Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, January 20 – January 24, 2025

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

5) New drone radio production line boosts defence capabilities in South Australia

South Australia is set to enhance its role in national defence with a new drone radio communications production line, part of the DEF129 Uncrewed Aerial Systems project.

This development follows the Albanese Government’s commitment to invest over $100 million in bolstering the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) drone capabilities, including the integration of Australian-made Sypaq Systems CorvoX drones.

Codan Communications, a local firm, has been awarded a $15 million contract to fit its Sentry Mesh 6161 radios into these drones.

4) Newcastle gets $20.7 million federal funding for Future Industries facility

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has announced $20.7 million in funding for a new Future Industries Facility at the University of Newcastle, with a focus on “accelerating resource sustainability, workforce training and productivity solutions”.

According to a statement on Monday, funding for the centre is through the regional Precincts and Partnerships program, and will see two industrial scale spaces for technology innovation constructed.

“Our investment will train the next generation in the latest practices in energy, resources and manufacturing, preparing them for a net-zero future,” said infrastructure minister Catherine King.

3) Six countries successfully growing their manufacturing – and what they are doing right

From the climate crisis and geopolitical headwinds to next-generation technologies, a series of complex challenges are rewriting the rulebook for global value chains.

Against this backdrop, what are manufacturers and supply chain companies doing to ensure their operations are fit for future success?

A new white paper from the World Economic Forum finds that the most successful firms are moving away from making location decisions based on cost alone to a more complex process that considers factors including performance, resilience and sustainability.

2) $61.5 million for two projects announced under ASCA’s Mission Black Thorn

Two unnamed companies, one based in Adelaide and the other in Brisbane, have been awarded a combined $61.5 million in funding under the federal government’s Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator’s (ASCA) Mission 1.

According to a statement from defence industry minister Pat Conroy on Wednesday, the move to the delivery phase of Mission 1 (named Black Thorn) will see each company continue rapid development of anti-integrated air and missile defence systems (IAMD.)

The ability to degrade IAMD systems at long-range is “a capability priority for the ADF in line with the National Defence Strategy”.

1) The future is just beginning

This month my term as chair of the Port of Newcastle comes to an end. It’s been a time of transformational change for the world’s biggest coal export port, with an ambitious growth and diversification plan ready to weigh anchor, wrote Professor Roy Green, the outgoing chair of the Port.

Despite this progress, it wasn’t all plain sailing, and nor will it be in the future.

When I took up my role in December 2017, I wrote in the Herald that, “The only way for the Port of Newcastle to thrive is for the Hunter region to thrive. No one has placed a bigger bet on the prospects for the Hunter’s economy than the Port of Newcastle.

And in case you missed our podcast…

In episode 107 we heard from Professor Mark Kendall, founder and CEO of WearOptimo, as part of our Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign for 2025. Kendall — an inventor with over 160 patents to his name — tells us about his company, which aims to reshape the healthcare industry by interpreting biosignals via the skin, and why forming high-tech manufacturing businesses is an extreme sport.

Picture: credit WearOptimo