Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

Gilmour Space positive about Abbot Point space launch site

Rocket developer Gilmour Space Technologies has responded positively to Queenaland government investigations of a new space launch site at Abbot Point in north Queensland. The company said such a site would give Gilmour access to ‘a very wide range of orbits and inclinations for our customers’. The Abbot Point State Development Area was identified by an advisory team led by PwC Australia.

Amaero International moving towards large scale manufacturing contract

Additive manufacturing group Amaero International is confident it is taking the right steps to snare its first large mass manufacturing contract. The company reported progress on many fronts in the past six months including link ups with Fletcher Insulation and a global automotive company. CEO Barrie Finnin said the agreements were important steps preceding ‘commercial contracts for large scale manufacturing’ and the company was working towards a contract win.

Affinity’s antibodies found to defeat Covid-19

The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity has confirmed that Melbourne-based Affinity Biosciences’ lead antibodies are capable of neutralising SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Affinity has lodged a pre-publication submission to the scientific journal, ‘mAbs’, detailing the discovery of potent antibodies against COVID-19. This can be found here. Affinity is now pressing for funding to commence the manufacture of materials required for clinical trials.

FYI Resources manufactures further HPA

Materials company FYI Resources has produced a further batch of high purity alumina at its pilot plant at Welshpool in Western Australia for customer testing. Once quality is verified batches of between five kg and 20 kg of HPA will be dispatched to customers. The company is also conducting finishing work on some of the HPA following customer requests from the LED lighting and lithium ion battery markets.

Oventus sales make up for Covid-19 sales lull

Sleep apnea device manufacturer Oventus Medical has begun to grow sales again following the resumption of operations of medical clinics closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company reported that sales in July of devices, and of its service model of operating inside sleep health practices, were higher in July than before the pandemic. The company now operates labs inside 57 sleep clinics in the United States where it it is capable of generating $13.2 million in annual sales.

Picture: Gilmour Space Technologies

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