Manufacturing news briefs - stories you might have missed

Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme in operation

Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme is now operating, providing consumers and businesses with a 10 cent refund for every eligible drink container they recycle. Eligible containers include most aluminium, glass, plastic and liquid paperboard (carton) containers which can be returned to refund points for payment. Refunds can be given as vouchers, cash, electronic payments or consumers can donate the refund to a charity or community group. Every bottle, can and carton that is returned helps divert valuable containers from landfill.

Alison Deans joins Main Sequence as partner

CSIRO venture capital fund Main Sequence Ventures has bolstered its leadership team with Cochlear chair Alison Deans signing on as a venture partner. Deans is also on the boards of Ramsay Health Care, staffing business Deputy and industrial technology company Calix. Deans holds a science degree from Cambridge and an MBA from Stanford, and has previously run technology funds. She has been on the Main Sequence Investment Committee since 2017.

Q-CTRL to deliver quantum training in Australia and US

Quantum control infrastructure software developer Q-CTRL is to partner with the Quad Investors Network (QUIN) to deliver quantum technology training to build diverse quantum workforces in Australia and the US. The announcement coincided with Q-CTRL’s CEO, Professor Michael Biercuk, attending the arrival of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the White House during his visit to the US. Under this landmark agreement, fully subsidized licenses for Q-CTRL’s Black Opal quantum educational technology software will be provided to students training in Technical and Further Education (TAFE) vocational training institutions in Australia and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the US. Rollout of this programme will begin in 2024, with plans to expand and grow it across the other Quad countries.

DroneShield receives $2.2m order

Drone detection and countermeasure manufacturer DroneShield has announced a repeat order of $2.2 million from a European Government customer for multiple fixed site DroneSentry counter-drone systems. The initial order from this European Government customer was announced on 1 September 2022. The order includes all of the underlying technology components, including RfOne radiofrequency based long-range drone sensing systems, radars, electro-optic sensors with DroneShield’s proprietary DroneOptID image recognition and tracking software, and DroneCannon wide-area effectors. The system is powered by DroneShield’s DroneSentry-C2 AI-based command-and-sensor fusion engine. The customer has elected to receive all the SaaS-based updates that are applicable for a DroneSentry system.

Cheryl Maley appointed Starpharma CEO

Pharmaceutical developer Starpharma has appointed Ms Cheryl Maley as CEO and Managing Director following a global search. Maley has 25 years experience in the sector including roles with Novartis, AbbViie/Abbott and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Dr Jackie Fairley will retire from the CEPO role, and take up an advisory position to assist with the leadership transition.

GMG starts process to be quoted on OTCQX

Nanomaterials company Graphene Manufacturing Group announced this week that it has engaged a capital markets advisor for the application for quotation of securities on the OTCQX, an over-the-counter public market in the United States. GMG’s shares will remain listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker “GMG” and quoted on Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “0GF”, it said. Managing Director and CEO Craig Nicol said: “GMG believes a quotation on the OTCQX will increase its share liquidity by enabling easier share trading for USA investors. This listing is part of GMG’s North American development program, which progresses the alignment of capital and customer markets and partnering opportunities.” Chairman Jack Perkowski added that the move is in line with an aim to increase the company’s presence in North American capital markets, “for which it is evaluating further listing options beyond the OTCQX quotation.”

Food co-op wins sustainability award

Community owned not-for-profit Blue Mountains Food Co-op was recognised for its commitment to sustainability at the 2023 Local Business Awards, held on Wednesday at Fairmont Resort, Leura. The co-op was winner of Blue Mountains City Council’s Sustainability Award, which recognises the achievements of local businesses that practise and promote sustainability. “The co-operative demonstrated long-term commitment to sustainable practices in its operations, as well as its dedication to making local sustainable products available to the community,” according to a statement from the council.

Work underway at CDU trades centre

The latest addition to Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) Trades Precinct is now underway, with construction commencing on the CDU Trades Training Centre at Casuarina campus, the university announced this week. NT minister for skills Joel Bowden joined CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman, CDU TAFE Pro Vice-Chancellor Mike Hamilton and Aspire Design and Construct Executive Director Lisa Jenkinson to view the initial progress on site. The Trades Centre’s ongoing design and construction will be led by local Darwin company Aspire Design and Construct, and is expected to be complete by the third quarter of 2024. The two-storey Centre features a heavy equipment precinct, an assembly area, an industrial sand pit, and classrooms, and the $10 million project includes a $4.8 million invested from the NT’s VET Capital Grant for the ongoing development of Vocational Education and Training facilities, and the remainder funding through CDU.

Accolade announces new sustainable packaging for Banrock

Accolade Wines announced what it says is “a game-changing innovation in sustainable packaging for the Australian wine industry” on Thursday: a new bottle made with 91 per cent recycled glass. Wise Wolf by Banrock Station’s bottle “is one of the most sustainable glass wine bottles launched in the Australian market” and an answer to the growing demand from consumers for environmentally conscious packaging. “The Wise Wolf bottle makes old glass new again – it literally gives glass another life,” said Chief Marketing Officer Sandy Mayo. “We are constantly searching for new and better ways of doing things, and while we know it is not perfect yet, Wise Wolf is a major step forward for more sustainable wine packaging in this market.” Wise Wolf’s glass was developed in partnership with Visy Glass, includes labels made from 100 per cent upcycled sugarcane, and caps are made with 26 per cent less materials than average caps.

Feedback sought for Victorian industry participation policy

Businesses and workers have been invited to provided feedback to the Victorian government’s proposed reforms to the Local Jobs First Act 2003, which it says is Australia’s longest-standing industry participation law. The Act gives Victorian SMEs an advantage in competing for government contracts, and the state government says it proposing changes to do with “compliance and enforcement of Local Industry Development Plans – including increasing the Local Jobs First Commissioner’s powers – and for uniforms and personal protective equipment to be made locally for Strategic Projects.” Submissions can be made here.

Picture: Aspire Design and Construct Executive Director Lisa Jenkinson, Minister for Skills, Training and International Education Joel Bowden, CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman and CDU TAFE Chief Executive Mike Hamilton at the construction site (supplied)