Best of the week — the five most popular stories among @AuManufacturing’s readers

What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to this site were reading.

5) NATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION FUND BILL PASSES LOWER HOUSE

The federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) Corporation Bill passed the House of Representatives with amendments, and despite opposition from the federal opposition will now go to the Senate.

The Greens secured an amendment restraining the NRF from funding projects related to fossil fuel extraction, while the Member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel secured changes supporting projects with participation by under-represented groups.

In another breakthrough for the government the Greens also indicated that they will now support NRF in Senate subject to consideration of further government amendments.

4) THE AUKUS DEAL THAT PUTS ADELAIDE N-SUB CONSTRUCTION FURTHER INTO THE FUTURE

Look, I have no particular inside information on what nuclear submarine path the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce in San Diego on Monday, writes Peter Roberts.

But I can read the tea leaves and ask – how can it be that both the US and the UK are beaming about their respective nations prospects about the deal, while South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas looks like the only kid in the room that didn’t get a bike for Christmas?

Remember this was meant to be a competition between US and UK designs, and SA was meant to be the place where our N-subs were built, at least substantially.

3) OUR SEARCH FOR AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS – 3RT

Peter Torreele conceived his idea for 3RT when working for a Chinese company manufacturing bamboo flooring – in the timber processing sector he saw massive waste of material and immediately saw massive opportunity if that could be utilised.

Leaving China, which he found still in the copycat phase of company development, though that is changing slowly, he said: “I saw that if you can do this with a grass, that is bamboo, we can do that with all this waste which is around the world in timber supply chain. That was the germ of the idea which grew to create 3RT.

“Innovation always comes from unexpected corners – innovation equals curiosity.”

2) OUR SEARCH FOR AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS – HOLLOWAY GROUP

Innovation does not have to take a high technology intensive path such as gene technology or space travel.

For Holloway Group as with many an Australian SME the spark for a more incremental but nonetheless transformational innovation came with generational change at the Sydney family company and Matthew Holloway assuming the CEO role in 2008.

Then a rather basic contract plastics manufacturer known as A Plus Plastics, the company didn’t have any of its own product lines and little in the way of unique IP, and was seeing Asian manufacturers taking its work.

1) @AUMANUFACTURING WEBINAR – ARE YOU ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS?

Every Australian manufacturer innovates in one way or another.

It could be in researching and developing new products and services. Or it could be in utilising new materials, production equipment and processes, using data in smarter ways, organising, motivating and developing staff, as well as new business models and through inspirational leadership.

Or it could be all of those things.

This webinar, brought to you by MYOB, SMC Corporation and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions, explores what it means to be considered innovative.

And in case you missed our podcast…

Recorded the day of Geelong Manufacturing Council’s 25th anniversary celebration and awards dinner, our guest in episode 49, the GMC’s CEO Jennifer Conley, told us about the region’s reinvention.

Picture: Australian-built HMAS Collins