The Australian Industry Group’s Performance of Manufacturing Index slipped below 50 in October, described as the third month of flat conditions and “broadly stable” in seasonally adjusted terms. The third month of overall flat conditions follows a positive start to the year and month-on-month growth across February to July. The PMI fell 0.6 points in October…
Recycling technology company Samsara Eco has announced completion of a $54 million Series A round, ahead of plans to begin volume production next year. The Australian National University spinout officially launched in September 2021, and is commercialising an “enzymatic depolymerisation” approach to recycling. This uses engineered enzymes to break plastics into monomers which can be…
Graphene technology developer Sparc Technologies and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have joined forces to develop hard carbon for the production of anodes for the nascent sodium ion battery market. As part of a wider Strategic Partnership Agreement between Sparc and QUT, they are developing a novel process for the production of hard carbon using…
Major aluminium manufacturer Capral has announced the introduction of its new LocAl aluminium, a lower-carbon primary aluminium option available across Capral’s locally manufactured extruded aluminium products. The LocAl offer includes two lower carbon aluminium options – LocAl Green with carbon emissions of eight kg CO2e/kg Al and LocAl Super Green at four kg CO2e/kg Al…
The recently announced Hunter Manufacturing Awards (HMA) winners highlight the intuition, inventiveness, determination, and scope of the sector in the region. HMA’s mission is to promote best practices, and in recognising outstanding achievers, it encourages and sustains the aspirations of those who want to join them. HMA chairman Steven Smith said “expect the unexpected” became…
Sale of DXN assets falls through The sale of the manufacturing operations of modular data centre producer DXN to Flow2Edge Australia flagged in October will not proceed in its current form. (See story here.) DXN told investors that the company was considering alternative strategies for its module manufacturing business, including potentially with Flow. “This opportunity…
Family-owned Bundaberg region company Kookaburra Worm Farms says that it expects to take on ten new full-time staff as it commercialises a new liquid biological fertiliser. In a statement on Tuesday from the Queensland government, which recently awarded the company a Regional Economic Development Grant, Bundaberg state MP Tom Smith said Kookaburra was creating a…
The federal government has announced the establishment of an Office of National Rail Industry Coordination (ONRIC). According to a statement the office will lead a national and coordinated approach to address challenges facing the rail manufacturing sector. The office will deliver the government’s $14.2 million National Rail Manufacturing Plan, part of the government’s A Future…
The reason why additive manufacturing group Amaero abandoned plans to build a titanium alloy powders plant in Victoria has been revealed in a statement to the ASX. The plant will instead be constructed in the United Arab Emirates supported by investment funds made possible by that country’s defence offsets programme. In September Amaero dumped a…
The Babcock Australasia-owned NSM (Australia) has been awarded a five-year contract initially worth $32 million for maintenance at Defence’s new Regional Maintenance Centre West at Henderson, Western Australia, following a competitive tender process. RMCW is scheduled to be fully-operational in the third quarter of next year, initially supporting sustainment of the Arafura class offshore patrol…
