Survivors of Australia’s automotive retreat soldier on, even prosper

By Peter Roberts The brand new $17 million factory of automation and systems integrator Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions (BAMS, pictured) is silent when I visit the factory located at Clayton in south-eastern suburban Melbourne. Workers have gone home for the day, allowing this journalist a Covid-safe tour of a production floor full to capacity with…

Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Applications open for Securing Raw Materials Program (SRMP). Round two of the federal government’s Securing Raw Materials Program (SRMP) will invest $29 million into businesses looking to undertake R&D on locally sourced raw material supplies. The government is anticipating applications from manufacturing businesses looking to innovate with Australian materials, importantly through linking with public sector…

Xtek and Skykraft test space payload launch system

Space services company Skykraft and composite materials manufacturer XTEK Limited have successfully completed the mechanical and vibration testing of a 500kg Payload Launch Stack which housed 24 representative Skykraft developed small satellites. Funded by a grant from the Australian Space Agency the stack is capable of supporting and deploying 24 small satellites and was tested…