Manufacturing news briefs - stories you may have missed

NSW container scheme nears milestone

The NSW Return and Earn scheme is on the verge of reaching the milestone of 10 billion recycled cans and bottles. On Friday the NSW Government encouraged households to help reach the mark in the next 24 to 48 hours, by taking their empty drink containers to one of 620 local return points. According to the statement, users have earned $1 billion in container refunds since the scheme began in 2017, and have raised $47 million for charities and local community groups. More than 923,000 tonnes of materials have been recycled through the scheme, with reuse of these saving enough energy to power 110,000 homes for a year and enough water to fill 23,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Two out of every three eligible drink container supplied in NSW are now redeemed, increasing recycling rates and reducing the beverage industry’s reliance on virgin plastic, glass and aluminium. Return and Earn is delivered in partnership between the NSW Government, scheme coordinator Exchange for Change and network operator TOMRA Cleanaway, and is funded by the beverage industry.

Bundy enters Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame

The 14th annual Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame welcomed six new inductees at a gala dinner in Brisbane on Thursday night. Among them was international soft drink company Bundaberg Brewed Drinks, best known for their iconic Bundaberg Ginger Beer (pictured.) The fourth-generation, Australian family-owned business was established in Bundaberg in 1960, began exporting its brew range in 1987, and later secured nationwide distribution in US retailing giant Costco. Today it sells craft-brewed beverages in 61 countries, has 300 employees in four countries and produces 700,000 bottles a day. CEO John McLean said the company contributed $30 million in direct wages a year, working with local farmers to source as much local, homegrown produce as possible including, ginger, lemons, mangoes and blood orange. “We work with farmers to grow ginger in the local area, and we process 100 per cent of all our ginger in our farm 10 km from here,” he said. “We buy mangoes from Australia, we buy lemons from Australia, and we buy as much local produce as we possibly can.”

WA VET champions recognised at awards

The WA Training Awards, now in their 29th year, have been held, with eight individuals and five organisations named winners from 45 finalists at a ceremony at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. The awards recognise the achievements of apprentices, trainees, employers and training organisations. Central Regional TAFE was named as WA Large Training Provider of the Year 2023. WA Apprentice of the Year 2023 was Amy Hunt (Kingsley), employed by Western Power and currently studying a Certificate III in ESI Power Systems Distribution Cable Jointing with Power Training Services. “Congratulations to all of this year’s winners – their dedication to their training is outstanding and their successes highlight the many opportunities available through vocational training,” said state training minister Simone McGurk. A list of individual winners can be seen here.

Felix System successfully records 10 new live births in India

Australian-based reproductive biotechnology company, Memphasys has reported ten new live, healthy births in India from using their Felix System, bringing the in India to eleven. The company said its Felix System had “unequivocally” shown that it can deal with high sperm DNA fragmentation levels. Memphasys’s Indian Key Opinion Leader partner, Coimbatore Womens Hospital Centre (CWHC), had predominantly utilised Felix for males suffering from high sperm DNA fragmentation to achieve positive pregnancy outcomes. 33 couples enrolled in a study resulted in 40 frozen embryo transfers, with a clinical pregnancy rate of 47.5 per cent, and from these pregnancies there was a total of eleven live births: equating to a live birth rate of 27.5 per cent. Dr Ramaya Jayram from CWHC, the clinician responsible for the study, said “the use of the Felix Device enabled the patients to undertake this gentle treatment without needing to resort to invasive procedures such as surgical sperm retrieval.”

Australian fibreglass industry growing very slowly

The Australian fibreglass product manufacturing sector is predicted to see CAGR of 0.2 per cent for the five years through 2023-24, and facing “fierce overseas competition”. According to a recently-updated market report on the sector by IBISWorld, the industry is worth $1.1 billion in total (by annual revenues), with 331 businesses and just under 2,800 employees. Fibreglass product manufacturers are heavily concentrated in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. By sector, caravan components, swimming pool shells and boatbuilding were the largest ($435.4 million, or 40.1 per cent of the total), followed by fibreglass truck, trailer, train and bus components ($312.7 million, or 28.8 per cent) and fibreglass bridge components ($164.0 million, or 15.1 per cent.)

Picture: credit Bundaberg Brewed Drinks