Brent is a co-founder and editor of @AuManufacturing.

From Sydney to the world: Star Combo Pharma sets benchmark in Australian export growth

Sponsored Leading Australian health and natural beauty manufacturer Star Combo Pharma was invited as a keynote speaker at the recent NSW Export Capability Building Workshop— hosted by Investment NSW and the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group). The company shared its strategic insights and practical experience in navigating international markets, offering a real-world roadmap to inspire…

A frank discussion on grants, government’s role and getting our self-belief back

Panels don’t always cover topics such as unforeseen disasters attached to winning a grant or the untapped potential of propaganda, but the final discussion at the recent Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar did. Simon Crane, CEO and majority shareholder of 95-year-old industrial and automotive supplier Lovells Group, shared that his company had only once applied…

The science and business of making and unmaking

Like-for-like recycling, for example turning a PET bottle into another PET bottle, is a good outcome, believes Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla. The inventor and founding Director of UNSW’s Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) is focussed elsewhere, though. “When materials get more complex you can’t always assume that conventional solutions and conventional manufacturing…

Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, July 7 – July 11, 2025

What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) Methane-to-turquoise hydrogen catalyst project awarded $492,526 grant from AEA A team including energy technology company 1414 Degrees has been awarded an Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) Ignite grant of $492,526 for a project progressing a proprietary hydrogen reactor. According to a…

Spotlight on Scaling Up event wrap-up

Focus and finance were the dominant themes at Spotlight on Scaling Up, a recent half-day seminar by @AuManufacturing in partnership with AMGC, BDO, and the Australian Business Growth Fund. Keynote speakers Alf and Nadia Taylor shared their adventure from husband-and-wife engineering consultancy to an international food packaging and processing solution provider with a headcount of over 600…

Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, June 30 – July 4, 2025

What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) Major Project status awarded to Northern Silica and Bonaparte Carbon Capture projects The federal government has granted Major Project Status to two large-scale, renewable energy-related projects – the Northern Silica Project and Bonaparte Carbon Capture and Storage Project – and renewed…

Decide on a direction or die off

Despite the Industry 4.0 theme emerging from Germany early in the last decade, local uptake of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” (or smart factories, 4IR or a handful of other near-synonyms) appears to be slow. The benefits have been spruiked ad nauseum in the intervening years by industrial technology vendors, researchers, manufacturing advocates and others. Yet…

Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, June 23 – June 27, 2025

What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) DroneShield announces record-breaking order worth $61.6 million Counter-drone business DroneShield has announced three standalone follow-on contracts, worth a total of $61.6, representing “the biggest single order” in its history and topping its entire revenue of $57.5 million for 2024. According to…