute analog multi-turn rotary shaft encoder that offers an analog current or analog voltage output, over single or multiple turns.

The encoder features an IP67 rated aluminium housing for durability in harsh environments, 5/8 inch stainless steel shaft and resolver-based sensing technology.

The absolute analog multi-turn rotary shaft encoder is said to perform efficiently in environments of continuous mechanical shock and vibrations, and exposure to air and liquid-borne contaminants.

Automated Control Engineering 02 4954 5004, www.aceg.com.au

manmonthly.com.au

MaterialsHANDLING Pallet trucks for hard-wearing applications MITSUBISHI Forklift Trucks has launched a new generation of pallet trucks, designed for hardwearing applications.

The PBP16-20N2 power pallet trucks are available in 1600, 1800 and 2000kg versions.

The trucks feature a sealed chassis, which offers protection against dirt and dust to reduce wear. They also have a strong drive unit with an oil-filled transmission for reliable and quiet operation. Wiring and connections are waterproof to prevent mechanical faults.

The pallet trucks have an advanced programmable controller for both drive and lift functions, in order to ensure smooth, energy-efficient operation and a reduced number of components.

The maximum lifting height is 135mm.

The trucks come in various sizes: 1600, 1800 and 2000kg.

The shelving is made of heavy-duty steel panels with reinforced edges.

High-rise storage shelving

MLA Holdings 131 652 www.mlaholdings.com.au

Robotic palletising package ABB has launched the PalletPack 460, a pre-engineered package of robotic palletising components featuring the new IRB 460 robot designed specifically for high speed end of processing line palletising.

The IRB 460, reportedly the fastest robot palletiser known

to the market, is at the heart of the company’s palletising function package.

This 4-axis palletiser features a 110kg capacity plus a reach of 2.4m.

Its compact footprint makes it suitable for integration into existing packing lines.

The package consists of the

IRB 460 robot, a Flex-Gripper (either the claw or one-zone clamp gripper), a control PLC, safety PLC, PalletWare support software, user documentation and the company’s FlexPendant featuring an easy-to-use graphical human machine interface.

ABB Australia 1300 782 527 www.abb.com

ACTISAFE has expanded its range of industrial occupational health and safety products with the release of its high-rise storage shelving.

The Australian-made shelving is suitable for warehouses, components and parts processes, food manufacturers and other general industrial companies.

The company added the new shelving to its product range in order to offer a degree of customisation to companies with a variety of storage needs.

Made of heavy-duty steel panels and framework, the high-rise storage shelving can be powder coated to a specific colour required by the end user.

Designed with reinforced edges, the customised technology is durable enough to withstand impact from items such as forklifts, palette tracks and other industrial materials handling equipment.

Actisafe 1300 852 397 www.actisafe.com.au

sales

54 JUNE 2012 Manufacturers’ Monthly

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