Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed

Greensteel shares picture of planned plant for Whyalla

“We are excited to share a rendering of our vision for Greensteel Australia’s state-of-the-art and ultra-low-carbon steelmaking plant for Whyalla, subject to necessary approvals” shared Greensteel in an update on Linkedin on Tuesday. The render (pictured above) was accompanied by a message restating that the company has placed an order for $1.6 million with equipment company Danieli Group, signed on Sunday. This “will immediately position this country among the ranks of the most advanced steel suppliers globally”, according to Greensteel, with Danieli “to fabricate our hydrogen-compatible direct reduced iron (DRI) plant, two electric arc furnaces, and a structural steel rolling mill.”

Zeotech completes maiden AusPozz trial

ASX-listed mineral processing technology company Zeotech announced on Wednesday that it has completed the first commercial-scale concrete demonstration trial using its low embodied carbon AusPozz high reactivity metakaolin (“HRM”) product. According to a statement from the company, the AusPozz demo was at Holcim Australia’s largest Brisbane batching plant. “This was the first commercial-scale demonstration of its type, and was attended by several influential concrete and civil engineers from organisations”. These were named as Laing O’Rourke, BMD Group, Empower Construction, Icubed Consulting, and the Queensland government’s  department of transport. :A full concrete truckload of approximately three cubic metres was batched”, Zeotech said, “using a low-carbon mix design of 40 [per cent] AusPozz and 60 [per cent] GP Cement, which replicated a mix design that achieved 28-day  strength of 62MPa in earlier laboratory-scale trials.”

North Queensland Cowboys, Queensland government partner to promote Women in Manufacturing

The Queensland government has launched a new campaign with the North Queensland Cowboys promoting the state’s Women in Manufacturing initiatives. According to a statement on Wednesday, it is aimed at encouraging more women into the sector, and highlight the achievements of trailblazers, “through match day advertising both on and off the field, and business development opportunities for regional manufacturers” and promote career opportunities. “The NRL has a growing fanbase of young women and we’ve jumped at the opportunity to partner with one of the league’s strongest and most trusted brands to share our message,” said state manufacturing minister Dale Last. “We already have an established Manufacturing Hub in Townsville and a thriving local industry so the opportunities for women wanting to get involved in the sector are endless.”

Orthocell appoints first four Remplir distributors in the US

Regenerative medicine company Orthocell announced on Wednesday that it has appointed the first four US distributors of its flagship nerve repair product Remplir, ahead of expected demand. Remplir received US FDA 510(k) clearance on April 3, allowing for  immediate commercial distribution into that market. It said it is “now moving quickly to capitalise” in the world’s biggest nerve repair market. Distributors have “a speciality in nerve repair with relationships in Michigan, Virginia, Colorado and Indiana” and “will market and distribute Remplir for use in the surgical repair of peripheral nerves across their respective geographic regions, undertaking medical education, targeted promotion activities and initiating sales, as well as expanding the network of referring plastic and orthopaedic surgeons.” CEO and MD, Paul Anderson, added: “We are expecting to have ~10 distributors in place by the end of our financial year which would account for representation in approximately 25 states.” Regulatory applications for the EU and UK are on track to be submitted in the next six to 12 months.

Australian HVAC manufacturing worth $2.8 billion, according to new figures

Market research firm IBISWorld has published new data estimating the local Heating, Cooling and Ventilation Equipment Manufacturing market (ANZSIC code C2452) at $2.8 billion in revenues for the current financial year. According to a summary, the HVAC manufacturing sector is made up of 5,595 people at 375 businesses. The industry has shrunk at an annualised (compound) rate of 1.4 per cent to 2024/2025, and it was “especially hurt by a temporary dip in demand from non-residential building construction industries during the pandemic, along with lower demand from multi-unit apartment and townhouse construction.” By revenues, the three largest manufacturers in the sector are Daikin Australia ($352 million this year), followed by Rheem ($204.8 million) and Seeley International ($90 million.)

Picture: credit Greensteel Australia/Linkedin