By Peter Roberts The Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) just announced procurement of a dedicated undersea support vessel along with other perplexing decisions by defence are raising questions over whether there is a sufficient focus in Canberra about buying from Australian companies. After a selection process led by an independent broker, the Norwegian flagged MV Normand…
Shipbuilder Austal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Swedish ferry operator Gotlandsbolaget for the design of Gotland’s next catamaran, Horizon X (pictured). The Horizon X high-speed catamaran will be able to operate on hydrogen and other fossil-free fuels and run at 35 knots, while transporting 1,650 passengers and up to 450 vehicles. Under the…
Waratah Seed, Australia’s first ride-share satellite mission will fly an Australian-built 6U CubeSat into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher in October, 2023. SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is committing $1 million to support the development of new space technology that will be tested in space as payloads on the Waratah…
Everyone is collecting more and more data in their operations, but its effectiveness is in how you use it to increase value for the customer. Here, Tim McLean reviews the data scene, urges us not to give up all the old, visual management ways, and outlines what we need to look for in a Manufacturing…
Sun Cable, which is developing a proposal to supply renewably generated electricity from the Norther Territory to Singapore via undersea cable, has diversified its business offering with an agreement to supply energy to mining group Tivan Ltd. Tivan is progressing development of its Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project project in the Northern Territory. Utilising its 100…
The Ai Group Australian Industry Index (Aii) fell in March 2023, dropping 4.4 points to -6.1 points (seasonally adjusted). This indicates mildly contractionary conditions. The index, which complements the Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index, and also covers business services sectors including utilities, transport, ICT and technical services, has been in contraction since May 2022. Key…
The legislating of the federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund could be a critical moment in a renaissance in Australian manufacturing, or the moment could be squandered depending on how it is rolled out. Here, Allen Roberts lays out some learnings from the past, that could help the NRF meet what is a massive challenge ahead.…
The first entries are in in the Australian Manufacturing Forum networking group and @AuManufacturing’s hunt to identify and celebrate Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers. We can’t give away too much about what we have seen so far, but we can say innovation in manufacturing takes many forms – from innovation in product, process, materials, technology…
The first prototype ship block for Australia’s Hunter Class Frigate Program has been moved from the block consolidation hall at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide. Built by BAE Systems Australia the block, known as block 16, was moved into the shipyard’s state-of-the-art blast and paint chamber – construction is progressing at pace on the…
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $120 million in funding has been made available to back a rollout of community battreies across Australia. The cash, under Round 1 of the Community Batteries Funding Program, aims to deploy batteries to lower energy bills, cut emissions and reduce pressure on the electricity grid. ARENA is…