Government makes $350 million order for new patrol boats
Austal will build six new Cape Class patrol boats for the Australian navy, with a new order valued at approximately $350 million.
Want an economic tonic, Mr Morrison? Use that stimulus money to turbocharge renewables
By Elizabeth Thurbon, UNSW; Hao Tan, University of Newcastle; John Mathews, Macquarie University, and Sung-Young Kim, Macquarie University The chaos of COVID-19 has now hit global energy markets, creating an outcome unheard of in industrial history: negative oil prices. With the world’s largest economies largely in lockdown, demand for oil has stagnated. Essentially, the…
K-Tig welding market penetration continues
Welding technology developer K-TIG secured a number of new customers for its welding as a service (WaaS) business during the March quarter even as its shares languish on the ASX. The company reported good progress with customer acquisition in the quarter, adding Glenfield Engineering, Aqseptence Group and John Zink Hamworthy Combustion as licencees. John Zink…
Fonterra in German innovation partnership
Australasian dairy powerhouse Fonterra has joined with a German start-up to provide research and product development expertise for the development of new milk products and foods. Fonterra has entered into a strategic partnership with YFood and made a ‘small investment of capital’ in the business which focuses on what the company calls ‘complete food’ for…
First production lot of BLU-111 munitions completed
First production of BLU-111 munitions has been completed by Thales Australia. The milestone was an important addition to Australia’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighter capability, said defence industry minister Melissa Price in a statement, adding that and 15 companies – including five small businesses – were involved in the work. “This work establishes a…
First Violet Crumble, now the Polly Waffle is coming back
Robern Menz, the Adelaide confectioner which re-introduced the Violet Crumble chocolate bar to Australia, is set to bring back another icon – the Polly Waffle. The company bought the rights to make both chocolate bars from Nestle, and immediately re-worked its existing honeycomb production lines to make the Violet Crumble. Now the federal government has…
Leash It offers Covid-19 contact tracing via IoT
By Stuart Corner of IoT Australia Australian company Leash It, which provides Bluetooth-based tracking technology for assets and individuals, has evolved its technology to provide contact tracing of workers in places such as construction sites, hospitals and factories. Leash It founder and CEO, Tony Lotzof told IoTAustralia that the technology could avoid a workplace being…
Westlab begins manufacture of face shields
Laboratory supplies and equipment manufacturer Westlab Group has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic and recently launched local face shield manufacturing operations. The company, which offers a range of imported and locally made supplies to the scientific community, is now in full production (main picture and below) turning out 25,000 units per day, according to director…
Ford also producing face shields for Covid-19 response
Ford Australia announced on Wednesday that it is making and donating PPE for healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Electronic warfare satellite project enters second phase
South Australian electronic warfare company DEWC Systems has been awarded a $3.1 million contract to advance its space tactical sensor system for the Australian Defence Force.