The federal government has issued a request for tender for the building of thirty self-propelled howitzers and 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles for the army. The request was issued to preferred supplier Hanwha Defence Australia under the army’s Protected Mobile Fires project and will provide better mobility, lethality and crew protection. The self-propelled howitzers will…
Two battery metals initiatives have reported progress as Australian resources companies continue two develop initiatives towards a mine to factory lithium ion battery supply chain. FYI Resources has progressed plans to upgrade ores into high purity alumina (HPA, Al2O3), while Pure Minerals will start its nickel-cobalt pilot plant later this year. Pure Minerals Townsville Energy…
Shipbuilder Austal and additive manufacturing technology company AML3D have teamed up to develop additive manufacturing components for naval vessels. Signalling a move to additive components, Austal has signed a $20,000 contract for AML3D to optimise the design of an existing naval personnel lifting device. The project, likely to lead to other design and production contracts,…
Engineer John Blakemore believes now is the time for politicians to accept that manufacturing policy has failed, plus his priorities for change. The covid-19 pandemic has exposed Australian supply chains and our lack of independent manufacturing capability to a significant extent and clearly demonstrated that the policies of the past need to change. We have…
Trust in the iconic Australian Made kangaroo logo is at a high, with new Roy Morgan research finding 92 per cent of Australians are confident products displaying the logo are made in Australia, up from 88 per cent in 2019. The research also found that 97 per cent of people understand the link with associating…
Ballarat manufacturer Gekko Medical has received an order from the Victorian State Government for 170 of its GeVentor invasive ventilators designed and made in Australia. The GeVentors are expected to be available within five weeks and will be used in health services across the state. The order follows permission for the GeVentor to progress into…
Australian semiconductor manufacturer BluGlass Limited has been awarded a grant from the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) to help develop its core technology. The $250,000 matched funding grant will assist the development and commercialisation of BluGlass’ breakthrough deposition technology called Remote Plasma Chemical Vapour Deposition (RPCVD). In July @AuManufacturing reported that Bluglass had developed and…
In this sponsored article in @AuManufacturing’s Australia’s niche champions series, William Lebihan of SMC Corporation looks at the trend towards reshoring, and some of the support available from global technology leaders. One of the many learnings over the past few months is that of self-sufficiency. In the past, Australia, like many other countries, gradually outsourced a large…
Industrial composites systems manufacturer Matrix Composites & Engineering plunged to a $64.5 million loss after tax in the 2020 financial year with delays, deferrals and reduced capital expenditure in the oil and gas sector. Underlying EBITDA loss is $3.7 million, the difference made up by asset write downs as its markets were challenged by the…
Drone counter-measure company DroneShield Ltd has received orders from government agencies of two separate European countries for its products. The first order is for the Company’s DroneSentinel multi-sensor detection system, controlled by the DroneShieldComplete Command-and-Control (“C2”) engine. The order also includes its DroneGun Tactical portable counterdrone equipment. The second order is from the Ministry of…