Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, October 7 – October 11, 2024

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

5) Pure Dairy cheese facility nears completion

Dairy trading house and manufacturer Pure Dairy has confirmed that its new cheese factory in Dandenong South is on schedule for a production launch in 2025.

Structural work has been finished, and most internal fitouts are also nearing completion – including the installation of specialised automated processing equipment.

The 13,000 square metre facility will feature cutting-edge technology, according to the company.

4) Geelong port plans offshore wind terminal

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has joined executives from GeelongPort in Victoria to view preparations for GeelongPort’s Renewables Terminal.

GeelongPort plans to develop up to 25 hectares of land at its Oyster Cove site to build a new offshore wind farm terminal to support renewables industry in the Gippsland and Southern Ocean zones.

New designs showcase the way the Geelong Renewables Terminal has been designed for a streamlined environmental approvals pathway to support the delivery of the project in late 2028 or early 2029, in line with the Victorian Government’s development targets.

3) Engineering contracts awarded for Vast solar methanol plant

Nasdaq listed Vast Renewables and energy company Mabanaft have announced the first engineering contracts for the development of its SM1 green methanol plant at Port Augusta in South Australia.

International engineering group Fichtner and German e-fuels leader bse Methanol have been awarded contracts for pre-front-end engineering and design (FEED), with Dr. Amy Philbrook, Arup’s Australasia Clean Fuels Technical Lead, as Project Manager.

Part of the Port Augusta Green Energy Hub in South Australia, SM1 will have the capacity to produce 7,500 tonnes of green methanol each year.

2) Are those new batteries really Australian made

What makes a product Australian made? There’s more to it than just slapping on a kangaroo logo – especially when it comes to batteries, writes Dominic Spooner.

1) Victoria decimates local steel sector – Weld Australia

Welding sector peak body Weld Australia has called for immediate action against the offshoring of Victorian government infrastructure projects in favour of ‘cheap, unsafe imported steel’.

Weld Australia, which represents thousands of local welders and fabricators, said Victoria’s actions had already decimated the local steel manufacturing industry, costing jobs, investment, and threatening the sovereign capability of Australia’s manufacturing sector.

In the past six to 12 months, Victorian industry has seen massive increase in the volume of imported fabricated steel – according to a statement evidence suggests that since the beginning of the year, over 28,000 tonnes of steel has been offshored.

Picture: credit Victoria’s Big Build