Analysis and Commentary

@AuManufacturing Conversations Episode 10 — Peter Torreele from 3RT

Analysis and Commentary



In episode ten of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Peter Torreele, founder and Managing Director of 3RT. His company has developed automated machines that can convert wood industry residue into products that look and feel like 100-year-old hardwood.

Torreele is an engineer, economist and marketer by training and has worked at various manufacturing companies, as well spent five years as managing director of the World Economic Forum.

He shares the story of 3RT, which he began with a few insights into the flooring industry and built into a technology company which seems poised to make its mark on the world.

“Basically we say we are growing trees in a machine”

Last month the manufacturer announced that German chemical industry giant Henkel’s venture division made an unspecified investment, which Torreele believes “will assist in turbocharging our technological advancements and global expansion.”

As well as Henkel, 3RT has developed its technology with the help of strategic partnerships with Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions and Flinders University.

Torreele also shares some thoughts on what he believes innovation is, the importance of a networking approach to manufacturing, why Australian companies need to better adopt a value-adding mindset, and more.

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Episode guide

2:10 — Company origin story plus professional background.

4:55 — The types of wood waste that can be used.

6:50 — R&D at the company, plus the differences between innovation versus optimisation.

10:52 — Investment by Henkel Tech Ventures. Some explanations on strategy and partnerships.

12:20 — Three distinctive phases: R&D, prototyping, and scaling. And why the Australian R&D tax incentive is “a godsend” for small companies.

14:30 — More data = better wood.

16:40 — The huge importance of market feedback in product development.

19 — The more you dig into an industry, the more you appreciate its complexity.

20:50 — “If there’s one thing I learned at the World Economic Forum in my five years…”

23:30 — It’s not about machines, but about solutions.

25:50 — Australian manufacturing must develop a value-adding mindset.

28:40 — European expansion.

29:30 — Curiosity and networking are the keys to innovation.

Picture: Torreele (centre) with Flinders University Professor David Lewis (left) and Associate Professor Jonathan Campbell (image credit: Flinders University)

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