Comment by Peter Roberts As we digest the news that the federal government has called up industrialist Andrew Liveris to help map out a future for Australian manufacturing, there remains a view prevalent in the community that Australia doesn’t make things. One former colleague on the weekend railed about how manufacturing had been decimated and…
Australia’s biotechnology industries are set to benefit in the long term with a federal government decision to reverse years of declining support for CSIRO. The government announced on Saturday that it would spend $220 million upgrading the Australian National Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong (pictured) with the increasing threat of human pandemic disease and the…
The federal government has announced the construction of new naval maintenance infrastructure south of Perth to support the Arafura class patrol boats (pictured) now under construction. Lendlease Building Contractors has been awarded a $365 million managing contract for the first tranche of works at HMAS Stirling and the Australian Maritime Complex. Lendlease has committed to…
By Peter Roberts Manufacturers around Australia are gearing up to manufacture essential supplies to fight the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic with state government efforts starting to bear fruit. Five days ago, and three months into the pandemic, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian joined other states in reaching out to manufacturers to step up now that the global…
LBT Innovations extends analysis device uses Medical device manufacturer LBT Innovations has applied to the US Food and Drug Administration to extend the approved use of its APAS laboratory device which uses artificial intelligence to automate microbiology laboratory tests. The Adelaide company is seeking to add detection of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria to APAS’s…
Metals technology group Neometals appears poised to enter the European battery recycling market following the successful conclusion of its pilot plant technology proving phase. The company announced the completion of trials at its Canadian pilot plant on Thursday, and plans to move ahead with a European demonstration plant in partnership with Germany’s SMS Group. It…
With airlines cutting international flights to the bare bones on federal government orders, air freight costs have skyrocketed. Now these twin events have combined to slow the import and export of essential manufactures to a trickle. Manufacturers exporting to the United States are restricted to one flight a day from Melbourne to the United States,…
By Peter Roberts The federal government has turned to former Dow chemical CEO Andrew Liveris to help map a new future for Australian manufacturing in the post-coronavirus world. Liveris, an Australian, has been called up by Canberra’s National COVID-19 Coordination Commission to devise a long-term strategy to deliver a competitive manufacturing sector to help in…
While companies rush to meet short-term opportunities opened up by the arrival of the Covid-19 coronavirus, China exporter Jatenergy has embarked on a R&D programme to develop food supplements with anti-viral properties. The company, which exports a wide range of Australian products to China including milk-based foods, will work with researchers at the University of…
The plans of young people hoping to start an apprenticeship or traineeship in 2020 have have been hit by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic with advertised vacancies dropping to just 880 vacancies nationwide. This drop will leave a generation of young people struggling to get a foot on the employment ladder and result in recession-extending skills…
