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) EOS lines up cash and credit to fund growth

Defence, space and communications manufacturer Electro Optic Systems has beefed up its finances achieving a net cash balance of $42.2 million as at June 30 as it expands to cater for a raft of major new orders.

On 30 June the Canberra company received a $17.2 million tax refund from the federal government and subsequently provided a $16.2 million security deposit to establish $22.2 million of new bank guarantee facilities to support near term growth.

4) Whyalla steelworks continues transition away from coal

Liberty Primary Steel (LPS) the operator of the Whyalla blast furnace has announced another step in its journey to lower emissions from its primary steel making operation in South Australia.

The company, owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, has started post-coke oven operational trials at the steelworks as the transition to low carbon steelmaking continues.

Following the recent decision to target a September closure for the coke ovens, the trial started on Tuesday 11 July to confirm the use of alternative gas sources to replace the existing coke ovens gas.

3) What did we learn from Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers?

@AuManufacturing and the Australian Manufacturing Forum’s quest to identify Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers has ended.

A new 36-page report on some of the companies featured, what we can learn from them, analysis from judges, different ways of understanding innovation (from the innovators themselves) and more is now available.

The 2023 Awards Report is available for free, simply by filling out the form at this link.

2) No, we shouldn’t go backwards and build more air warfare destroyers

One of the most recurring themes in defence media nowadays is that Australia should build more Hobart class Air Warfare Destroyers, writes Peter Roberts.

Hardly a week goes by without a story appearing somewhere of Spanish shipbuilder Navantia who designed the ships ‘ramping up their campaign’ to build more of the vessels to add to the three constructed in Adelaide.

There are even persistent suggestions we should cut back on our order for nine Hunter class anti-submarine frigates to make room for their construction at the recently upgraded Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide.

1) Australia to export Boxer armoured vehicles to Germany

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that Australia will export 100 Boxer armoured fighting vehicles to Germany, according to reports.

The value to the economy is more than $1 billion, making it one of the largest defence export deals in history.

The vehicles, to be manufactured by Rheinmetall Defence Australia at its Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, are an eight-by-eight-wheeled, all-terrain, Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV).

Picture: credit Rheinmetall