Medical equipment manufacturer Micro-X has sold Rover portable X-ray machines to Saab Australia for use in deployable hospitals being supplied to the Australian defence force. The deal, worth $1.3 million, is for the company’s revolutionary cold cathode X-ray machines where X-rays are generated at the tip of an array of carbon nanotubes – a world…
Newly listed graphene technology company Sparc Technologies has moved quickly to launch a bio-medical project to develop non-invasive sensing devices for detection of disease via graphene-based breath sensors. Last month Sparc debuted on the stock market with its shares immediately rising by more than 50 per cent. The company sees potential global applications through identification…
Australia ends 2020 with a new focus on manufacturing. But here Dr Samih Nabulsi, of major medtech exporter Cook Medical Australia, questions the priority of federal industry policy and a lack of focus, and calls for greater innovation to drive a manufacturing revival.
DroneShield has deployed its multi-sensor counter unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) DroneSentry system at the Altenrhein Airport in Switzerland on a no revenue basis as a demonstration facility for potential European customers. The deployment came as the company reported a record $2.8 million in new customer purchase orders for the December 2020 quarter to date, as…
Mining giant Rio Tinto’s partnership with South Metropolitan TAFE (SM TAFE) in Western Australia has been recognised at the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics 2020 Awards of Excellence. The partnership won Gold in the ‘Partnership with Industry’ category for its work in developing and deploying the first nationally recognised vocational qualifications in automation. The…
High speed 3D printer manufacturer SPEE3D is working with Australia’s energy industries growth centre, NERA, to bring additive manufacturing to the oil and gas sector. National Energy Resources Australia, SPEE3D, Charles Darwin University and Santos are working on a project to spread a technology already taking hold in other sectors. SPEE3D printers are already proving…
Analysis by Peter Roberts Industry growth centres have contributed enormously to the development of innovative Australian companies, with the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) the latest to analyse the performance of projects in which it has co-invested federal government money. AMGC’s 2020 Project Impact Report, which showcases 78 projects, including the economic impact of the…
The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has published an action plan designed to help Australia’s packaging supply chain phase out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging The not-for-profit organisation leading the development of a circular economy for packaging released its APCO Action Plan for Problematic and Unnecessary Single-Use Plastic Packaging. Approximately 50,700 tonnes of single-use…
Ballistic armour manufacturer XTEK has secured approval from US authorities for permanent export licenses for ballistic products to Mexico City. The company’s US subsidiary, HighCom Armor Solutions has export orders worth a total of US$2.1 million for hard armour plate and helmet products. This follows the approval of a Warehousing Distribution Agreement (WDA) with strategic…
Brisbane diagnostics company Ellume has won an emergency use authorisation (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration for the first over-the-counter (OTC) fully at-home diagnostic test for Covid-19. According to an FDA statement the Ellume Covid-19 test is a rapid, lateral flow antigen test, a type of test that runs a liquid sample along…