Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, November 13 – 17, 2023

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

5) Search for industry partners for a Surface Manufacturing CRC

Researchers led by UniSA are searching for companies interested to develop surface processing capabilities in a planned Surface Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (SMCRC).

Surface Engineering and Manufacturing optimise material properties, customise products, enhancing their longevity and performance.

For SMEs, it’s a gateway to innovation, reducing costs and fostering global competitiveness by delivering superior and tailored solutions.

4) Incat offers smaller electric ferry alongside its flagship

Tasmanian ferry manufacturer Incat Tasmania has new plans for a smaller version of its first-to-market large aluminium zero emission catamaran ferry.

With the world’s largest lightweight battery electric ferry with a capacity to carry more than 2,000 passengers and 225 vehicles already under construction, founder Robert Clifford has announced plans to make zero emission battery electric vessels more readily available for the world.

In January Argentine company Buquebus ordered what will be Incat’s first-ever electric aluminium catamaran design – a 148 metre long catamaran ‘utility Ro-Pax’ design.

3) $26 million awarded through ARC Linkage projects

Funding totalling $26 million has been announced through ARC Linkage Projects 2023 Round 1 across 50 projects, including for next-generation microchip manufacture, anodes for next-generation lithium batteries, and addressing superalloy microstructure defects.

The Linkage Projects scheme backs projects that “initiate or develop long term strategic research alliance” and provides funding of between $50,000 and $300,000 per annum for up to five years.

2) Incitec chair Brian Kruger resigns

Fertiliser and explosives company Incitec Pivot announced on Monday morning that Brian Kruger has stepped down as Chairman and non-executive director, effective immediately, citing personal reasons.

Kruger had been a director at Incitec since June 2017 and Chairman since July 2019.

The company nominated delivery of sustained earnings for shareholders through COVID-19 and geopolitical instability as achievements under Kruger’s leadership, as well as his steering of the strategy to demerge Incitec Pivot Fertilisers and Dyno Nobel, selling the Waggaman ammonia manufacturing facility in the US, and the company’s “clear roadmap for decarbonisation.”

1) Opal opens new $140m packaging factory in Wodonga

Opal has officially opened its new $140 million corrugated cardboard packaging facility, in Wodonga, Victoria.

The 55,000-square-metre facility utilises high-speed packaging manufacturing technology, Opal says, and will make the boxes using recycled and kraft paper from Opal’s Botany Mill in Sydney and Maryvale Mill, in the Latrobe Valley.

The packaging will be used for fresh produce, food processing, FMCG, and other manufacturing industries across Australia.

Picture: credit Opal