The South Australian government has used its leverage to force Belgian metals group Nystrar to pay back its first instalment of a $291 million loan made to help rebuild the Port Pirie silver, lead and zinc smelter. Treasurer Rob Lucas used his power to approve or veto a takeover of Nystar to negotiate the making…
Canadian conglomerate BRP has purchased 80 pert cent of the shares in leading Australian aluminium leisure craft and trailer builder, Telwater Pty Ltd. BRP Marine, which owns the Evinrude, Alumacraft and Manitou brands, will increase its global reach by buying Australia’s number one builder of aluminum boats from owner, Paul Phelan. Phelan, Telwater’s managing director,…
Analysis by Peter Roberts A major trend is developing with big manufacturers by-passing distributors and retailers and dealing direct with gas producers to secure reasonably-priced, long-term access to the key industrial fuel. Queensland gas producer Senex Energy (ASX: SXY) signed an initial deal this week with packaging manufacturer, Orora (ASX: ORA). The two year agreement…
The OECD has found that 14 per cent of Australian jobs are at high risk of automation, but that a sharp decline in overall unemployment is unlikely. In its latest employment outlook for Australia, the organisation said many jobs would disappear, but others will emerge. Not only that, with automation ongoing, overall employment had been…
Carbon nanotube concrete additive developer, Eden Innovations (ASX: EDE) appears to have made a breakthrough in commercialising its unique technologies, reporting its first significant sales. The company, which developed EdenCrete, a carbon nanotube enriched admixture for concrete, reported sales of $416,000 for the quarter to the end of march, compared to only $19,000 in the…
Brisbane UAV maker Skyborne Technologies has raised $5 million (US$2.45) to further commercialisation of its Cerberus GL micro tactical UAV. Cerberus is designed as the world’s lightest armed UAV, weighing only six kilogrammes, with the company targeting the defence and law enforcement market. The capital raised was from a private institutional investor based in Abu…
The Coalition has surprised the defence world by committing to spend $1 billion building three new ships at the Civmec yard at Henderson, south of Perth. The announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and defence industry minister Linda Reynolds covers two new mine hunter support vessels and a hydrographic ship. The announcement appeared on the…
Melbourne chemicals and explosives group Orica (ASX: ORI) has revealed $191 million in write downs stemming from IT changes and the major breakdown of equipment. The biggest, to be confirmed in its 2019 first half results on 9 May, is a non-cash impact of approximately $155 million from equipment failures at its Burrup technical ammonium…
Synthetic antibiotic developer Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) has scaled up its Sydney production facility to support its commercialisation activities. The company, which has patented a new class of antibiotics to tackle resistant superbugs, has increased capacity at Macquarie Park in Sydney fivefold to cope with increasing demand. The Company has developed an automated process…
If fast broadband is essential to modern business including manufacturing, then you are all better off moving to that technology powerhouse Kazakhstan. The latest Ookla Speedtest Global Index places Australia’s $50 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) as the world’s 62nd fastest fixed broadband, down three places and falling behind the central Asian republic. The latest…
