Dental equipment and consumables manufacturer SDI (ASX: SDI) increased its profit and sales in the latest financial year as it navigates away from amalgam, the traditionally used material for filling teeth. The Melbourne manufacturer today announced net profit after tax was up 29 per cent to $7.3 million on sales up 6.8 per cent to…
By Peter Roberts Australia has embarked on massive local defence acquisitions without clear linkages to national economic, and ‘perhaps military-strategic impacts’, according to a paper published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Author Rob Bourke, a former economic adviser to the Defence Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group, called for a Productivity Commission inquiry into local…
By Andrew Spence Australian machines that pulverise weed seeds as crops are harvested have been shipped to North America where they are being trialled during this month’s harvest. Invented in South Australia, the Seed Terminator can be retrofitted to new and used John Deere, CASE IH, Massey Ferguson, Claas and New Holland Class 7, 8, 9 and…
Stephen Webster’s company has been developing composite railway sleepers from recycled plastic since 2014. He tells Brent Balinski that the development path hasn’t been easy, and that cooperation among companies and government will be essential if circular economy initiatives are going to flourish.
It has not all been easy going for rice and value-added foods producer SunRice (ASX: SGL) since it listed on the ASX in April. While rice prices were high for its 623,000 tonne crop and the company moved forward on its business strategies, it was hit with an adverse $15 million in foreign exchange movements.…
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released its seventh Gas Inquiry report on Thursday morning, finding that a supply shortfall on the east coast market next year is unlikely, but supply remains tight.
Skippy burgers and steaks could one day be on the menu with a $25,000 grant to a Western Sydney laboratory food start-up. Following in the footsteps of pioneers overseas VOW foods has used stem cells from kangaroo to cell-culture meat in a laboratory. The grant comes from a NSW Treasury scheme to help companies create…
Fertiliser and industrial chemicals manufacturer Incitec Pivot (ASX: IPL) will be able to produce significantly greater quantities of gas, destined for the domestic market, from its 50/50 joint venture in Queensland. The company has been working with Central Petroleum (ASX: CTP) to develop coal seam gas opportunities at Project Range in the Suart Basin and…
There have been media reports that Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance approached federal and state governments for a government guarantee to aid the Whyalla smelter’s restructure and expansion. Todays’s report, in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, reported sources who claim an informal approach was made to a joint Commonweath/South Australian taskforce about the possibility of…
Brent Balinski spoke to Chris Larkin, CEO and co-founder at PolyLab, about the startup’s origins in humanitarian work and its plans to close the loop for rapid prototyping. 3D printing for prototyping can be expensive and wasteful, with a large amount of unused support material and the prototypes themselves binned after they’ve outlived their…
