Former private equity giant, Tony Schultz has joined Adelaide agtech start-up Availer as chairman. Schultz was former managing director of global investment firm Kholberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), a firm with close to $200 billion under management. Schultz first began working with Availer a year ago through connections at the University of Adelaide’s Center for Nanoscale…
Plant failures at fertilizer manufacturer Incitec Pivot (ASX: IPL) plants in Australia and the United States are now hitting the company’s bottom line hard. The company announced that outages at its Louisiana and Phosphate Hill plants are expected to cut earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by $45m for the financial year ending 30 September.…
Drone-based inspection and mapping start up Emesent has announced the commercial availability of their revolutionary Hovermap drone payload. The announcement, made at the International LiDAR Mapping Forum (ILMF) in Denver, Colorado, brings advanced autonomy capabilities to the simplest of drones. Hovermap includes a 360 degree capable LiDAR-based collision avoidance system, allowing drones to be flown…
Machine outages, an industrial dispute and fallout from the US Government shutdown loom over Sydney composites manufacturer, Quickstep Holdings (ASX: QHL), but have failed to hold back the company’s progress. The company’s sales for the second quarter of 2019 reported today were up 3.8 per cent on the previous corresponding period to $15.8 million. The…
By Helen Hull Australian efforts have ignited negotiations with 75 other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), representing over 90 per cent of global trade, on the development of new international rules in digital trade. Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said establishing new international rules for digital trade would help keep…
New South Wales has launched a new strategy to help boost export opportunities for NSW-based food and beverage manufacturers. The NSW Food and Beverage Industry Development Strategy will assist SMEs to access and become established in new domestic and export markets. The strategy coordinates actions across government, industry and research institutions through: # a workforce…
Market knowledge and in-market contacts are vital for export sales, with evidence mounting that close Chinese-Australian links are a major driver of manufactured exports. In November @AuManufacturing reported that locally listed retailer AuMake International (ASX:Au8) was gaining traction in Chinese online and home shopping markets with its range of Australian and New Zealand manufactured products.…
It is amazing how much difference a little policy innovation from governments can make to manufacturing fortunes – in this case in making lithium ion batteries. While there are a number of big factories making vehicle batteries overseas, it is action by the South Australian and, more recently, the Queensland governments which have ignited the…
Drone manufacturer Simbiant Pty Ltd is recruiting to expand its development of a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and camouflaged drones. CEO Steve Auch-Schwelk said the company was using ‘active and adaptive technologies’ to hide UAVs in plain sight. Recruiting is underway to ramp up its aeronautics division to enter Phase-1 test flights of…
By Peter Roberts Manufacturers were again largely absent from this year’s Australia Day honours with none being named in the top two groups of awards as Companions and Officers of the order. Professor Mark Dodgson, Professor of Innovation Studies at the University of Queensland Business School, was one of two linked to manufacturing named as…
