Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, January 22 – 26, 2024

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

5) Japanese made campervans entice Aussie grey nomads

What do you do when you are an Australian company that has carved out a niche for itself manufacturing campervans in Japan for the Japanese market?

Well, you export those vans right back to the Australian market building on the strengths of your skilled Japanese workforce and suppliers and closeness to the source of the vehicle chassis themselves.

That’s exactly what Australian and NZ owned Dream Drive has done with its converted Toyota and Nissan models now vying for sales in the admittedly vigorous Australian campervan sector.

4) Breakthrough Victoria shells out $12 million for peanut allergy treatment developer Aravax

The Victorian government-funded Breakthrough Victoria has made a $12 million investment into Aravax, part of a $66 million funding round in the biotechnology company, which is developing a novel peanut allergy treatment.

Aravax is a clinical-stage company developing PVX108, its immunotherapy product that uses synthetic peptides to mimic key parts of peanut proteins to retrain the immune system, according to a statement.

Early research at Alfred Health and Monash University has led to the solution, which is administered as a monthly rather as a daily dose, which is required by current treatments.

3) Entech in the van of electronics revival

The 1980s and 1990s were optimistic times for electronics manufacturing in Australia, with changing technologies allowing new companies to establish such as Entech Electronics in Adelaide, GPC Electronics in western Sydney and IntelliDesign in Brisbane, writes Peter Roberts

Like all manufacturing there have been ups and a lot of downs since then but the sector, surely the bedrock for any advanced manufacturing sector, is going through a period of growth as Australian companies have learned to exploit global supply chains and operate seamlessly internationally against the toughest of competition.

2) Trailer maker says it’s investing $50 million upgrading Ballarat factory

Heavy-duty transport trailer business MaxiTrans said this week that work is underway transforming its Ballarat factory into a “modern manufacturing environment” through a $50 million investment, as it prepares to shut its Carole Park, Queensland site.

In a statement on Monday, the company said transitioning of tipper products from Carole Park is “well underway” ahead of the closure by March this year.

“Along with expanding the overall footprint of the facility, this investment will see the business transform the Ballarat site into a modern manufacturing environment, ensuring our business is well positioned to support the evolving needs of our customers,” said Greg L’Estrange, MaxiTRANS Executive Chairman.

1) REDARC buys historic factory for defence technology push

Fast growing electronics manufacturer REDARC has purchased an historic Adelaide factory to house staff spearheading its move into the defence and space sectors.

Owner Anthony Kittel has confirmed the company purchased the Lonsdale facility that formerly housed the once world-leading R&D operations of Sola International Holdings.

Kittel took to social media and said: “Exciting times ahead for Scott Begbie and our REDARC Defence & Space Team as we Master Plan the site of our future Global Centre for Excellence Defence & Space in South Australia.”

Picture: credit MaxiTRANS