Hearing implant manufacturer Cochlear has regained some of the massive slump in business as implant surgeries were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the company cautions business risks remain high. In a first quarter trading update, Cochlear told investors that cochlear implant or bionic ear revenue in the quarter was 94 per cent of…
By Peter Roberts The federal government has reinvigorated the advisory board helping to implement its Modern Manufacturing Strategy with a new name and a number of high-powered business appointments. The newly named Industry Innovation and Science Australia (IISA) adds industry to the name and purpose of the former body and will continue to be led…
Oil and gas producer Woodside Energy has begun searching for a contractor to design and build a renewable hydrogen power plant in Tasmania, one of two green hydrogen projects it has been pursuing that may lead to bulk export. Global oil and gas sector website Upstream reported Woodside had hosted an expressions of interest briefing…
Textile, clothing and footwear manufacturers remain committed to local manufacturing and retaining jobs in the industry post COVID-19, according to a survey by Ethical Clothing Australia. The survey of 34 Australian textile, clothing and footwear manufacturers was conducted in the lead up to Ethical Clothing Australia Week which runs from 18-24 October. One hundred per…
Diversified engineering company Cimic Group will reap between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion on completion of the sale of 50 per cent of the world’s largest mining services contractor, Thiess to UK-based fund manager Elliott Advisors. As foreshadowed in @AuManufactzuring the sale frees up capital for Cimic and brings in blue-chip investors managed by Elliott.…
Solar PV rooftop mountings manufacturer Solpod Pty Ltd has signed has signed an OEM agreement with German-based Schletter to onshore production of its innovative redeployable rooftop system for large-scale commercial solar installations. Known in the market as the Solpod Mini, the company is manufacturing the system in its Dandenong, Melbourne plant, with sales to customers…
Iconic Australian bootmaker R.M. Williams has been brought back to Australian ownership with its purchase from a private equity firm by Western Australian iron ore mining couple Andrew and Nicola Forrest. The couple’s Tattarang investment arm bought the firm bought the business for a reported $190 million from the world’s largest consumer-focused private equity firm,…
Comment by Peter Roberts Politicians often get things wrong but Tony Abbott has to take the cake for his dismissal of Labor’s all-fibre National Broadband Network in favour of what he claimed was a better and cheaper mash-up of fibre, copper, satellite etc. Let’s remind ourselves of two things Abbott said at the time. At…
The first local manufacturing package’ for specialised submarine parts has been issued to Australian manufacturers by France’s Naval Group, the builder of Australia’s new Attack class submarines. The package, an expression of Interest (EOI) is a major milestone for Naval Group and Australian defence industry, and came the same day the company’s new Port Adelaide…
Lynden Vikingur is a third generation boat builder. Stemming from a family of Icelandic shipwrights, his father, Gunnar, carried the boat building lineage into Australia when he arrived on it’s shores at the age of 16. After working as a boat builder in Western Australia for several years, Gunnar Vikingur founded what is now VIKAL International, a bespoke superyacht tender powerhouse catering to the world’s most affluent and wealthy.