Fertiliser and explosives business Incitec Pivot has become the latest large manufacturer to tap the capital markets for new equity to tide it thorough the Covid-19 pandemic. The company has successfully placed $600 million in new equity with institutional investors in a fully underwritten offering at $2 a share. It now plans to raise an…
Additive manufacturing group Amaero International and Fletcher Insulation will jointly develop a 3D printing application to provide superior tooling. Amaero CEO Barrie Finnin said the two companies would print tooling and test it under full operational load. Fletcher, the manufacturer of Pink Batts and Sisalation, and Amaero will jointly develop the new tooling production technique…
New materials developer Lithium Australia has completed short duration glasshouse testing of fertilisers with added micro-nutrients derived from recycled alkaline batteries. The Perth company reported plant uptake of zinc and manganese was in line with expectations for oxide materials. More than 6,000 tonnes of alkaline batteries are consumed nationally each year, with 97 per cent…
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese delivered an address from Canberra today where he called for a revival in manufacturing, and greater investment in learning and education, technology, people and infrastructure. Here are his key messages in his own wrds. Anthony Albanese on manufacturing: “We must revitalise high value Australian manufacturing using our clean energy resources. With…
Sales by hearing implant manufacturer Cochlear plunged 60 per cent in April, confirming company predictions of the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Sydney company reported that surgery cancellations as hospitals were emptied to prepare for the virus occurred as previously predicted. Cochlear implant sales declined 80 per cent in the month with most…
A small Australian boat builder is further demonstrating their workboat design and build capabilities with the delivery of another vessel to operate in the Port of Gladstone. Over the past twelve years, Queensland-based aluminium boat builder BTB Marine has built and delivered thirteen workboats, fast landing craft and other commercial vessels built specifically for marine…
A month into our campaign to crowd source a new deal plan for manufacturing, Lance Worrall finds we simply do not have an Australian industrial policy. But our new deal plan submissions show the way forward. The fight against Covid 19 is a fight for our survival. If, as politicians are telling us, this is…
Chemicals and explosives group Orica has reported strong sales and profit growth for the first half year barely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Melbourne company reported a statutory Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) of $165 million for the six months to 31 March 2020, compared to $33 million in the prior corresponding period. Sales…
Comment by Peter Roberts When I launched our campaign to crowd source a new deal plan for manufacturing on April 14 I was hopeful of a positive response. But I never expected the groundswell of ideas and innovations that we have published day by day since then. The Australian Manufacturing Forum and @AuManufacturing news and…
Deakin progresses sodium battery design Materials scientists at Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials have discovered that super concentrated ionic liquids are key to achieving better batteries that utilise sodium rather than lithium. The new work by ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) PhD student Dmitrii Rakov, combines sodium metal anodes and safe,…
