Xefco, PPK announce antibacterial facemask JV
ASX-listed PPK Group has announced a joint venture with textile technology startup Xefco which will manufacture facemasks with antibacterial and antiviral properties.
‘Son of Collins’ needed to bridge submarine capability gap
By Peter Roberts Something needs to done to bridge a submarine capability gap no matter what the outcome of an 18 month study by the US. UK and Australia determines about the viability of Australia acquiring nuclear propelled submarines from our allies. This is becoming increasingly clear as a life-extension of the six Collins class…
Boeing selects Wellcamp Airport for ‘first site of its kind outside North America’
Boeing has announced it will construct a new facility at Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba, where it will build its Loyal Wingman autonomous aircraft, the first military aircraft to be designed and manufactured in Australia in half a century.
Booster propellant and electronics manufacturing among projects supported through $3 million in Moon to Mars grants
A further $3 million in grants under the Supply Chain Capability part of the federal Moon to Mars initiative have been announced, supporting projects by Gilmour Space Technologies, Crystalaid Manufacture, Black Sky Aerospace, and Inovor Technologies. “Space and manufacturing go hand-in-hand and these projects are leveraging that relationship to drive economic growth and create jobs,”…
UNSW Sydney gets $1 m nuclear engineering boost
The University of New South Wales nuclear engineering course has received a $1 million donation through the Sir William Tyree Foundation, which will support new master’s-level scholarships and industry engagement. UNSW’s is the country’s only nuclear engineering program and was internationally recognised, said the university, which is one of only 20 universities invited to be…
DGL acquires Aquapac for $8 m
Australian and New Zealand-listed chemical supply chain management company DGL Group has announced the acquisition of Aquapac for $8 million, with $2 million of this in shares. Aquapac is a specialty water treatment chemicals business with clients in mining, local government and industry on the east coast, and manufacturing in NSW and at Townsville, Queensland.…
Pawsey Supercomputing boost – video
Perth’s Pawsey Supercomputing Centre has released a timelapse video (below)showing the increase in firepower of Australia’s national digital and data research infrastructure. Phase 1 of a $70 million spend to improve data availability, data transfer speed, and overall storage capacity, the video shows the installation of SetonixHPC with computational power comparable to 150,000 PCs working…
Mars Wrigley invests $30 million onshoring to Ballarat factory
Not content with making only five billion M&M’S and one million PODS confectionery a year, food manufacturer Mars Wrigley has announced a $30 million investment in its Ballarat plant. The investment in 2021/22 will go towards the continued expansion of Mars Wrigley’s local chocolate making capabilities by allowing the manufacturer to introduce more variants to…
Grant applications open for NT manufacturers under $7.5 million Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Fund
Manufacturers in the Northern Territory have been invited to apply for grants valued between $25,000 and $500,000 under a new program that hopes to turn the territory from the nation’s “comeback capital” to its “innovation capital.”
Australian “Infinitely recyclable” plastic startup launched
A startup named Samsara was launched on Tuesday to commercialise a new process using enzymes to turn plastic back into reusable building blocks, with Woolworths committing to buy the first 5,000 tonnes of material for packaging.