No buyer found for Oceania Glass, 56 jobs cut ahead of Dandenong factory closure

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”…

Best of the week — the five most popular stories among readers, February 3 – February 7, 2025

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…

SEMMA says action needed on cheap imports following Oceania Glass collapse

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…

SEMMA says training cuts ‘sensless’

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…