Manufacturers dominate SA export awards
Clean Seas Seafood which has systematised the production and export of Kingfish, tuna and Mulloway has been named the South Australian Exporter of the Year at the Business SA 2019 Export Awards.
Canberra underspends on training while training numbers tank
One of the reasons for the collapse in vocational training numbers and an associated shortage of skills has been revealed – the government is failing to spend its allocated training budgets. Falls in VET training, documented by National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and reported extensively in @AuManufacturing news, have been continuous for the…
Cochlear builds in China, develops new implant
Bionic ear manufacturer Cochlear (ASX: COH) is pressing ahead building a new factory in China and moving to human trials of a breakthrough new fully implantable cochlear device. Chairman Rick Holliday-Smith told Cochlear’s annual general meeting that ‘sound’ progress had been made developing its new Chinese manufacturing facility in Chengdu (pictured). He said the project…
gTET commissions Australia’s only geothermal power station
Green thermal energy technology company gTET has commissioned Australia’s only geothermal power station at Winton in outback Queensland. The Melbourne company was responsible for a turn-key installation including integration of two of its ORC generators. ORC Generators convert heat energy into electrical power using the Organic Rankine Cycle, in this case based on hot water…
Austal shares in trading halt awaiting government announcement
Shares of Perth global shipbuilder Austal (ASX: ASB) were today put into a trading halt that could last until Friday. The company did not reveal why trading was suspended, however speculation is that it is related to an imminent decision by federal cabinet. The Australian reported that Cabinet was to announce the winner of a…
Rio Tinto may close NZ aluminium smelter
Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) will conduct a strategic review of its interest in the Tiwai Point smelter in New Zealand operated by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (pictured). The review will consider what is NZ’s only aluminium smelter’s ongoing viability and competitive position, according to a statement released today. The company said: “Under current market conditions…
NZ company develops face recognition for sheep
By Stuart Corner A Dunedin based company, Iris Data Science, aims to develop what it says will be the world’s first sheep facial recognition software, eliminating the need for electronic identification or ear tagging. It will prototype the technology this year after receiving a $40,000 grant from the New Zealand Government’s innovation agency, Callaghan Innovation,…
Suba Engineering ships first laser marker
Sydney’s Suba Engineering has taken another step in its journey from importer to fully fledged product developer and manufacturer with the delivery of its first SubaLaser industrial marker. Suba’s owner Heinz Zimmerman showed off the locally developed marker at his Melbourne office this week (pictured). Zimmerman said: “We showed our SubaLaser marker prototype just over…
Spectur reports rising sales of remote area IoT security systems
Hardware sales are powering off grid security and IoT solutions provider Spectur (ASX: SP3) to expand revenue and margins in the Australian market. The Perth company reported revenue in the first quarter of FY2020 of $1.26 million with gross margins improving to 60 per cent of sales. Hardware sales have seen a 30 per cent…
Holden down, nearly out as post-manufacturing sales tank
Holden sales have slipped inexorably since it exited manufacturing in Australia begging the question – what genius decided it should stop making the all-Australian car? The company, which once sold 100,000 big sedans a year and even a few years ago controlled 10 plus per cent of the market, sold a miserable 2,863 cars in…