Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, March 17 – March 21, 2025

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

5) Applications open for regional NSW lean manufacturing pilot program

The NSW government has launched a pilot program budgeted at $800,000, providing lean manufacturing audits to regional SME (between 20 and 200 full-time employees) companies.

The Lean Manufacturing Pilot Program opened on Thursday and will accept applications until March 31 at 4 pm.

According to the program info on the NSW government’s website the pilot also seeks to identify potential for lean manufacturing adoption “across regional NSW manufacturing sectors”, and funding is on a first-come, first-served basis.

4) Australia’s only silicon manufacturer awarded $39.8 million grant

Australia’s only silicon manufacturer, Simcoa Operations, will receive a $39.8 million grant under the federal government’s Powering the Regions Fund to expand the use of charcoal and end the use of coal in its production.

According to a statement from energy minister Chris Bowen on Thursday, the move will reduce Simcoa’s greenhouse emissions by 89 per cent.

The grant will also help maintain silicon production in Australia, support 220 direct jobs and “create several new roles”, said Bowen.

3) Three tonnes of First Graphene’s additive delivered ahead of UK concrete trials

ASX-listed additives developer and manufacturer First Graphene has announced that over three tonnes of its PureGRAPH-CEM product has arrived in the UK, ahead of scheduled concrete pouring in May for trials in a major road infrastructure project.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Perth-headquartered company said the next phase of trials with the UK’s biggest cement maker, Breedon Group, will aim to “validate at an industrial scale the results achieved through laboratory work” undertaken by Kirton Concrete Services.

The lab work demonstrated up to 16 per cent improvement in compressive strength, according to First Graphene.

2) Oceania Glass collapse linked to machinery failures and $21 million upgrade costs

Oceania Glass, Australia’s only architectural glass manufacturer, collapsed after its private equity owner declined to fund a $21 million plant upgrade, administrators told creditors on Sunday.

The 169-year-old company, which supplied large glass panes for Parliament House in Canberra, appointed Grant Thornton as administrator on February 4 after facing liquidity issues.

Administrator Lisa Gibb informed creditors that a float tank, a vital piece of manufacturing equipment, “urgently required an upgrade” estimated to cost about $21 million, according to documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

1) The startup plucking critical minerals from battery waste using chicken feed

As we prepare to hand nominations for Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers 2025 over to our judges, we look at an ASX-listed battery recycling company commercialising “deep eutectic solvent” research from the University of Adelaide. Brent Balinski speaks to IonDrive CEO Dr Ebbe Dommisse.

Picture: supplied