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Rheinmetall Delivers First Boxer 8x8 CRVs to the Australian Army

Rheinmetall recently delivered the first 25 Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) to the Australian Army under the $5.2 billion LAND 400 Phase 2 Mounted Combat Reconnaissance Capability project. Rheinmetall will deliver a total of 211 Boxer 8x8 Vehicles in different versions. They will replace the Army’s Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAV) under LAND 400 Phase 2. Delivery of the first 25 vehicles enables Army to continue towards Initial Operating Capability on schedule as Rheinmetall moves into the next phase of the LAND 400 Phase 2 program.

Rheinmetall Defence Australia Managing Director Gary Stewart said Boxer’s levels of survivability and mobility was proving a game changer for Australia’s armoured cavalry. “Boxer is now enabling the capabilities that allow Army to fight, survive and win on the modern, complex battlefields of today and tomorrow,” Stewart said. “And Rheinmetall is simultaneously delivering early combat vehicle capability to the Australian Defence Force while creating a sovereign industrial capability in combat vehicle design and manufacture.”

Stewart said delivery of these initial vehicles was only possible by taking advantage of the current production lines in Germany, and using this approach as part of technology transfer activities to ensure Australian workers and suppliers become familiar with manufacturing techniques for highly complex military vehicles. Rheinmetall Defence Australia has over 30 Australians currently living and working in Germany, working at Rheinmetall sites and learning from German colleagues.

Image: Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV).

Precision Metal Group Sparks a Career in Welding for School Students

Precision Metal Group (PMG) recently hosted a school holiday ‘welding camp’ at their workshop in Wetherill Park, Sydney. The experience ignited interest in engineering jobs from students and their parents. The ‘welding camp’ concept will be replicated at high schools across Western Sydney as part of a massive industry-led recruitment program aimed at encouraging school students into engineering trades.

“We’re running a school holiday program for everyone in high school—from Year 7 onwards—to give them an understanding of the career path they can start working towards...[it’s giving] our young people hands-on experience in industry,” said PMG Chief Executive, Jason Elias.

“The welding camp is engaging schools, parents, and students...[it’s helping] students to understand there is a broad industry waiting to employ them soon as they are ready to be on the job.”

Mobile engineering workshops will soon roll out in high schools without available facilities. PMG is retro-fitting a shipping container with welding and fabricating equipment that will be dropped off at participating high schools for a maximum of two weeks. The mobile workshop will be moving from school to school across Sydney and regional New South Wales.

“We will be on a roadshow towards the end of this year to expose our students to hands-on experience with the virtual reality of welding and fabricating to give them a taste of what an engineering and manufacturing concept is,” Elias said.

Image: PMG’s school holiday ‘welding camp’.

Austal Australia Launches Supplier ‘Registration of Business’

Austal Australia launched a new supplier ‘registration of interest’ portal, during the Land Forces 2021 International Defence Exposition in Brisbane.

The new supplier portal allows businesses from across Australia to quickly and easily register their interest in supplying goods and services to Austal Australia, and collaborate on current projects and future opportunities, such as LAND 8710 Phase 1.

Austal Australia also announced its intention to submit a proposal to design, build and sustain the Australian Army’s new littoral manoeuvre capability, including amphibious vehicles and independent landing craft in Australia, to be tendered under the A$800 million LAND 8710 Phase 1 Project.

Austal Australia is already working with over 1,200 businesses from around Australia on current shipbuilding projects.

Local Research Collaboration Cuts the Wear and Tear on Mineral Processing Equipment

In a new $2.4 million research partnership between the University of South Australia, LaserBond, and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC), experts are set to develop some of the world’s most resilient minerals processing equipment.

Minerals processing machinery, often worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, endures some of the harshest possible conditions. A key competitive advantage for the industry and for manufacturers would be to increase the longevity of mineral processing equipment through composite coatings (called cladding). The improved cladding needs to match facility maintenance shutdown schedules. By matching the machinery life to service schedules, unforeseen shutdowns can be avoided or minimised. Shutdowns for repairs and maintenance of the equipment can cost more than $100,000 for every hour of downtime.

Designer Traineeship Supports Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise

A new training initiative aimed at securing a steady stream of skilled and qualified workers to support Australia’s unprecedented naval shipbuilding program has been launched. The Naval Shipbuilding College, Naval Group Australia, BAE Systems Maritime Australia and TAFE SA have joined forces to develop The Designer Traineeship.

The program would help provide shipbuilding industry work placements, with graduates to be equipped with basic shipbuilding design skills. Host companies of The Designer Traineeship will provide workplace experiences, mentoring, supervision, training and coaching for students. Upon completion of their traineeship, some graduates may be seconded to Naval Group in France.

“The trainees will have the opportunity to get both study and work experience, while obtaining a shipbuilding Diploma of Engineering – Technical,” Minister Price said. “I’m proud that our Naval Shipbuilding College and TAFE SA are supporting the joint venture by designing the program, a training plan and providing specific shipbuilding context to the course material.

“With the current lack of shipbuilding design work in Australia, this initiative will help develop the skill sets of naval shipbuilding designers through cooperation with a range of experienced shipbuilding companies. By 2030, Australia’s continuous shipbuilding sector will support 15,000 workers across the nation.”

For further information, visit: navalshipbuildingcollege.com.au

Image: Armidale Class patrol boat. ©Commonwealth Government.

Baker & Provan Celebrate 75 Years in Operation

The Western Sydney company specialises in heavy fabrication, machining and on-site support, with customers including in the defence, rail and heavy industry sectors. It employs over 50 at three sites, including six apprentices.

Madeline Baker, granddaughter of co-founder Arthur Baker, said in a statement that she was “immensely proud of the business… I feel like it’s the fabric of my family and I have a real sense of pride that the business has been around for 75 years.”

Arthur Baker and Don Provan, two World War Two veterans, founded the company as a toolmaking workshop in 1946, with a single optical profile grinder.

The company invested in “leading equipment and local employee skillsets and transformed the company” including CNC and larger capacity equipment in the 1970s, responding to a “severe decline in Australian manufacturing” at the time. It entered defence in 1989, producing slewing arm davits for the Australian Navy.

“Baker & Provan are doing some of the most important work for our country through their sovereign capability on our Defence projects,” said federal Lindsay MP Melissa McIntosh. “The way they are actively bringing more women into the business and supporting young apprenticeships is an important part of creating and sustaining local jobs.”

This article first appeared in AuManufacturing.

Image: Baker & Provan team including front row centre: Mal Hiley, Melissa McIntosh, Madeline Baker and Amanda Baker.

Bisalloy Introduces Bisalloy Built

Australia’s only manufacturer of quenched and tempered steel plate, recently launched the Bisalloy Built customer initiative.

Showcasing Bisalloy’s commitment to clients that depend on high quality performance steel, businesses will bear the stamp of quality on their respective products, including truck bodies and earthmoving attachments, indicating they are made of genuine BISALLOY® steel.

The BISALLOY® steel range is renowned for its hardness, impact and abrasion resistance combined with improved wear life designed to perform in the world’s toughest environments. The Bisalloy Built badge is a representation of these attributes providing an unrivalled choice for customers considering their next quenched and tempered steel plate purchase.

Andrew Egan, National Sales and Marketing Manager for Bisalloy, highlighted what the Bisalloy Built initiative means to its industry leading customer and dealer network.

“When you choose businesses and products displaying this badge, you can be assured you’re getting quality Australian made BISALLOY® high performance steel. This badge serves as a quality guarantee the steel is manufactured locally, meets strict Australian standards, and delivers cost and weight savings without compromising strength,” said Egan.

“Our innovative steel range is backed by over 40 years of world-class technical expertise and product development experience. When you see the badge, you will know the product contains BISALLOY® steel. There is a sense of pride among our customers in that they understand what it takes to achieve this level of product quality.”