By Peter Roberts Nystrar’s big silver, lead and zinc refinery at Port Pirie in South Australia is planning to go green with news that the company and the state are funding a $5 million front end engineering and design study for as $750 million green hydrogen electrolyser to power the plant. The plant, which was…
By Peter Roberts Australia has signed a $1 billion defence contract for new Self-Propelled Howitzers for the army from an Asian nation – from Hanwha Defense Australia and Korea – ending a purchasing drought and bias towards buying from European nations and prime contractors and the United States. Hanwha plans to build and assemble its…
Uggs’ appeal to the public in iconic boot’s Australian-made battle Ugg boot and sheepskin product manufacturer Australian Leather has turned to the Australian public to support its product which is the subject of a US court battle. The Sydney company has been making ‘Australian made Original Ugg Boots & Ugg Shoes’ since 1982, but is…
By Peter Roberts Fast-growing firearms, weapons and ammunition manufacturer NIOA has set itself up for expansion of its operations to the historic defence manufacturing region of Lithgow in New South Wales with the purchase of an important home and land in the regional city. NIOA has purchased historic Lidsdale House (pictured) which sits on a…
The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources has announced a new grant opportunity that will be available to SME food and beverage manufacturers under its Energy Efficient Communities Program. The program is unusually broad and should apply to every SME in the field looking to improve energy efficiency and, while the dollar amount is…
Fortescue Metals Group is pushing ahead with the decarbonisation of its rail locomotive fleet with the arrival of two additional locomotives at Fortescue Future Industries’ (FFI) research and development facility in Hazelmere, Perth. The two four-stroke locomotives will undergo further testing on the new fuel system, joining the first two-stroke locomotive which underwent testing earlier…
Satellite services company SkyKraft has attracted a raft of top investors to a $3.5 million capital raising that will continue its rollout of SmallSat communications satellites. The Canberra company’s new investors include former Macquarie Bank CEO Alan Moss, Lennoxgrove Capital and Adcock Private Equity. Skykraft, based at the UNSW Canberra City, also recently received $1…
By Peter Roberts The peak body for Australia’s largest manufacturing sector – food and groceries – has expressed disappointment with federal government policy and the rollout of its modern manufacturing initiative. The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) CEO Tanya Barden told a Senate inquiry this week that the sector needed a more coordinated policy…
Today in our editorial series Leadership in factory automation, we hear from Simon Dawson who knows first hand how Australian manufacturers are running the automation race. And for those still in the pre-race warm up, he tells you how to lead out of the starting blocks. It’s no secret that the world of manufacturing is…
SMEs shine at Defence Teaming Centre awards The achievements of six small to medium businesses have been recognised at the Defence Teaming Centre’s (DTC) Awards Ceremony, which mark the DTC’s 25th anniversary. PMB Defence won DTC’s Resilient and Adaptive award, while the Teaming award was awarded to Daronmont Technologies, Zenith Custom Creations, Cold Logic, and…