Composites group XTEK has received a purchase order from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for the supply of additional AeroVironment WASP AE Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS). The order, worth $2.8 million, is in addition to the ongoing SUAS supply contract to the ADF. The AeroVironment craft provides real-time video and thermal data, covering a…
By Stuart Corner Australian dairy products manufacturer, Bega Cheese will deploy Cumulocity, Software AG’s IoT platform, to build an IoT service linking supplier farms, milk transport storage and processing facilities, in conjunction with Swinburne University of Technology. The system will provide real time data on milk production at farmer suppliers including volumes, temperature, quality composition,…
The New Zealand Army is to purchase Bushmaster armoured vehicles developed and manufactured by French Thales Group in Bendigo. Thales will supply 43 Bushmasters in a deal worth $75 million. Bushmaster is a heavy 11-tonne, 4×4 protected vehicle with a 4-tonne payload and a V-hull design which deflects explosions away from the passenger cabin. The…
Biotechnology giant CSL has stepped up the fight against Covid-19 with the announcement it has begun trials to evaluate its monoclonal antibody CSL312 for respiratory distress. The company’s CSL Behring arm has begin phase II placebo-controlled studies on the safety and efficacy of the garadacimab, Factor XIIa antagonist monoclonal antibody for patients with Covid-19 related…
Comment by Peter Roberts Rio Tinto will close New Zealand’s largest aluminium smelter operated by New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (pictured) in what should be a stark warning to the Coalition dithering on energy policy. A strategic review of the smelter which produces 335,290 tonnes of ultrahigh purity aluminium from Australian bauxite found the business is…
Sydney premium vitamin manufacturer Blackmores has found strong investor support for its capital raising with a share purchase plan closing significantly over-subscribed. The company had beem planning to raise $25 million but received applications from existing shareholders for new shares worth $77 million. The company decided to scale back allocations to individual investors on a…
Carbon fibre composite automotive wheel manufacturer Carbon Revolution has revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting demand for its product. The Geelong producer told investors that its sales growth was being affected, in turn cutting growth projections in the first half of the financial year. As recently as April Carbon Revolution was bullish about its…
Composites manufacturer Quickstep Technologies has supplied the United States Marine Corps’ AV-8B Harrier fleet with 260 urgently needed, obsolete aircraft parts. Sydney-based Quickstep produced the parts for the vertical short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft on short notice under a contract with Boeing Global Services. Originally built by McDonnell Douglas, the Harrier II is a…
Semiconductor device developer Bluglass will develop new machinery to manufacture devices such as laser diodes, LEDs and microLEDs with the aid of a grant from the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre. AMGC will contribute $250,000, matched by the company, to a project to manufacture more efficient plasma deposition sources for the company’s 300 series RPCVD systems.…
Indigenous Business Australia has built a satellite ground station at Alice Springs – the first development of its kind on aboriginal owned land. The ground station, fully built, project-managed and owned by indigenous companies, will transform Australia’s capability in earth observation. The new infrastructure has the potential to reduce the latency for high resolution earth…
