Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed

New MD for Tetra Pak Oceania

Boris Munster has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Tetra Pak Oceania, succeeding Andrew Pooch, who stepped down to retire after nearly 35 years of service to the company. In his new role, Munster will be responsible for Tetra Pak’s business operations in Australia and New Zealand. Munster brings extensive global commercial experience in the food and beverage and retail industry, having worked across multiple regions in Europe and North America. Munster said: “I am thrilled to take on this role and lead our amazing team at Tetra Pak Oceania to deliver innovative packaging and processing solutions for our customers and help them advance their sustainability goals by delivering solutions that can decarbonise the food industry. Oceania is well poised for its next chapter of growth and I look forward to working with the team to take the business to new heights.”

Titomic appoints Anywise America as reseller, targets defence customers

Additive manufacturing technology company Titomic has appointed Anywise America as a reseller. Anywise is a provider of technology, engineering and consulting services to government clients in the eastern states of the US. The company will focus on selling Titomic’s D523 low-pressure cold spray systems and large scale Titomic Kinetic Fusion (TKF) systems to the US Department of Defence. Anywise has also purchased a D523 system as a demonstrator.

Cooperative Research Australia invites nominations for industry research competition

Cooperative Research Australia is inviting researchers to apply via a one-minute video to an industry-focussed research competition , with finalists selected to present at the Collaborate Innovate 2023 conference in July. Finalists will be awarded a trip to Adelaide to for the July 10-12 conference. Finalists will be asked to create a five-minute thesis presentation, clearly explaining their research and how it can be applied, to a non-specialist audience. The overall winner will claims a $5,000 prize. Submissions close June 16. More  info on applying can be found here.

Audit committee to probe frigate procurement

In response to the significant findings in a recent Auditor-General report, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) has expanded the scope of its existing inquiry into the Defence Major Projects Report (MPR) to include a detailed examination of Defence’s procurement of Hunter Class Frigates, it was announced this week. The Chair of the JCPAA, MP Julian Hill, said that “This is a deeply concerning report by the Auditor-General into a critically important Defence project. Given the seriousness of the concerns the Committee initiated this inquiry less than 24 hours after the tabling of the report, and has scheduled initial public  hearings for Friday 19 May.” The Committee has also invited written submissions by Friday June 15,  and has requested submissions from the contractor, BAE Systems, as well as the British High Commission.

Anduril ends engine development with Orbital

Drone engine manufacturer Orbital has announced that autonomous systems defence contractor Anduril has instructed the company to cease work on a new drone engine project being developed for the company. Perth-based Orbital said: “All work conducted by Orbital UAV to this point has met Anduril’s expectations.” Orbital will continue to work with US-based Anduril under the terms of a MOU between the two companies to collaborate on concepts, products and technical solutions. CEO of Orbital Todd Alder said: “We have worked closely with the Anduril team over the past 12 months and moving forward will continue to support their propulsion objectives where appropriate.”

Q-CTRL expands European presence

Quantum technology company Q-CTRL announced on Wednesday that it has opened new offices in Germany and the UK. The company said the openings position it well to add talent to its world-leading research team, collaborate with European partners and customers to explore quantum computing’s potential, and strengthen strategic relationships in defence applications. The new offices will focus on research, strategic technology development, and technical product development. The Belin office “will be part of EU-centric R&D activities drawing from Germany’s strong research base and local talent” and be led by Dr Andre Carvalho, Q-CTRL’s Head of Quantum Control Solutions. The UK expansion “builds on the AUKUS trilateral security partnership“, where Q-CTRL said its new class of “software-defined” quantum sensors enabling navigation without GPS aligns directly against some of the partnership’s objectives.

Anteris granted additional patent for heart valve replacement

ASX-listed Anteris Technologies announced on Wednesday morning that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued another utility patent to the company’s DurAVR transcatheter heart valve (THV, pictured). Anteris describes DurAVR as a “first-in-class biomimetic valve uniquely designed to mimic the performance of a healthy human heart valve.” Patent number 11,648,107 expires on September 12, 2038, and provides additional Intellectual Property (IP) protection for the differentiated heart valve technology. “The awarding of this patent continues to highlight our culture of innovation and the extraordinary work by our team of engineers around the world responsible for the design of DurAVR THV,” said said Wayne Paterson, CEO. 

Picture: credit Anteris