Making the dirt go further

When Ayrton Sue first stepped into a beach buggy manufacturing facility in Malaga as a teenager, sweeping floors and helping out on weekends, he couldn’t have known he was laying the foundation for a revolutionary approach to Australian manufacturing.

Today, as the founder of Element Engineering, he’s challenging the notion that high-end manufacturing belongs overseas.

“There’s nothing worse than thinking the only thing we do in Perth is pull dirt and oil out of the ground,” Ayrton says.

“We can make that dirt go ten times further if we turn it into steel and a thousand times further if we transform it into high-end aerospace or medical equipment.”

Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.

His journey from hands-on workshop experience to mechanical engineering at university wasn’t conventional. While studying, he helped his team at the University of Western Australia win the Formula SAE World Championship in 2008, an achievement that merged his practical skills with engineering theory. This combination would become the cornerstone of his business philosophy.

Element Engineering has since worked on everything from mountain bike suspension systems that caught the eye of global giant Sram, to truck designs that transformed production timelines from weeks to days. But it’s Ayrton’s vision for Australian manufacturing that’s truly compelling.

Drawing inspiration from hidden gems like a high-tech manufacturing facility in a Kansas cornfield, he’s working to recreate the collaborative manufacturing environment he witnessed in places like Shenzhen and Taiwan. His company is tackling the challenges of sovereign manufacturing head-on, including the critical task of rebuilding skills that have faded from the local industry.

“Innovation is really, really hard,” Ayrton admits. “But it’s about doing the minimum amount of work to satisfy the maximum number of end users in the minimum time and cost.”

In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Sue tells us about his career, Element Engineering’s product development work, and about why innovation isn’t just about breakthrough technologies – it’s about smart, sustainable solutions that maximise user value while minimising complexity.

Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. The current version has been made possible through the generous support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC. You can nominate here (there is no administration fee) until March 15.