Professional body Weld Australia and regional manufacturer representative the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) have formalised a partnership, saying that a newly signed MoU between the pair creates a “clear, practical framework focused on collaborating to represent, connect, and advocate”. According to a joint statement from the organisations on Thursday, the partnership will deliver…
SEMMA welcomes government payroll tax threshold Industry representative group the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) has said that it welcomes the Victorian government lifting the tax-free threshold on payroll tax from $900,000 to $1 million, but says raising it further to $5 million will provide further incentive for small to medium businesses to invest…
New synthetic biology group launched Plant SynBio Australia (PSBA) was launched in Canberra on Wednesday, aiming at coordinating a national network of infrastructure and expertise to accelerate gains in agri-food productivity. PSBA will focus on synthetic biology, which uses engineering principles to redesign biological organisms for desired outcomes including creating vaccines, novel crops, and foods…
Collapsed architectural glass maker Oceania Glass has been unable to find a buyer since going into administration earlier this month, with 56 employees made redundant ahead of the closure of its Dandenong factory. According to a statement from administrators Grant Thornton on Thursday, there is a potential for another 95 redundancies “over the coming weeks”…
What were the five biggest stories of the week? Here’s what visitors to @AuManufacturing were reading. 5) Applications open for CRC-P grants worth up to $3 million each Nominations opened on Thursday for Round 17 of Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) grants, which offer between $100,000 and $3 million in matched funding for short-term (up to three-year) collaborative…
Industry association the South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) has blamed factors including “poor policy, cheap imports, government over-taxing businesses and crippling union agreements” for Dandenong-based architectural glassmaker Oceania Glass falling into administration this week. In a statement on Wednesday, following news of Oceania’s collapse on Monday, SEMMA said it was “shocked” at another manufacturer…
The South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) has labelled funding cuts to RTO operators in Victoria as ‘senseless’. The comment follows confirmation that despite holding a contract in 2023, 22 RTOs across the state did not secure a Skills First contract offer for 2024. SEMMA CEO Honi Walker said: “It’s hard to understand why the…
a2 Milk Company grows despite decline in China market The a2 Milk Company, which pioneered the use of a2 proteins in milk as a healthy alternative, has reported positive results for 1H24. Revenue was up 3.7 percent to $812.1 million and EBITDA profit up five percent to $113.2 million despite a double-digit decline in the…