@AuManufacturing Conversations: Recent Episodes
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@AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski is a regular interview program, bringing you discussions with the men and women who are contributing to a critical part of the economy -- one that leads private sector R&D investment, employs well over a million Australians, and is just plain important to have around, as we’ve all been reminded in recent years. We hope to capture something of the variety to manufacturing, its place in the nation, its changing nature, and some of the personalities within it. From the boutique to the billion dollar, if it's manufacturing and it's Australian, then it likely matters to us. This podcast is an extension of the @AuManufacturing news and analysis website and the community around it, and aims to complement what's written online at www.aumanufacturing.com.au.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we consider the practical adoption of modern-day artificial intelligence. Valantis Vais, General Manager - Product and Product Marketing at MYOB, discusses the current uptake by manufacturers, a concept borrowed from SAE's Levels of Driving Automation, the implications of agentic AI, and more.
Episode guide
0:53 – An introduction to our guest.
1:50 – What do we mean when we talk about AI in business.
2:58 – Traditional AI or machine learning e.g. vision systems.
3:32 – Generative AI or LLMs. The current wave.
4:14 – Agentic AI. The future. Also leverages LLMs, but able to complete end-to-end automation.
5:10 – Examples of agentic AI experiences in the office.
6:05 – Where is AI making a difference to productivity.
6:52 – Mapping autonomy in business onto the different levels of autonomy for cars and how it could play out over time.
8:16 – Where AI is providing benefits currently, such as in consistent and accurate documentation and improved administration.
9:20 – How companies can make use of the huge amounts of data that they currently collect or could be collecting.
10:15 – Profitability challenges and how AI might come up with answers.
10:50 – Leading applications from those surveyed include in payroll, inventory and supply chain optimisation and reducing administration tasks.
12:05 – The starting point is a foundation of digital data, stored in the cloud, and going business-first rather than technology-first.
13:20 – You should also consider the emotional aspect and how people understand their use of AI.
14:40 – Instead of waiting for shopfloor reports, line-level reports can be summarised and updated regularly.
16:05 – Top challenges for adopting cloud. The top answers were lack of inhouse expertise, high and unpredictable migration costs, and ongoing operational costs. The answer might be starting with pilots.
17:40 – Work with partners who understand your business’s “from” and “to”.
19:35 – What 2026 could deliver for businesses' AI adoption.
21:46 – MYOB’s Acumatica’s three pillars.
22:38 – A message to those on the fence: there are no shortcuts and here’s why.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Philippe Odouard, who has spend the last 15 years leading Quickstep, XTEK (now known as HighCom) and now SolidHydrogen. He tells us about his experiences running technology startups in Australia, where he sees growth in the hydrogen coming from, the best ways to keep ahead of competitors wanting to steal novel IP, and more.
Episode guide
0:23 – Moved to Australia 40 years ago and spent most of his time since then in industry. The last 15 years have had a focus on startups.
2:07 – What manufacturing startups take and some of the challenges (being Australian isn’t that big of a barrier, according to Odouard.)
3:35 – Differences – there aren’t too many – between heading defence startups and heading SolidHydrogen.
5:02 – A company needs a lot of different skills.
5:42 – Linking up with Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou.
6:29 – An introduction to hydride alloys if one is needed.
7:32 – “It’s not a question of pressure, it’s not a question of temperature, it’s a question of molecular connections.” Useful for “typically 10,000 cycles” or potentially 30 years.
8:30 – A benefit to hydrides is that, used correctly, they can purify, compress and store hydrogen at low costs, according to Odouard.
11:28 – The energy required to melt hydrides isn’t a dealbreaker for doing this here.
11:57 – What the company plans to sell to customers.
13:03 – The approach to defending against copycats, involving continuous R&D with customers, some patents, and trade secrets.
15:25 – Some comparisons with other up-and-coming hydrogen storage technologies including metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs)
16:40 – Their main market is in stationary applications. Batteries are better for energy storage in transport, but not large-scale stationary energy storage.
18:25 – You have to be price-competitive. Being green is not enough. “Subsidies are not going to change very much, because subsidies by the kilo, like Australia wants to do, and a few other countries: If you invest for 15, 20 years, the government is not going to give you the subsidies for 15 to 20 years. So your thing is shot very quickly.”
19:37 – ESAF and biofuels.
21:50 – An American project involving eSAF. Potential for that fuel in ships.
23:02 – Funding. How the company has supported itself so far and a planned capital raise to reach the next step: pilot manufacturing.
26:28 – Why Odouard sees a healthy future for hydrogen. “It’s not exactly a dying market… The top of the hype was probably a couple of years ago, the trough is probably now.”
27:45 – Hydrogen is an ideal fuel for off-grid sites like mines.
28:45 – There’s already a solid demand for hydrogen from forklift users. The chemical industry is another eager user.
30:55 – Hydrogen has strong potential in the reduction of iron ore.
32:08 – Australian companies should look to be globally-relevant from the beginning as the demand just doesn’t exist here.
33:02 – The lack of suppliers for manufacturing businesses in Australia and how to handle this issue.
Further reading
SolidHydrogen's website
SolidHydrogen partners with Korea’s EN2CORE Technology
Pressure and performance: Australian company pushes to be a global leader in armour
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, our guests are Dr Jan Golembiewski, CEO and co-founder of Earthbuilt Technology, and Dr Clyde Webster, Founding Director of Crest Robotics. They share the origins and goals of their Charlotte project -- showcased at last month’s International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2025 conference in Sydney -- and discuss the opportunity presented by construction robotics.
Episode guide
0:34 – An introduction to our guests.
2:40 – What both companies do on a day to day basis, and how Charlotte relates to that.
4:10 – Both in “hard tech” startups for a similar amount of time.
5:15 – Enhancing and supplementing blue-collar workers, “taking the danger out of the job, not the person.” For example on the moon.
6:20 – What the hexapod robot Charlotte is and what it does. A robot, extruder and “very sophisticated fill delivery system that transfers over material at… really highly productive rates.”
7:25 – Sourcing material for building.
9:40 – Why was it a hit with news coverage?
11:30 – Robotic construction is “a huge market opportunity” and they hope to work with other such companies.
13:03 – Why their approach is “fundamentally different” to other companies such as FBR and Luyten. These are companies that are also showing “that this sort of work can be done here and should be done here.”
14:15 – Some reasons why the moon is so extremely difficult to build on.
15:20 – Charlotte is several technologies coming together. They still need to be properly integrated and tested.
15:56 – Other projects Crest Robotics is involved in, including the Gorilla Mark 1 Robotic Puller and the Emu, for repetitive overhead work.
17:15 – More on the EarthBuilt printer and how it can be used.
17:55 – The valley of death and what makes it so difficult.
18:30 – Manufacturers are invited to get in touch with Crest, which is seeking more local suppliers.
Further reading
Self-belief, cementitious 3D printing, and sensors
FBR to build three new Hadrian-X robots
Melbourne Polytechnic to get new Modern Methods of Construction hub in 2029
Luyten sells giant 3D printer to construction startup
Graphene oxide creates stronger 3D printed concrete, but less seems to be more
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we consider some quality standards for various kinds of manufacturing businesses, emerging standards that are worth paying attention to, tips on making proactive improvements at your business, and more.
Our returning guest is MYOB Senior Product Marketing Manager, Bruce Minty, who recently discussed the importance of midsized manufacturers in episode 129.
For more on MYOB Acumatica, visit this link.
Episode guide
1:06 - An introduction to Minty.
2:10 – The impact of the end of passenger automotive assembly in Australia.
3:10 – “...It more or less marked a transition period where the industry gradually shifted to advanced manufacturing, and the growing need for more stringent quality control processes.”
3:47 – Why quality matters
5:20 – Why you should be building quality in from day one.
6:23 – Seemingly small mistakes can escalate as you scale and become more costly to fix.
8:10 – Some of the better-known standards that are out there and where they apply.
9:50 – Emerging standards.
10:58 –Where standards intersect with ERP.
12:40 – Some ways in which meeting strict quality management standards can be a driver of growth.
14:10 – Preparing for an accreditation forces organisations to tighten operations.
15:10 – Dealing effectively with the nightmare of a product recall.
16:02 – Prevention, transparency and rapid response are vital.
18:02 – Emerging themes in compliance and why Australian manufacturers must pay attention.
18:58 – The example of premium fish and traceability to meet consumer demands.
19:52 – Strong cyber practices have become essential.
21:31 – Some tips on proactive improvements that listeners can consider.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Space Machines Company's co-founders, Rajat Kulshrestha and George Freney. They tell us about why they plan to build hundreds and hundreds of their 200-kilogram vehicles, the local companies helping them do it, their new Scintilla engine, what Australian space manufacturers' collective superpower must be, and more.
Episode guide
0:42 – Professional backgrounds of the two founders
3:32 – A very simple origin story.
4:20 – The problem was the need to manoeuvre in orbit.
6:01 – Moving rapidly in orbit, at low cost, to assets that are depended on.
7:48 – If first responders on earth cost millions of dollars, then they wouldn’t be useful.
9:04 – The maiden launch of Optimus, what would be considered a successful result, and how it was achieved.
10:58 – “On a very tight budget, we built Australia’s largest single spacecraft and got it into orbit. And the outcome of that is belief.”
12:32 – The inputs. Supply chain in India, Europe and Australia. “We are targeting that by the end of the third mission, we should be able to get up to 70 per cent Australian content.”
14:10 – More than 50 suppliers in Australia currently.
15:42 – What an industrial sewing example shows.
17:55 – Getting to scale and what manufacturing at scale would look like.
22:20 – What their business model is based on and who their customers will likely be. National security, then civil government, then commercial is the likely order.
24:33 – The recently-unveiled Scintilla engine.
27:34 – Testing on Scintilla began late last year. Some of the tests performed so far.
29:00 – Ethane and nitrous oxide propellants. A combination “used by a lot of companies in the US” and which brings “simplicity and ease of handling” among other benefits.
30:05 – The road to the MAITRI mission. Local partners include HEO.
31:10 – The spread of the company so far, including an important recent hire in Washington.
32:45 – What’s needed here to grow industrial strength is focus, and making for space is an answer to this.
Further reading
Space Machines Company finalises Australian-first 3D printed rocket engine
Space Machines Company, NewSpace India sign launch agreement at Indian Space Congress
Space Machines Company opens Australia’s largest spacecraft manufacturing facility
Space Machines Company-led project awarded $8.5 million through International Space Investment India Projects
Space Machines Company purchases navigation system from Inovor
HEO’s Holmes space camera to fly on upcoming Australian-Indian mission
Space Machines unveils Optimus Viper for satellite repair
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we hear from David Taylor, Founder and Managing Director of BusinessHub. BusinessHub has been in business for over two decades, and is an MYOB partner specialising in the MYOB Acumatica platform.
Taylor shares how manufacturers can move beyond manual workarounds and isolated data to enable smarter operations. Make sure you listen to the end for a checklist you can use if you think you might be suffering from disconnected systems.
Episode guide
0:49 – An introduction to both Taylor and BusinessHub, which has been around for just over 20 years.
1:44 – Why working with manufacturers and their problems is exciting.
3:18 – Unique requirements in terms of cost and quality.
4:02 – Moving to cloud-based ERP, what that means, and why it represents progress.
6:52 – BusinessHub’s partnership with MYOB and what it looks like in practice.
8:32 – Data silo issues and overcoming them, with a practical example on quoting, delivering and forecasting.
10:11 – Quote-to-cash at an automotive add-ons business.
11:33 – Finite capacity at a food business, assisting production planning and optimising workflow.
12:50 – The digital thread in practice, plus some complications regarding the concept.
14:03 – A challenge around inbound deliveries of an important ingredient with sensitivities around temperature.
15:55 -- Some thoughts on change management.
18:24 – Productivity, AI, data and workplaces.
19:10 – What productivity gains through better digital tools look like at the company level.
20:21 – Having better-structured data to make the adoption of AI easier and more useful.
22:15 – A practical checklist for listeners regarding cloud-based ERPs.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Samuel Taubert, CEO of graphene and hydrogen maker Turquoise Group, shares a little about the company’s story so far, the immature markets for what they make, and why they’ve elected for an “aggressive pricing strategy” rather than partnering with clients on applications development.
Episode guide
0:25 – Career background, mainly in the oil and gas industry
1:55 – Why hydrogen and graphene? And the similarities/differences in commercialising both.
2:50 – Their proprietary process.
4:04 – Can much more detail be shared? Not really. “It’ll have to remain a secret for now.”
4:55 – Fellow Brisbane company Graphene Manufacturing Group.
5:35 – Anticipated volumes and what stage they’re currently at.
6:07 – Financing. “We’re definitely not a subsidiary of Pure Hydrogen.”
6:50 – The economics of what they’re doing.
8:45 – A point of difference is no real interest in developing downstream applications.
9:57 – One graphene isn’t good for all applications, and graphene is a family of materials.
10:33 – Multilayer graphene powder for bulk markets. Niche markets aren’t so interesting.
11:27 – Markets that are interesting for TG.
13:08 – Capital raise for the next plant plus other near-term plans.
14:27 – Some current difficulties the industry faces.
Further reading
Turquoise Group begins bulk graphene sales, aims to have commercial pilot project online “by the end of 2027”
Turquoise Group produces hydrogen from methane
Brisbane company takes delivery of equipment to produce “turquoise hydrogen” and graphene
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we consider the vast potential in helping more manufacturers make the jump from small-sized enterprise to medium (or beyond.)
MYOB Senior Product Marketing Manager Bruce Minty shares some reasons why midsized manufacturers matter, and how ambitious companies can navigate hurdles as they grow into the category.
For more on The Bigger Picture report, see here
Solutions like MYOB Acumatica are purpose-built to replace outdated systems, streamline processes, and provide real-time visibility, helping businesses scale with confidence.
Episode guide
0:44 – Minty’s background.
1:53 – How shifts in the industry impacted Minty’s family, which counted the last three car makers as its biggest customers.
2:48 – A shift from mass production to high-tech and customisation.
3:41 – Strengths and opportunities for Australian makers.
5:16 – Challenges to do with fragmentation and a lack of scale.
6:48 – What can improve productivity within manufacturing
7:31 – The benefits of modern ERP systems and their features.
8:31 – How small improvements add up.
9:20 – The important role of midsized businesses in Australia (and why we need more of them.)
10:28 – Midsized businesses are only 3 per cent of companies, but deliver a vastly outsized performance in private sector GVA and employment.
11:28 – Why a thriving midmarket can enhance all of manufacturing.
12:30 – Why success begins at home for exporters.
14:20 – Growing pains and how to avoid them at scaleups.
15:18 – It’s essential to regularly review if systems and processes are fit-for-purpose.
16:10 – What getting it wrong while growing can look like. Plus a counter-example.
18:38 – Some scaling sustainably self-assessment steps.
19:50 – Leadership should regularly pause and review if goals, people, processes and technology are aligned.
20:16 – A simple question that can uncover risks, plus how you can start small to prepare for growth.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Jeff Lang, a serial entrepreneur who is currently CEO and Executive Director of Vortair.
Lang shares plenty of detail about the highs and lows of founding and growing high-tech manufacturing businesses, why the industry needs better leaders and to stop blaming others for its difficulties, and more.
Episode guide
0:33 – Athletics aspirations and abandoning them to do a trade in signwriting.
1:32 – The early days of automation and digitisation. “I’ve been lucky and in the right place at the right time with my age.”
3:05 – The emergence of snowboarding in Australia and making boards in the mid-1980s.
3:52 – Founding Force Industries and making skis, snowboards and kite boards.
4:32 – Reluctantly offshoring to China in 2004.
6:05 – Being approached by the CSIRO in 2007 to work on cold spray additive manufacturing for sports products, then realising the market potential was in other industries.
8:15 – Partnering with Professor Richard Fox, an oncologist, at Force Industries and then at what would become Titomic.
9:40 – IP, CSIRO, wifi and parking a patent with them.
11:05 – An unusual offer from the UK to buy their patent.
13:15 – Raising capital, deciding on a direction for the company, and being approached by Innovyz.
14:30 – Reasons why Titomic listed publicly. “We went to market with nothing more than a patent.”
16:38 – The disconnect between the big investors and most manufacturing in Australia.
17:33 – The national weakness around value-adding and two theories on why it exists.
20:20 – The stepping aside to become CTO to progress the manufacturing readiness of cold spray.
21:20 – The gap between a founder’s passion and the board’s expectations.
22:10 – Printing a tank and other projects resulting from discussions with prime defence contractors.
23:30 – A change of board and direction following the 2020 capital raise. “We did over-corporatise too quickly.”
24:40 – The bulk of the market was in the US and Europe, so it’s necessary to set up there.
25:58 – Leaving in 2022.
26:30 – “What upset me the most…”
28:40 – People want to point fingers and apportion blame.
29:30 – It’s unfortunate the mining sector has lost interest in value-adding.
30:25 – What’s lacking in Australia is fortitude and leadership from the manufacturing industry.
31:50 – “We should have the cheapest energy in the world.”
33:37 – Vortair Technologies and becoming aware of its founder’s work via CSIRO’s interest in metal swarf milling.
35:02 – Making an offer to buy the patent earlier and the deal collapsing.
35:42 – The inventor, Axel Andre.
36:30 – Building a powdering system for an unnamed tomato processor in New Zealand.
38:06 – Waste to value in tomato processing and elsewhere.
39:25 – Grinding kerbside glass.
40:55 – Why being able to mill various substances into tiny particles is useful.
42:30 – Milling insect larvae. Making carbon black from pyrolised car tyres.
43:40 – “Resource carbon black” from municipal waste rather than petrochemicals.
45:10 – Financing the company privately. Plans to create different divisions within Vortair for different industry problems. Potential joint ventures.
47:20 – Considerations around manufacturability, robustness, food safety, supply chain and other requirements.
48:45 – Praise for SEW Eurodrive as a supplier. (Full disclosure: SEW is an advertiser with this title.)
51:10 – A pet issue: a lack of commercial thinking among startups.
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This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is the opening session of our June 25 Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar. Alf Taylor, Managing Director & Co-founder at TNA Solutions, and Nadia Taylor, the company's Director and Co-founder, share their story.
The keynote speakers share their adventure from husband-and-wife engineering consultancy to an international food packaging and processing solution provider with a headcount of over 600 and offices in 30 countries, which began with one invention for bagging snack food quicker than anything else available.
Episode guide
0:36 – Introduction to the event and the presenters
5:02 – How Alf and Nadia Taylor met. “We fell in love among the potato chips” at Arnott’s Snack Foods.
6:22 – The company’s origins and the breakthrough invention, the Robag.
7:45 – Customer Smith’s Chips Australia funds the first Robag.
9:15 – The intention was always to remain a family-owned business.
10:05 – Setting up the first overseas office in Birmingham, UK.
11:20 – The difficulties of being Australian and some unfair preconceptions.
12:20 – The ANCA connection.
14:15 – Patent protection didn’t stop three overseas copycats. It took five years and $6.5 million, but they won the case and $8.5 million.
16:05 – Going from a bagging equipment maker to providing the entire line to food companies.
19:30 – Maintaining customer relations across so many markets.
20:30 – Middle East misunderstandings.
22:03 – The company’s biggest project.
23:01 – The origins and focus of the Nadia and Alf Taylor Foundation.
26:10 – If you’re dedicated, you can make an internationally-relevant business. It doesn’t even have to be high-tech.
28:18 – Even with the headaches, patents were still worthwhile.
29:35 – The importance of an early grant to help get overseas.
31:10 – Australia is a brilliant place to do it, believes TNA.
Further reading
Spotlight on Scaling Up event wrap-up
Introducing Spotlight on Scaling Up: an unmissable June 25 event about one of Australian manufacturing’s key issues
TNA solutions offers digital twins technology for food manufacturers
Australia’s niche champions – tna Solutions innovates to success
TNA opens second Sydney site for confectionery equipment
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with Hannover Messe’s Industrial Transformation Australia event, Simran Gill speaks to Professor Henrik von Scheel, the strategist who coined the term "Industry 4.0".
He warns that Australia risks becoming a mere consumer of technology rather than a producer if it continues following global best practices instead of charting its own course in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
@AuManufacturing is a media partner for Industrial Transformation Australia 2025. You can find more information about this free event – to be held July 22-24 at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park – here.
Further reading
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This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is the “It can happen here” session recorded at our June 25 Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar.
The panel features leaders from three established manufacturing companies that have grown handsomely through international leadership within their respective niches. How have they changed their industry? How do they continue to stay relevant? And how do they address the challenges of doing this from Australia? The moderator is David Martin, the Australian Industry Group's Director of Emerging Industries and Innovation.
The panel guests are:
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Martin Ripple, CEO, ANCA;
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Jon Bulman, Senior Director of Manufacturing, Finisar; and
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Simon Crane, CEO, Lovells Group
Spotlight on Scaling Up was hosted by @AuManufacturing in partnership with AMGC, BDO, and the Australian Business Growth Fund.
Episode guide
0:50 – An introduction to the panel
2:00 – Panellists introduce themselves
5:56 – The one government grant that Lovells won, the horrors attached to it, and the lessons from it.
7:35 – ““That was a great example of focussing on the grant, not on whether this is a good idea at all.”
7:50 – A lesson learned at Finisar from a difficult project after “a period of pain”.
9:22 – It’s very easy to pick to wrong country before trying to export, and some lessons from ANCA on this.
11:10 – Why Lovells is attached to making it here. “I come from employing a lot of Australians. I really like it and I’m just not interested in building factories overseas.”
12:29 – Finisar’s approach to production and its supply chain. “A good balance” has been established across South Korea, China and Australia.
15:30 – The “Australian government should” issue and why companies should maybe ignore it and be masters of their own destiny.
17:35 – Issues of scale versus the United States market. “It’s not one order of magnitude…difference.”
18:45 – Ripple’s libertarian point of view when it comes to the government’s role.
19:44 – Government has a role, but it cannot supply the key ingredient of passion that startups need.
20:52 – Creating a culture of believing we could do it.
22:05 – The mentality of looking to Asian factories first among startups.
23:18 – A case for propaganda to convince Australians that we can manufacture.
24:10 – A question on access to finance from an audience member to the “landed gentry”.
26:40 – A question for ANCA about customer service, and an EOFY sales offer.
27:50 – Succession difficulties.
29:30 – Increases in the cost of doing business in Australia.
30:35 – “You can turn red tape into a profit.”
32:02 – Australian biotech and why it so often ends up overseas.
33:12 – The peculiar situation of being US-owned and owning a Chinese factory.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with Hannover Messe’s Industrial Transformation Australia event, Professor Veena Sahajwalla tells us about working at “the exciting new frontier” of recycling, where Australian companies can contribute globally, and more.
@AuManufacturing is a media partner for Industrial Transformation Australia 2025. You can find more information about this free event – to be held July 22-24 at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park – here.
Episode guide
1.18 – introduction
2:35 – Forming and progressing industry partnerships, for example recycling e-waste into 3D printing filament with Renew IT.
4:10 – Going beyond the traditional way of thinking about recycling.
5:50 – People are noticing Australian recycling technology internationally.
7:03 – What Australians do well.
8:02 – The critical thing about recycling and remanufacturing.
9:22 – “End of life products are literally just products waiting to be remade into something else.”
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This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is the "Patient capital: how long tech takes at times" session recorded at our June 25 Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar. SoSU was hosted by @AuManufacturing in partnership with BDO, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, and the Australian Business Growth Fund.
The panel featured three high-tech businesses, each of which took many years to develop and prove their technology through to eventual adoption, and each of which remains strongly focussed on R&D. It was moderated by Ryan Pollett, Partner, Audit & Assurance, National Leader, Manufacturing & Wholesale, BDO.
The panel guests are:
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James Walker, Chair, BluGlass;
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Geoff Bell, CEO, MicroBioGen; and
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Phil Hodgson, CEO and Managing Director, Calix.
Episode guide
0:12 – Introduction to the panel.
3:22 – A very brief history of MicroBioGen from CEO Geoff Bell.
4:43 – A very brief history of Calix from CEO and Managing Director Dr Phil Hodgson.
6:46 – A very brief history of BluGlass from Chairman James Walker
10:02 – Baker’s yeast and why MicroBiogen focussed on it.
10:55 – How MicroBioGen made investor money last and kept everyone happy during the long period between Series A and their first customer.
12:10 – Having a platform technology and being tempted by the “bright, shiny ball.”
13:06 – What makes a bad patent, and why the worthwhile IP resides with staff.
13:55 – The gallium nitride semiconductor niche.
15:12 – Maximising R&D investment and keeping management costs down.
17:02 – Government assistance for R&D.
18:02 – Spending two years unravelling a $30 million convertible note.
19:02 – On capital raises: “When the ducks are quacking, feed the ducks”.
20:08 – You can be a listed company that also requires patient capital, but it requires transparency with investors.
22:32 – Why MicroBioGen’s strategy was to work with the world’s biggest and best, and why that took a lot of time and effort.
25:16 – Why Calix looked overseas for partnerships with cement companies.
27:02 – The turning point for BluGlass seven years ago with laser diodes.
29:12 – A few words on convertible notes.
30:50 – Lessons from the heady valuations at the peak of the decarbonisation wave.
33:20 – The dream of creating a GaN chip manufacturing industry in Australia,
34:20 – Be willing to accept a pay cut if you want to be involved in a startup technology company.
Further reading
MicroBioGen, Lesaffre announce exclusive worldwide licensing and collaboration deal on industrial yeast technology
BluGlass raises $5.3 million in SPP
Introducing Spotlight on Scaling Up: an unmissable June 25 event about one of Australian manufacturing’s key issues
Winners announced at 2024’s Australian Export Awards
In the strain game
Calix raises $25 million to speed low carbon commercialisation
Calix green iron tech recognised at UN clima
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Simran Gill speaks to Dr Ian Mann, CTO of semiconductor business BluGlass, about why deep tech companies must prepare for scale from day one and embrace long development timelines.
Further reading
BluGlass raises $5.3 million in SPP
BluGlass secures $2.9 million sub-contract through US microelectronics hub
BluGlass to provide chips for blue ocean LiDAR project
BluGlass completes GaNWorks acquisition
BluGlass launches laser diode range at US industry event
BluGlass demonstrates working laser diodes
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, John Broadbent tells us about the worrying prevalence of fully-depreciated equipment in Australia's industry, explains why a smart factory he helped build in 2011 has only become more productive in the years since, and more.
@AuManufacturing is a media partner for Industrial Transformation Australia 2025, which Broadbent will be a speaker at. You can find more information about this free event – to be held July 22-24 at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park – at this link.
Episode guide
0:56 – An introduction. Approaching a 50th anniversary in the industry.
3:28 – Industrial Transformation Australia and his message on practical transformation and not getting stuck in “pilot purgatory”.
4:15 – Why organisations need bottom-up and top-down buy-in and get to “proof of value”.
6:16 – A lack of understanding from many companies on what Industry 4 is.
7:10 – Poor level of industrial sophistication in Australia.
8:10 – A remarkable number of factories not on a stable network that can mine data in real time, plus an anecdote about inefficient operations at one company.
9:58 – The need for investment and, again, strategy.
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When a critical medication that protects Australia's most vulnerable communities runs short, who pays the price? A new investigation reveals the shocking gaps in our pharmaceutical sovereignty.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Simran Gill learns about Australia's pharmaceutical manufacturing challenges and the experts' detailed proposals for sovereign medicine production.
Featuring
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Dr Rosemary Wyber, Senior Research Fellow, The Kids Research Institute Australia;
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Associate Professor Glenn Pearson, Director of First Nations Strategy at The Kids Research Institute Australia; and
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Associate Professor Laurens Manning from The University of Western Australia.
Further reading
Call for homegrown medicine production as penicillin imports dry up
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Spotlight on Scaling Up is an event by @AuManufacturing and sponsored by BDO, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, and the Australian Business Growth Fund. Join us at UTS Building 8, 14–28 Ultimo Road to learn the importance of the issue at an economy-wide level, how world-class local enterprises have grown out of the small business category and beyond, and how you can apply their lessons to your business. TICKETS AND INFO HERE
here: https://events.humanitix.com/spotlight-on-scaling-up
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Paul Childers, Partner in BDO's Deal Advisory team in Sydney. He tells about some of the things that private equity investors will stress test in a manufacturer, how you can command a higher multiple, and more.
Episode guide
0:53 – An introduction to Childers and his work.
1:58 – The issue of scale’s importance in manufacturing at a macro and micro level.
4:15 – How to get the best valuation when fronting potential investors
6:02 – What a bank is looking for vs an investor
7:02 – Articulating a clear value proposition
8:15 – The importance of investor materials and what these should include
9:28 – There are different kinds of investors, and it’s important to look at a number of them.
10:55 – Spotlight on Scaling Up and Childers’ presentation, which will look at what makes a manufacturing company valuable through an investor’s lens.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Rachel Reilly from Ethical Clothing Australia tells us about the shape of the Australian TCF sector and its workforce, the importance of government procurement, what international trade issues could mean, and more.
You can find out about the Ethically Made In Australia Week Pop-Up Event here. It runs Thursday June 26 – Sunday June 29, 2025, at 306-308 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC
Episode guide
0:30 – Career path
1:50 – What Ethical Clothing Australia does
3:54 – The TCF industry in Australia in terms of its economic value
5:10 – Data on the industry’s size and some of the shortcomings of these figures
6:03 – Most businesses are on the smaller side.
7:10 – The workforce and some of the difficulties in properly accounting for it.
8:24 – The highly-feminised nature of the workforce
9:55 – A large proportion of the workforce is born overseas
10:54 – The market for what’s made here. It tends to be geared towards quality and an ethically-conscious consumer.
11:55 – The importance of government procurement to the sector
13:02 – Regarding trade uncertainties and what they mean for this industry.
15:25 – A maturing workforce, skills shortages, and the ability to ramp up production if needed.
17:41 – Ethically Made In Australia popup from June 25th to June 29 in Fitzroy
19:16 – Ethical Clothing Week in October
20:25 – Where listeners can find out more
Further reading
Ethical Clothing Australia's website
Rediscovering our ability to spin a yarn
TCF’s commitment to ethical local manufacturing and jobs
Andrews says buying locally important “now more than ever”
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
In this episode, Simran Gill speaks to David Smirk, who explains how a vindictive equipment operator's act of sabotage in 1989 led to an internationally significant breakthrough in mining waste management.
Phibion was a Top 10 Gold Award winner at the recent Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers awards.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Simran Gill speaks to Dr Joe Berry and Dr Peter Sherrell, from the University of Melbourne and RMIT University respectively, who have discovered that water generates an electrical charge up to 10 times greater than previously understood when it moves across a surface.
The pair reveal their groundbreaking "stick-slip" motion research and what it means for manufacturing, fuel safety, and energy storage.
Further reading
Scientists shocked by water’s hidden electrical power
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
Be sure to join us on May 7 at the Crown Melbourne for our awards event and the unveiling of this year's 50 Most Innovative list.
In this episode we hear from Medsalv founder and CEO Oliver Hunt, whose Trans-Tasman company has its roots in Hunt's Master of Engineering Management research at University of Canterbury. He tells us about making healthcare more sustainable and more efficient, setting up in Australia last year, and growing a range of products that can be given a second life and beyond.
Episode guide
1:10 – Introduction to Hunt and his company, which is focussed on the remanufacture of single-use medical devices.
2:20 – Origin story.
3:20 – Surgeon uncle suggests a business idea sterilising expired products for sale and use.
4:33 – The importance of customer engagement.
6:01 – The size of the company and its spread across ANZ and its impact so far.
7:20 – How they deal with customers (about 120 hospitals across ANZ.)
7:55 – The types of products “not super-low-cost, but they’re also not high-high cost either.”
8:50 – More on products (about 50 so far) that the company deals with.
9:50 – More on essential principles on medical devices.
11:05 – Quality Management Systems and how they relate to this work.
11:40 – The processes Medsalv goes through for remanufacture.
14:26 – Seems like a great idea. How hard is it to copy?
15:56 – The foundation to innovating properly is a shared vision of what creates value for the customer and the company.
17:15 – The impact of job creation is overlooked when it comes to procurement.
Further reading
Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed
Victoria gets federal funding boost for plastic recycling and remanufacturing
Things come around for Original Engines Co
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
In this episode we hear from Dr Warren McKenzie, co-founder and Managing Director of fusion energy hopeful HB11 Energy. He tells us about the progress of fusion and the global race to bring it to energy grids, his company's origins in the work of a German-Australian who "defined the field of laser fusion at large", and more.
Episode guide
1:35 – career path and what HB11 does. Making clean energy using lasers, and, more recently, making those lasers.
2:30 – A career in commercialisation, beginning with a new lithography technique using diamonds.
3:30 – “Very few people realise or understand how to commercialise any technology.”
4:22 – Time at ANFF and the importance of science communication.
5:35 – Why Heinrich Hora’s contribution to Australian physics and laser fusion is so important. Plus how Hora and Mackenzie teamed up.
7:18 – “He really defined the field of laser fusion at large”, and started the community that led to the US NIF achieving a net energy gain.
8:04 – How fusion works, for the uninitiated, and its similarities to nuclear fission.
9:45 – The waste product is nothing radioactive. It’s just helium.
10:25 – Helium is in short supply and will become more scarce.
10:57 – Some similarities between the ongoing quests to realise fusion energy and useful quantum computing.
12:40 – The two camps in fusion: magnetic or inertial/laser, and an explanation of their progress so far.
14:52 – The company’s breakthrough in 2022, “when we were cowboys”, demonstrating that laser fusion could potentially work.
16:25 – The role of manufacturing lasers in-house in HB11’s progress.
18:04 – How far along they are with their approach to fusion and their plans to make laser modules.
19:35 – Investors so far.
20:50 – The role of international collaborators, such as ELI ERIC (Extreme Light Infrastructure, part of the European Research Infrastructure Consortium)
22:55 – Plans to commercialise what they do. This includes licensing their design, and manufacturing lasers and fuel pellets.
24:23 – Innovation is about the courage to do something new.
25:15 – The next generation of manufacturing will be very different to what we’re used to.
Further reading
Australia’s HB11 Energy aims for laser fusion energy
Fusion energy quest hots up at Deakin and HB11 Energy
UNSW researchers secure $5.5 million for quantum computing, fusion and other projects
Australian fusion energy company to partner with ELI ERIC
How far has nuclear fusion power come? We could be at a turning point for the technology
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
In this episode we hear from Ebbe Dommisse, CEO of IonDrive, an ASX-listed battery recycling company commercialising research breakthroughs from University of Adelaide. He tells us about the "solvometallurgy" approach the company is focussed on, some lessons on the battery industry we could borrow from the EU, why invention is separate from innovation, and more.
Episode guide
1:15 – Chemical engineering PhD then advanced manufacturing.
2:30 – Established as a University of Adelaide spinout. Information about the research at the university and the transition from Southern Gold to what the company does now (formalised June 2024.)
4:04 – An explanation of black mass and what’s in it.
5:30 – Black mass and its importance in terms of supply chain sovereignty. 80 per cent of it is shipped back to China for processing because nations like the US and the EU lack the capacity. 11 million tonnes is predicted to be on-market by 2040.
6:59 – An explanation of deep eutectic solvents, which are behind Iondrive’s processing technology, contrasted with hydrometallurgy and pyrometallugy families of metals recovery.
8:50 – A closed loop process without the waste streams or energy demands of other recycling types used for battery materials.
10:08 – A simplified explanation of Deep Eutectic Solvent processing involving teabags.
13:10 – Pilot plant commissioning in late-2025 and the activities leading up to this to determine if the technology would scale up viably.
15:25 – It’s not a value chain, it’s a value circle, with Iondrive addressing black mass processing and creating PCAM.
16:20 – Recent capital raise and starting with semi-continuous work in January, the first step in moving from batch to continuous processes. To be completed in two months.
17:48 – Countries including Australia don’t need to reinvent the wheel on battery materials processing. Where the country can make a difference and borrow from what the EU has done (e.g. banning black mass exports and implementing the battery passport.)
20:04 – Thomas Friedman’s observations on China capitalising on lithium iron phosphate (LFP)
22:57 – What makes a company innovative. Goran Roos’s “lovely definition” of innovation and what we can learn from one incubator in Finland.
24:50 – Let’s not confuse innovation with invention.
25:40 – Long-termism and the kind of manufacturing that works in Australia. An investigation comparing Switzerland with Australia. What we have here that can be leveraged.
Further reading
Our Bar-Napkin Presidency (by Thomas Friedman in The New York Times)
Iondrive raises $6 million to progress DES battery recycling tech
Iondrive claims robustness improvement in battery recycling process
$22.5 million Early Career Industry Fellowships round supports r
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Neil Goodman, a 45-year veteran of the steel industry who helped pioneer Hi-smelt technology globally.
Neil explains how this direct smelting process works, its environmental advantages over traditional methods, and why it might be the perfect solution for Whyalla steelworks.
Episode guide
00:00 Introduction
2:06 What is Hi-smelt technology?
4:55 Environmental advantages
7:47 Limitations and challenges
8:58 Implementation costs and timeframe
10:14 Comparison with other green steel technologies
11:41 Specific challenges for Whyalla
12:28 Commercial opportunities
13:12 Energy costs in manufacturing
Further reading
Goodman's bio at HILT CRC
Bringing HIsmelt back
The HIsmelt Iron-Making Process
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
- Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we speak to Dr Chris Jeffery, the founder and CEO of Convergence Medical, maker of the world's first arthroscopic surgical robot. He tells us about some of the things he's learned from founding three technology companies, the brisk pace his current company has moved at since getting started in 2022, and more.
Episode guide
1:20 - What Convergence does.
2:09 – Career path, beginning with an electronic and computer engineering degree.
3:10 – RAEME Corp. Deployment in 2008 and 2009 in Iraq and Afghanistan as an adjutant.
4:30 – Falling in love with medicine and starting study for the GAMSAT while overseas.
5:30 – Returning to study through a medical leadership program.
7:10 – A formative chapter while on rotation at an ENT surgery at Ipswich. How a simple “beep test” led Jeffery to start his first technology business, Audera.
10:57 – The reasons behind starting a second company, Field Orthopaedics, which Jeffery led for seven years.
12:10 – Field’s acquisition and a chance to step back and decide on something new.
13:10 – A sabbatical and a chance to stop chasing a bright, shiny ball for a little while.
15:08 – A fascination with problems and how it relates to starting Convergence. And what’s the problem?
16:30 – The three main markets within orthopaedic surgery that were considered, and why arthroscopy was the one.
18:16 – Developing a robot and what influenced how it was designed. What the surgeons’ problems are in all of this, “the world’s first arthroscopic surgical robot”.
19:30 – The moving parts of the VO1 robot.
21:35 – Supply chain issues and the reason for a high level of vertical integration. “Starting at motor level and building up” has helped keep costs down.
23:28 – The $US 5 million funding round this year, how it supports the company’s “go to market” plan, and what that involves.
24:15 – Third-generation robot scheduled for delivery in late-April for a simulated clinical demonstration.
27:10 – How to move fast and with purpose in this kind of company (or others.)
29:34 – So what makes up the right culture, and how do you try and select the right people to contribute to this?
32:10 – How to respond to inauthentic or incomplete responses from potential team members.
33:30 – Not every company needs to demonstrate product innovation, but competence and expertise are.
34:01 – How do you create the conditions that can produce innovation? What are the ingredients?
34:46 – What makes a company innovative: structure, process, reason.
35:34 – Wanting to hold back as late as possible before deciding on a solution.
35:50 – Risk and reward as it applies to Jeffery’s work.
37:38 – The world is changing incredibly quickly and it’s sort of impossible to keep up with it. Plus a few examples of where production has chan
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
- Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we sat down with Ayrton Sue from Element Engineering to chat about everything from beach buggies to high-tech manufacturing. Starting as a teenager sweeping workshop floors, he's now helping transform Australia's manufacturing landscape.
Episode guide
1:00 -- Introduction
2:23 -- Early days in manufacturing
5:05 -- Formula Student World Championship
9:15 -- The ShockWiz journey
13:30 -- Innovation philosophy
17:45 -- Future of Australian manufacturing
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
- Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.
In episode 109 of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Dr Farzaneh Ahmadi, founder and CEO of bionic voice company Laronix tells us about commercialising her life’s work, how the company’s technology works, and more. The episode is available to stream below and download elsewhere.
Episode guide
1:30 – What do artificial larynxes do and why are they needed?
2:45 – Career path, and an “obsession” with remedying voicelessness going back to university.
4:35 – The three components of a larynx, and why properly emulating what it does has been hard.
5:34 – The pneumatic artificial larynx and coming across an inspirational paper pointing to a new solution.
7:31 – The importance of resilience.
8:17 – The frustrations of academia and the reason Ahmadi left. “Over a 40-second phone call, I was essentially terminated.”
11:03 – Why losing a job at a university was a relief.
12:26 – An explanation of how Ava, the company’s first product, works.
13:58 – Larynx’s second product, Mira, and what it does that Ava doesn’t.
14:55 – Adapting based on user feedback and what this has involved.
16:10 – Current manufacturing capacity at Queensland, and plans to scale up.
16:57 – Clinical partners and how they’ve helped.
18:15 – How we can help medical technology innovators.
19:40 – It’s not just about funding. Sometimes advice is just as valuable to startups.
20:45 – The role of risk and reward in the company’s story.
22:10 – Some criteria around innovative companies.
23:03 – There could be more support for companies nearing the commercial stage.
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
- Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.
In this episode we speak to Vahid Montazeri, Director at Innomerix, which was formed after parent company CNC Design decided to concentrate on plastics for the large-scale additive manufacturing it was using in-house. He tells us about recent investments in a compounding line and testing lab, giving the company the ability to develop new products that Montazeri says is unique in the country.
Episode guide
1:15 – Graduated from university in Tehran, began a career in the polymer industry, moved to Australia in 2015, then joined CNC Design in 2017.
2:43 – How the company moved into plastics for large-scale printing, then other applications, and formed a new subsidiary.
4:29 – Benefits of recycled plastics for AM.
6:25 – Sourcing plastic to reuse, both in customers’ products and in their own.
6:59 – Their new compounding line and testing lab.
8:28 – Starting “completely from scratch” and tailoring recipes to specific needs.
9:25 – Risk and reward and the “leap of faith” in innovation – which you sometimes have no choice but to take.
10:27 – What makes an innovative company.
11:30 – It can be hard for SMEs to get access to new and useful technology. They are also suffering from energy costs and a shortage of skilled local workers.
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
- Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.
In this episode we speak to Professor Mark Kendall, CEO and founder at WearOptimo, who became “an accidental biomedical engineer” 27 years ago and is now onto what he calls the third chapter of his career as a researcher/inventor/entrepreneur. He tells us about his company, which aims to reshape the healthcare industry by interpreting biosignals from the skin using microelectrodes.
Episode guide
1:13 – A 27-year career, from rockets to vaccine delivery to micro-wearables for personalised medicine. “My guiding purpose in all of this is using my skillsets… for making a difference in global healthcare.”
2:33 – Introducing WearOptimo and what it does.
3:40 – Leaving needle-free vaccine delivery company Vaxxas and heading to Harvard for a sabbatical, working alongside Moderna co-founder Bob Langer and others. Saw the opportunities in wearables “gaining access to signals” and providing better info than light-based approaches in smartwatches.
4:50 – A few differences between founding Vaxxas versus founding WearOptimo.
6:30 – “Instead of thousands of projections coated in vaccines it’s just a handful of much smaller micro-electrodes going even shallower into the skin that are just gently applied to the skin instead of at high speed.”
7:03 – Not being “a one-trick pony” as an inventor.
8:13 – Healthtech is “a much higher-tempo game” than biotech. Why starting WearOptimo as a university spinout would be too slow.
10:10 – How skin works, how the micro-wearables work, and why hydration monitoring was the right first application.
11:55 “The only wearable on the planet that genuinely monitors hydration… The unmet need is massive.” Plus some examples of where this is expected to come from.
13:49 – Nano-imprint lithography is the centrepiece production technology - a technique used in TV screens and optics at the company – as well as an example of the company’s “field-hopping”. Kendall considers this a leap forward in the field of microneedles.
16:50 – Why Brisbane is the right place to produce micro-wearables, and why the company changed their mind about offshore contractors.
19:30 – How they selected their first market – “we need to walk before we can run” – and why it’s elite sport.
21:45 – No need for regulatory approval for initial markets. Regulated markets will follow later.
23:30 – Some characteristics that define a truly innovative company, according to Kendall. These include novelty and non-incremental impact.
24:45 – Developing high-tech businesses: “It’s not a game for the faint-hearted.”
26:08 – An issue that isn’t getting enough attention: genuine advanced manufacturing positioned on the world stage. Plus why “me-too” manufacturing is to be avoided.
28:38 – WearOptimo’s approach to finding talent.
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
In this episode we speak to John Smith, owner of Smith's BBQs, about the company's investments in automation, what he thinks it would take to go global, what exactly makeas a good BBQ, and more
Episode guide
1:22 – career story, beginning as a TV and video repair then designing and making stoves sold by Bosch and others.
5:27 – what makes a good BBQ?
6:58 – Some areas where Smith’s has chosen to innovate, responding to perceived shortcomings among competitors’ BBQs.
8:45 – How the company has fared under difficult economic conditions.
10:10 – Production technology investments.
11:28 – A fibre laser welder has been “magic in a box” for the company.
13:08 – Funding is a constraint when it comes to growing the business.
14:31 – Solid potential in the US and Europe, but it would need investment in stock, staff and machinery. An equity partner is one possible solution.
16:02 – What makes a company innovative?
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
In this episode, we are joined by Jonathon Wolfe, founder/CEO at Optera, and Don Wright, Executive Director, Enterprise at Western Sydney University. Wolfe tells us about the benefits of neuromorphic engineering and where they might be commercially useful, why the way dragonflies catch mosquitoes is so impressive, and why it’s his duty to wash bottles.
Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.
Episode guide
1:12 – An introduction to Wolfe and his company, Optera, which was spun out of Western Sydney University’s International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems.
3:25 – introduction to Wright and his work as WSU’s Executive Director, Enterprise.
5:48 – A career migrating technology from university to the commercial world. “I’m on my seventh spinout from five different universities.”
6:48 – Spatial hearing for hearing aids, Wolfe’s first spinout. Then efforts including cow pregnancy detection and fault-finding in solar panel production.
10:20 – What Optera does and the issues it is addressing: increasingly congested and contested environments in space, a growing and high-value market.
12:02 – The upcoming Factory of the Future at WSU’s Bankstown campus – opening in February – and its focus.
15:22 – Manufacturing businesses in Bankstown. “It’s a really broad range.”
16:42 – Neuromorphic sensors operate much more like an eye than a camera. Here’s how, and how they could be applied in a showcase at the FotF.
19:43 – Further explanation on how a neuromorphic retina works.
24:00 – The “scary amount” of power being consumed by data centres for processing and storage and why this is relevant for neuromorphic-style computing.
24:50 – At SMEs, historically in a lot of companies innovation is driven by one leader. This needs to change, and it is beginning to.
27:30 – Founders should display both resilience and curiosity.
28:47 – “Don’t tell me why it’s so good. Tell me five reasons why it won’t work.”
30:00 – Flexibility also needs to come with tenacity for startup founders and their teams.
31:30 – Why a startup founder also needs to be a bottlewasher if it’s needed.
32:15 – Why it can get difficult for established SMEs in adapting with the times, for example to incorporate digital twinning and/or evolve their business model.
34:55 – The semiconductor value chain in Australia and the lack of understanding and linkages when it comes to this.
35:55 – The difficulties attached to relying on using overseas chip fabrication and packaging if you’re an Australian startup.
37:20 – The recent cancellation of the JP9102 contract and the sovereign risk implications.
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This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations looks at the most recent Economic Complexity Index figures, compiled by the Growth Lab at Harvard University.
In it, Senior Research Manager at the Growth Lab Tim Cheston tells us about some of the recent shifts, what he thinks of the infamous assessment that “Australia is rich, dumb and getting dumber”, and more.
The conversation is brought to you by APS Industrial. Providing exclusive access to the market-leading Siemens industrial automation and low voltage electrical portfolio, APS Industrial partners with the best, to bring local industry the best.
Episode guide
1:05 – Introduction to the conversation, to Cheston, and to the Economic Complexity Index and what it measures.
3:09 – The most recent results, what they say, and who the leaders are. And why has South Korea risen so fast in the last two decades?
5:24 – Vietnam is another fast riser up the ranks, showing that countries that evolve their knowhow are those that do so will grow the fastest.
6:58 – Australia in the latest rankings, falling behind Bangladesh and Senegal to 102nd. “Consistently going in the wrong direction.”
7:45 – Why has Australia performed so badly in the ECI rankings?
8:30 – The challenges that low economic complexity creates.
10:40 – What Australia should consider to improve its prospects, starting with its “world-class service sector” and the decarbonisation trend.
14:00 – Shortcomings of the analysis, and shortcomings of how it’s interpreted.
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This episode was produced in cooperation with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and features Peter Cox, Managing Director of Gelista, and Camilla Waterhouse, Executive Manager of Environment, Social and Governance in CommBank's Business Banking unit. They discuss the background to the upcoming climate reporting obligations, as well as how companies can use sustainability to create value and reduce risk for their business.
Episode guide
0:20 – An introduction to guests.
2:08 – Some observations on where corporate sustainability is going in the next 12 months.
4:46 – Mandatory climate reporting. Why it’s on the way in, some international context, and some things that will be required of companies captured by this.
8:02 – A lot of companies are measuring a lot of data on climate, but there must also be a mindset switch.
9:03 – Climate reporting and Gelista’s point of view. “In the meantime I’m just gathering together the information and starting to build up an awareness and understanding…”
10:22 – Expected investment in uplifting processes and data to make these disclosure ready.
13:24 – Making sustainability a competitive advantage, and how this looks from the perspective of a smaller manufacturer. A reasonably quick payback is needed, with a few examples of this.
15:55 – Some offerings available to support sustainability programs at both small and larger-scale companies.
19:12 – Gelista’s move into its new factory and some of the sustainability measures included onsite.
21:10 – Concerns about mandatory reporting plus some positive spin on these coming requirements.
Things you should know
Guests featured in the podcast are speaking from their personal experiences only. As this podcast has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs, you should, before acting on the content, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances. CommBank does not necessarily endorse the views of a particular individual or guarantee the accuracy of the information provided.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations we hear from James Bradley, former CTO of Diffuse Energy, a micro-wind turbine business that its founders decided to end this year. He tells us about the company’s big idea, the progress it made before supply chain issues made it difficult to continue, the reality that university spinout businesses don’t always succeed, and why he’s still passionate about working with startups.
This episode is proudly brought to you by ECI Solutions.
Episode guide
1:24 – Career shift. Big box retail then mature age engineering student at age 32.
3:13 – Meeting Joss and being involved with his work in the second half of Joss’s PhD.
3:52 – A concept for a very small turbine and forming a team to explore commercialisation of this via CSIRO ON.
5:40 – A diffuser-augmented turbine and “unravelling the horrendous mathematics” involved in design and simulation.
7:40 – Early applications involving luxury yachts.
8:35 – Changing focus to telecommunications tower applications.
9:30 – An ARENA-backed, multi-site project focussed on telco towers, why they thought it was needed, and some of the difficulties involved.
11:20 – Having to design a controller that would handle difficult weather events. Then COVID happened in 2020 and made the project move very slowly.
13:03 – The trial and the results gathered. Developing a tool for more accurately predicting wind speed on sites.
15:10 – “Yes, wind turbines can work on remote sites. Probably not as many as you’d hope for. They’ve got to be a pretty good site to make sense. But also we came up with a way of validating sites… pretty accurately”.
15:55 – The great global semiconductor shortage of the early 2020s and why there was no possibility of building what’s needed here.
17:05 – The type of MOSFET products used in their controllers were “unicorns”, which made them hard to replace when the supply chain broke.
23:04 – The lessons in this that are worth sharing, including in electronics design.
24:10 – We are probably not great at accepting the fact that commercialising scientific breakthroughs isn’t always going to be a success.
25:24 – Fundamental research is important, and its contribution to progress won’t be immediately apparent.
26:50 – The two co-founders’ friendship has survived the end of the business. “We’ll have a wake for Diffuse Energy soon.”
27:55 – Yes, he would do another startup. There isn’t the variety or the same chance of building “the world’s best something” in a big, established company.
28:50 – Current work with University of Newcastle on accelerator and pre-accelerator programs, which are available to regional businesses as well as spinouts.
30:17 – Is there a chance the invention might be used at a different business?
Further reading
Saving through smarter energy use – a future for our coal regions
Spin to win: turbine tech company proving itself to telco customers
Clean tech: the great green opportunity?
ARENA announce
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In episode 101 of @AuManufacturing Conversations, SPEE3D's co-founder and CTO Steve Camilleri returns as a guest.
He tells us about the enduring consideration of “how do I make a perfect space printer?”, why companies need a guiding vision, the importance of in-field testing for product development, celebrating the company’s capable Australian suppliers, the complementarity of cold spray AM alongside wire arc AM, and more.
Editor's note: This episode is not "paid media", though in the interests of honesty we do disclose with listeners that SPEE3D is a current advertiser with @AuManufacturing.
This episode is brought to you by APS Industrial. Providing exclusive access to the market-leading Siemens industrial automation and low voltage electrical portfolio, APS Industrial partners with the best, to bring local industry the best.
Episode guide
1:30 – Marking the company’s decade anniversary.
2:18 – About 100 machines in the field. “Feeling a little mature” now.
3:06 – The importance of vision and knowing the problem you’re trying to solve.
4:08 – The influence of the casting industry and its issues on SPEE3D’s approach.
6:08 – Calculating costs versus casting.
8:58 – The EMU machine on display at Land Forces. Two shipping containers full of gear. The origin story of this product and development with the Australian Army, learning about the context of the user.
10:10 – Some of the novel problems for AM presented by expeditionary use. “Insects turned out to be a big problem in the field.”
13:20 – Celebrating the highly-capable local companies in SPEE3D’s supply chain.
14:38 – Building large parts and the place of these. The shortcomings of established methods like pit casting and what SPEE3D wants to improve on.
16:30 – Thermal expansion issues.
17:50 – The TitanSPEE3D machine under development. Driven by market demand, particularly US DoD. “There’s real opportunity here.”
18:55 – The importance of manufacturing large metal objects, such as pressure vessels, off-planet.
Further readingSPEE3D demonstrates additive manufacturing to US military
SPEE3D’s new machine to make Australian debut this week
SPEE3D enters West African 3D print market
SPEE3D opens US 3D print applications centre
SPEE3D, Micro-X, DroneShield and Minelab headed for Ukraine
A decade in and no sign of slowing for Australian AM company
SPEE3D’s new machine to make Australian debut this week
Land Forces 2022 – The curse and the benefit of being Australian
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Dilupa Nakandala, Associate Professor at Western Sydney University’s School of Business, about her research and her new policy paper, Recharging SME manufacturing in NSW: Opportunities for government to boost adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.
Episode guide
0:38 – Background. Studied as an electrical/electronic engineer, worked in various roles at IBM World Trade Corporation (the first female engineer at the company) before moving into academia in 2007.
2:22 – Why SME manufacturers became a research focus.
4:24 – The policy insights paper on challenges faced by manufacturing SMEs in technology adoption released by the James Martin Institute, where Nakandala is the inaugural Policy Fellow.
5:31 – Barriers to adoption are multidimensional. Here are a few of them.
7:30 – Data collected from SMEs through several studies, including on resilience benefits – both operational and supply chain resilience – from adopting advanced technologies.
9:44 – Two policy proposals from the paper to help companies get exposed to, learn about, and benefit from new technologies. Firstly, an industry secondment program placing experts from larger enterprises in smaller companies.
11:47 – Secondly, a technology leasing program for smaller companies.
13:03 – International examples of what good looks like.
14:59 – Some thoughts on jargon and buzzwords from vendors.
16:45 – Industry 4, Industry 5, Industry 6…
17:58 – There’s work to be done to change the industry’s image. Attracting tech-savvy youngsters depends on it.
Further reading
Recharging SME manufacturing in NSW: Opportunities for government to boost adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, published by the James Martin Institute for Public Policy.
New research looks at how to boost tech adoption at SME manufacturers
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Dr Nadia Court and Stefanie Winwood about the state of Australia's semiconductor sector and some ideas on how to strengthen it.
The conversation comes ahead of the Semiconductor Australia 2024 conference, to be held October 24. More information on the event is available here.
Episode guide
0:25 – An introduction to the guests.
1:42 – BluGlass and its rarity as an Australian vertically-integrated semiconductor company.
3:34 – Has the public forgotten about the importance of the industry after the global chip shortage?
6:50 – What we have going for us in terms of our contribution to the chip industry.
8:10 – People don’t necessarily understand the overlap between quantum computing and semiconductor technology.
10:48 – A strong chip sector and the benefits in sovereign capability and economic development benefit.
12:30 – A sector in a state of transition, and this is influencing policy decisions and investments.
13:30 – What nations that have flourishing industries have done that we haven’t.
15:25 – Why has all this been overlooked when it comes to A Future Made In Australia?
17:20 – A national strategy needed.
19:30 – About Semiconductor Australia – an investor conference and a sector showcase – and what it hopes to achieve..
Welcome to episode 98 of @AuManufacturing Conversations, sponsored by ECI Solutions. ECI has the leading ERP software for small and medium-sized manufacturers. With solutions to suit all types of manufacturers, they have manufacturing software that can scale as your business grows.
M1 ERP for discrete and complex manufacturers enables real-time operational visibility over all aspects of your business, from finance to production floor and inventory management. M1 ERP software saves manufacturers time and money.
In this episode we hear from Colin Doherty, Managing Director of Original Engines Co. He tells us about finding himself an accidental participant in the circular economy, the untapped opportunity for remanufacturing in Australia, why he believes internal combustion engines will be around for decades to come, and more.
Episode guide
1:15 – A career path beginning in the late-1970s as a fitter and turner in the aerospace industry, then automotive remanufacture in the mid-1980s.
2:50 – Starting TDC Engines in 1990, beginning with component reconditioning.
4:15 – Becoming a part of warranty programs for big OEMs, starting with Ford.
6:05 – Reconditioning, repair, remanufacture and how these are defined.
8:30 – The volumes the company is dealing in.
10:02 – Some reflections on the demise of passenger car manufacture in Australia, as well as how they dealt with it.
13:02 – How prevalent engine manufacturing is in this country.
14:48 – The lightbulb moment when it comes to the circular economy and how OEC fit in.
16:35 – Battery electric vehicles and their predicted impact on what Doherty does.
18:46 – Some thoughts on government support to encourage remanufacture.
20:13 – The place of manufacturing in a society, how it’s misunderstood, and why that isn’t helping attract the required skills.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Dr Maryam Parviz from bone filler business SDIP Innovations tells us about why better bone implants are needed, the company's road to commercialisation, why the company decided in-house production was the only way after considering contract manufacture, and more.
This episode is sponsored by ECI Software Solutions.
Episode guide
0:26 – What SDIP does – next-generation bioresobable bone implants – and Parviz’s professional background.
2:25 – Development of the implants by the company’s co-founder as an answer to repeat surgeries.
3:30 – The scholarship from NSW Health in partnership with QB3 incubator and the UCSF Rosenman incubator.
4:32 – What Jazbi is and does.
5:40 – 60 per cent of surgeons use bone from another part of the patient’s body, or from cadavers.
7:20 – Their product versus ceramics, which Parvis says are brittle rather than shapeable. Bone fillers created in granule, wedge and rod shape plus fillers (with rod-shaped cartridges) used in a delivery device.
9:26 – What it’s made of and how it’s made.
10:55 – The path to clinical acceptance. Hopefully in a patient next year.
12:40 – The business model.
15:01 – What lure might’ve been attached to staying in the Bay Area and not returning to Sydney to establish the business and its products.
19:07 – Establishing the factory in Hornsby.
22:30 – Manufacturing process development while in the Bay Area and the value of this.
23:50 – Why the fundraising environment for medical device companies in Australia isn’t as mature as it could be, and what this means for new companies.
28:10 – The art of innovation in manufacturing and at SDIP.
30:20 – First sales will be in the US market.
31:15 – The skillsets involved, talent attraction at SDIP, and the challenging nature of this.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, sponsored by Markforged, we hear from the company's CEO Shai Terem, as well as Matthew Adams, founder and CEO of Australian company Tekt Industries.
This conversation was recorded at an event at Tekt's facility in late-May as part of Markforged's FX10 Launch Roadshow.
In episode 96 of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Matt Hardie discusses “having a midlife crisis early on”, giving up a corporate job aged 22, travelling the world and then deciding to make healthy treats, and Maria Christina shares some of the intelligence from the Commbank Manufacturing Insights Report.
To read CommBank Manufacturing Insights Report – May 2024. visit www.commbank.com.au and type 'Manufacturing Insights Report' into the search bar, or follow this link
Our guest in this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is Steve Milanoski, Director, Manufacturing Technology at the NSW Government's Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
Steve tells us about the AMRF's goals for lifting technology adoption and skills among companies, the need for a Australia to have a manufacturing development institute, and some lessons from a career in contract manufacturing in Australia and as an Additive Engineer at SpaceX before moving here.
The AMRF was a sponsor of our recent Australia's 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign. @AuManufacturing is in planning for our next iteration of the campaign, with a planned launch in November. If you're interested in learning more about sponsoring or entering, please get in touch.
Episode guide
1:05 – Personal background – Navy then school then SpaceX then Australia.
3:50 – Moving to Australia and ending up in Western Sydney.
5:20 – Director of Manufacturing Technology for just over a year at AMRF.
8:02 – Choices made in investing in equipment for the facility.
9:40 – Why a ply cutter is relevant.
11:48 – What Milanoski has noticed about the Australian manufacturing context in his time here.
14:35 – How the AMRF might work with SMEs.
16:20 - What it plans to offer larger companies.
17:50 – The possibilities for coaching manufacturing staff versus some other options.
20:22 – Buying machines is the easy part, but public facilities use them in different ways. The focus is on production, not fundamental research.
22:08 – Qualifying additively manufactured parts in Australia.
24:40 – Some further observations on AM in Australia and what the success stories demonstrate. “It’s always going to be dominated by the application.”
26:35 – Having an AM solution rather than an AM problem.
27:52 – One of the last pieces of equipment we’re purchasing is a large-format CT scanner. And that’s because it’s not commercially available in Australia.”
29:30 – Some observations on current skills shortages and how to address these.
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, and the Commonwealth Bank.
In this episode we hear from Ben Chapman, Managing Director of Australian Turntable Company. He tells us about the regional Victorian company's recent expansion into the US and India, the sense of responsibility attached to a respected SME business, the impending launch of its very-first business-to-consumer product, and more.
Episode guide
1:01 — started work at ATC as soon as he finished school. The business started when he was about 13 or 14.
2:15 – An introduction to the company and what it does.
3:25 – Once they understood what they did, it opened up more opportunities.
4:16 – Where their turntables might be seen.
5:28 – The origin story.
7:02 – Getting started in the Yellow Pages era.
8:10 – Early work as a hire business serving motor shows, and why that industry was a great starting place.
10:15 – Growing up within the family business, doing many different roles, and learning on the job.
12:29 – Succeeding as leader from his dad.
13:38 – Being aware of the respect the company has built up as a niche manufacturer.
14:45 – Family members working in the business.
15:48 – Favourite project ever? The world’s largest revolving restaurant, in Iran. It wasn’t without drama, though…
18:50 – Custom vs off-the-shelf jobs
20:55 – The Spinsy product. How it was developed, the challenges to do with this, and why they decided to make their first B-to-C product.
24:40 – expanding into the US and India and why these markets were appealing.
25:50 – “The company that we want to be is one that’s global and it’s supplying the world’s best turntables across the globe.”
26:40 – On innovation and its importance.
28:25 – The challenge of being an internationally-oriented business, based in a regional city, requiring a skilled workforce.
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, and the Commonwealth Bank.
In this episode we hear from Cameron van den Dungen, CEO of Sleeptite, who tells us about the company's novel sensors for beds developed with RMIT University engineers, the challenges in developing new technology for use in the aged care sector, why manufacturability came first, and much more.
Episode guide
1:02 - Making printable, flexible stretchable electronics to sense and determine what’s happening in a bedroom environment.
1:54 – The influence of family in what Sleeptite does. Father is a foundation member of Forty Winks. Grandmother and grandfather ran private aged care homes.
4:22 – “Every system I found of data extraction was either under-bed or unreliable.”
5:55 - A meeting with then-Associate Professor at RMIT, Madhu Bhaskaran, brokered by Rob Fildes from The Australian Academy of Science .
6:40 – ‘REMI’ taken from TRL 2 to reach a working prototype in 2021 via a CRC-P. Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre support to a commercial-ready product, which is where they are now.
8:01 – Underestimating the time it would take. Laughs at an early interview with Tony Peacock for the CRC Association podcast and “naivete” starting out.
11:08 – What REMI does and being led by needs in the aged care sector.
12:50 – There was no technology to address under-staffed aged care workplaces.
13:10 – Providing information on presence, posture and position.
14:30 – Other data could be tracked (e.g. respiration) but isn’t a focus for the time being.
16:10 – Some of the bigger hurdles.
17:50 – The importance of manufacturability.
19:10 – If you don’t know how to make your own product and go global, then you will lose control of your IP.
20:50 – Applications beyond aged care.
24:20 – Why a planned sleep disorder diagnosis and monitoring trial was put on pause.
26:55 – Upcoming work with Flinders University, University of Birmingham, and Monash University’s Turner Institute.
28:40 – Why they're bootstrapped.
29:58 – Investor support in Australia. “...Due to our size of industry it’s very formulaic and there’s probably a lack of understanding or sophistication of many investors of what deep tech is. That patience and that long term of pre-revenue, pre-commercial support is very difficult in Australia. It’s not impossible.”
30:50 – The importance of non-equity-diluting funding. Van den Dungen's appreciation of Ed Husic’s interest in what the company does.
34:12 – A recent demonstration of Remi Care at the ACCPA. Nearly two years of trials in facilities owned by one of the biggest aged care providers in Australia.
35:58 – The challenges to providers in adopting new technology and how governments can help.
37:15 – Preparing for the first production run.
38:22 – What success would look like, and the best kind of award possible.
38:55 – Praise for the team.
39:38 – Personal definition of innovation.
40:50 – “I think there is a lack of understanding around what manufacturing should be in Australia, fundamentally, at all levels.”
42:20 – Taking inspiration from HSV and the Walkinshaw family.
Welcome to a special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski. This time around we’re featuring one of the sponsors that’s making our current series – Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers – possible.
In this episode we hear from David Fox, Associate Director Research & Technology at the NSW Government's Western Parkland City Authority, which runs the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility. He tells us about the unmet need the AMRF will fill, preparation leading up to completion of its First Building this year, and why Manufacturing Readiness Levels are where it's at for projects with them.
Episode guide
1:18 – Fox's personal background, and moving from an SME manufacturer to a government role.
2:25 – The technology team he works with at AMRF.
3:05 – Some differences between the facility and a university lab.
4:27 – Making sure they are maybe complementing but not duplicating what already exists.
6:01 – Timetable for opening this year.
6:47 – What they’ll be doing for Australian Manufacturing Week in April.
8:02 – On innovations of the incremental kind.
10:32 – Doing projects with AMRF and the recent round of applications for this.
12:55 – What they won’t be doing, including operating as a jobbing shop.
14:13 – Why the manufacturing brand could do with some polishing.
Further reading
AMRF's page
Bradfield City Centre Master Plan released
Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility seeks proposals for first projects
Work begins on Bradfield City Centre
@AuManufacturing Conversations Episode 20 — David Fox from Western Parkland City Authority
NSW government to open $260 million shared use manufacturing centre at Bradfield in 2026
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, and the Commonwealth Bank.
In this episode we hear from Mike Bell, CEO of ASX-listed First Graphene, about their work on "green cement" in the UK, why they're making plates and not lemons, why innovation isn't unboiling an egg, and more.
A note about audio: we apologise for the whirring noise in the background. It was an issue with a computer fan, which has since been resolved.
Episode guide0:58 – Career path. Electronics, software, shipbuilding, then graphene.
2:20 – “We are pioneers in the production of graphene.”
3:40 – The wonders of graphene as an additive.
5:10 – We are still working out a lot of things about adding graphene to other materials.
6:57 – There are a lot of ways to make graphene, and not all graphene is created equally.
7:44 – Sri Lankan graphite and electrochemical exfoliation.
11:02 – The need for high-volume applications to justify development costs.
12:10 – Why cement and concrete.
13:27 – The attractiveness of concrete applications versus development for a shoe brand.
15:30 – Background to Breedon Group in the UK and the work with them going back to Innovate UK grant. R&D also involves Morgan Sindall.
17:02 – Not every graphene company gets so much access to such a significantly-sized plant. Two trials there so far.
18:52 – Gearing up for a third trial with cement.
20:06 – The economics of making graphene.
23:14 – Perovskite solar cells with Halocell Energy.
25:35 – Lubricants, pools, wear liners, coatings and more.
27:06 – Defining innovation.
29:32 – Outsourcing and the way it hollows out a country’s capacity to add value and have a productive economy.
32:02 – Western Australia’s limited economy as a result of its success in mining.
Further readingFirst Graphene's website
Graphene helps make more hydrogen with less energy
First Graphene and team begin UK graphene-in-cement trials
First Graphene launches new cement and concrete additives
First Graphene gets UK patent for process for potentially better battery anodes
First Graphene provides facemask materials
First Graphene ships first commercial product
First Graphene to supply swimming pool manufacturer
Graphene electrodes part of plan to make Australia make PV again
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, and the Commonwealth Bank.
In this episode we hear from Josh Hacko, Technical Director at NH Micro and Nicholas Hacko Watchmaker. The fourth-generation watchmaker tells us about how one company grew out of the other, solving the unique challenges thrown up by jobs for research institutes such as ANSTO, why getting back to the sandbox matters, and more.
Episode guide0:55 – Watchmaking and then contract manufacturing
2:34 – Went straight from high school into working for the family business.
4:08 – Launching sister business in 2021.
6:02 – Use of Linkedin in winning work.
7:05 – Recent projects for university and research organisations and the benefits of this.
8:48 – A recent ANSTO project involving ferrite and its unusual demands.
11:21 – The role of play in innovation, which is “paramount to how we operate.”
14:10 – It’s about a day a week of play at work. It’s not scheduled, though. And the results of play often help profitability.
15:45 – The role of R&D at the company and what steers it.
17:57 – The new watch currently being developed. “And if we tried to do this seven years ago it would’ve taken us seven years to do.”
22:25 – Personal definition of innovation.
24:10 – The reasons for being self-financed and not taking on debt.
26:45 – Doing business in Brookvale, an increasingly “brewery and cafe” neighbourhood, and previous plans to relocate to Mittagong.
29:05 – The enduring challenge of attracting young people into careers as toolmakers, machinists etc.
Further readingNH Micro's website
Australia’s only watch manufacturer to split in two, target space industry
Media focusing on manufacturing revival – photos
Like trying to breed kangaroos on top of the Swiss Alps
Site visit: the Australian watchmaker creating a movement
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, and the Commonwealth Bank.
In this episode we hear from Dr Heba Khamis, co-founder and CEO at sensor startup Contactile. She tells us about the company’s novel approach to making robots less clumsy, where they’ve seen the most interest from, the difficulties of finding the right silicone manufacturer, and more.
Episode guide
0:55 – origin story stuff.
2:20 – Investigating the possibility of commercialisation via accelerators. “We didn’t realise how naive we were until we’d done those programs.”
4:15 – The optical-based sensors and how they work.
4:42 – Some different ways that tracking light is used.
5:38 – Why slipperiness is important to the Contactile’s approach to sensing.
6:40 – How dexterity is useful and how others have tried to replicate it.
7:30 – What vision-based sensing misses.
8:47 – Not a lot of groups developing tactile sensors.
10:52 – On dexterity’s two components: mechanics and sensing.
11:45 – Warehouse environments and questions about why humanoid robots are the best choice for these.
12:49 – Current products.
13:50 – The challenge of manufacturing their products. The silicone has been the tricky bit.
14:55 – Use of Australian companies in manufacturing, testing, system integration.
16:32 – Use of Australian universities for R&D.
16:58 – Size of team.
17:35 – E-commerce is where the most market pull has come from.
19:23 – On innovation.
20:08 – Contacting Contactile.
20:36 – Some challenges particular to small businesses.
Further reading
$US 2.5 million seed round for Sydney sensor maker
Things picking up for Sydney sensor business
From data to decisions — three game changers explain how to get there
CSIRO ON, off since 2020, now back on
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, and the Commonwealth Bank.
In this episode Matt Hill, CEO of Hypersonix Launch Systems, tells us about the four-year-old company’s progress in its mission to “fly to space” in reusable scramjet-powered craft, innovation in terms of doing more with less, the planned maiden launch of its Dart AE late-this year, and more.
Episode guide
0:58 – Career background. Joined Hypersonix in 2022 as CFO.
3:02 – Origins of the company at The University of Queensland.
4:02 – Likely to pass 40 employees by EOFY. Spread of the team across Sydney and Ipswich.
5:05 – Types of craft under development.
7:12 – Have the “fly to space” plans been put on hold due to interest from the defence sector?
9:38 – The challenges being addressed through HyCat.
11:55 – The likelihood of Hypersonix remaining an Australian company.
12:50 – Definition of innovation.
14:39 – On working with universities such as UQ and University of Southern Queensland. “A model that’s very important to deep tech.”
17:26 – Getting good staff, upskilling them, and keeping them, and how you could encourage this.
Further readingHypersonix's website
Hypersonix signs US agreement, could supply up to 20 DART AE platforms to Kratos
Hypersonix awarded first major contract
Hypersonix to “get our first ride from Rocket Lab”
Hypersonix and SoMAC CRC aim for high temperature materials
High-temperature composite scramjet arrives at Hypersonix
Hypersonix places order with Amiga, says additive engineering will disrupt cost of scramjets
Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here.
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility, and the Commonwealth Bank.
In this episode Mark Henry, Managing Director and founder at Solidteknics, tells us about designing products that will be passed down across generations, whose responsibility it is to re-grow manufacturing skills that have become harder to find over time, why there's no point making a product that isn't a world-first, and more.
Episode guide
1:02 – Started as a kid curious about how things worked, got inspired by a grandfather who was an old-school backyard inventor, studied a trade then mechanical engineering.
3:10 – Launched first company while at uni in 1996: Furitechnics.
4:22 – The special feeling of seeing products with longevity out there and being used.
6:15 – A world-first in mechanising wrought iron production.
7:33 – Getting rid of unnecessary complexity with one-piece products. Rivets, plastics, gaps just add points of failure.
8:20 – Honours thesis on knife materials and cutting edges and the value of this.
10:48 – Why the choices were made for wrought iron and nickel-free stainless steel in most of the company's cookware.
12:25 – No stainless steels made in Australia, so had to look to a mill in Finland.
14:58 – Key contractor is a family business in Sydney.
16:38 – Designing products to become classics that can be made for decades after release.
18:53 – All the Australian cookware has gone. If anything remains it’s made offshore. Those skills were lost.
20:56 – Henry’s predictions on what the rise of the robots will do to manufacturing, and why artisan skills will still be important.
24:02 – Innovation needs novelty, but that’s just the starting point.
25:36 – The use of Kickstarter after operating in a more traditional way. It helps with cashflow.
29:35 – Exclusive launches through their closed Facebook group.
30:40 – As Popeye used to say: “I is what I is.”
31:46 – Some more thoughts on designing products to be used across generations.
35:20 – Estimates that 1.2 million non-stick pans go into Australian landfill each year. They’re designed to be disposable.
37:05 – How the company plans to celebrate their decade anniversary this year.
39:40 – A goal in the next few years is to show more people on how you can manufacture successfully here.
Further readingSolidteknics' website
Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here.
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, and the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
In this episode Dr Lewis Dunnigan, the CEO and Co-Founder of Bygen, tells us about forming his company while studying his PhD, how it's using agricultural waste to address the problem of "forever chemicals", why missing research targets can still be useful later on, and more.
Episode guide
1:02 – Spinning out a company as a PhD student, based on a new Low Temperature Activation method for making activated carbon.
2:05 – Everyone benefits from the existence of activated carbon, but few have heard of it.
3:24 – The market for activated carbon.
4:04 – How their process works versus two incumbent ways: physical activation and chemical activation.
6:15 – The decarbonisation benefits versus steam and coal and using coconut shells.
7:50 – Feedstocks that have been tested. Primarily using wood and nutshells.
10:10 – Different types of PFAS species.
12:05 – Market research on PFAS remediation.
13:15 – Their business model. Build/own/operate is very expensive and licensing was a better match.
15:47 – What research looks like at a small, technically-minded team operating without the luxury of too many resources.
17:32 – The role of failure in R&D.
18:57 – Innovation takes bravery.
19:55 – Why getting the right skills to remote sites is an important challenge.
Further reading$51 million for CRC-P industry research collaborations
Manufacturing news briefs — stories you might have missed
Activated carbon startup eyes commercial plant
Biochar: an ancient waste-to-value product
In the black: startup pushing ahead commercialising waste-to-activated-carbon technology
Ag Tech incubator launches in Adelaide
Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here.
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, and the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
In this episode, Faz Pollard, Director at Adarsh Australia, tells us about the sometimes-underappreciated place of production within manufacturing, the need to take care of our own waste, and more.
Episode guide
1:02 – A company employing about 100 people, dealing in fabrication, casting, windows and doors, plastics and more.
2:50 – Original career choice as a pilot, then joining the family business.
3:40 – The disciplines at Adarsh, and his take on the “smiley curve” model.
5:20 – Industries served.
6:15 the circular nature of innovation in a company.
7:33 – the importance of networking.
8:45 – being drawn to recycling in recent years.
10:05 – the importance of government procurement in companies wanting to invest.
11:50 – Post-covid what has changed in policy? Very little.
13:20 – What to consider when buying robotics.
Further readingAdarsh's websiteAustralia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers revealed
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, Steve Camilleri from SPEE3D shares his thoughts on our national crisis of confidence when it comes to manufacturing, their approach to raising capital, why he prefers to live and work in Darwin rather than Melbourne, and more.
You can download SPEE3D's new white paper Metal Additive Manufacturing -- The Opportunity in Heavy Industry -- here**.
(**Episode sponsored by SPEE3D)
Episode guide1:13 – One way to look at SPEE3D is as a “shardware” company.
2:22 – Additive manufacturing allows for a blend of systems engineering, mechatronics, control and materials engineering.
3:52 – Many of the world’s most complex problems can be understood by looking at what is occurring with energy.
4:28 – The company is roughly doubling year-on-year, which is a positive but also presents its challenges.
5:30 – The Australian government can be good at supporting smaller businesses with speculative technology. Then you need big C capital, which isn’t abundant here.
7:00 – The riskiness of trying to grow organically.
8:48 – Roughly 50 machines sold so far, including seven for Ukraine in late-2023. “It’s an export market.”
9:56 – The emergence of defence as an important – though not the only – market for SPEE3D.
10:45 – The sad disappearance of foundry skills in the US, the UK and here.
13:20 – Cold spray. How new it is, the three classes it has evolved into, the level of maturity, and what’s currently being addressed.
15:30 – No real competitors in AM with cold spray.
16:26 – A whole handbook waiting to be written on metallurgical science and cold spray.
18:06 – A lot of the focus currently is about making the process more accessible.
19:18 – Why the idea that everything will be 3D printed is incorrect, and that established production methods have a long future ahead of them.
21:06 – The economics of adding value to ores such as bauxite and what problems need solving.
23:15 – The crisis of confidence in manufacturing here and why advanced manufacturing can solve that.
25:00 – The attitude Australians bring to innovation based on professionalism mixed with irreverence, and why we should think more highly of it.
26:35 – Groing from an Australian to an international company.
28:04 – Camilleri’s approach to innovation, lessons from work with the Australian Army, and some thoughts on how to orient your R&D efforts.
30:55 – The technical impressiveness of certain kinds of additive manufacturing can also be distracting.
32:35 – Why Camilleri prefers to be based in Darwin rather than Melbourne, and the northern city’s “Oak Ridgey”-ness.
Relevant linksThe Australian AM business operating in a category of one
SPEE3D joins EOS on the Ukraine battlefield
Land Forces 2022 – The curse and the benefit of being Australian
SPEE3D breaks into US Navy submarine field
Land Forces 2022 – 3D printing to revolutionise logistics at the front
SPEE3D successfully prints parts at sea for US Navy – report
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, and the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
In this episode, BlockTexx co-founder Graham Ross tells us about a passion for marathons and triathlons brought him to sustainability in textiles, why recycling is a great way to go broke if you don’t do it right, what needs to change to improve the way industry and researchers work together, and more.
Episode guide
0:56 – How they got started and what they do: chemical separation allowing them to take polyester and cotton apart.
3:45 - SOFT and how it works.
6:10 – Recovery rates and not creating another waste stream.
8:44 – Making a viable business within recycling is a challenge. Here’s how they approached it.
11:10 – The two products they can create from mixed fabrics. Plus downstream products like hydro-mulch and building materials.
13:30 – We need more recyclers, and more recyclers working together.
15:30 – Planning to expand via a licensing model and why it makes sense.
17:36 – Innovation is hard, especially so in manufacturing.
20:45 – Something that benefits society, changing its direction in a positive way.
22:38 – How they approached collaborating with QUT, CSIRO and others, why it mattered, and how you can get business and researchers to cooperate more effectively.
24:20 – Potential and unnecessary arguments over IP when a technology is nowhere near being commercial, and how to avoid them.
26:43 – Innovation should be a business mandate, not a “nice to have”.
Further readingBlockTexx's website
Manufacturing news briefs – stories you might have missed
Brands are leaning on ‘recycled’ clothes to meet sustainability goals. How are they made? And why is recycling them further so hard?
Winning scaleup businesses named at Australian Technologies Competition 2021
Companies awarded $8.4 m in commercialisation grants
Logan to investigate new innovation precinct
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, and the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
Episode guide
0:54 – A manufacturer, recycler and – at heart – an R&D business.
1:52 – How a lifestyle shift moved Scott from Queensland to South Australia and led to a new business.
3:10 – Inspiration from the Precious Plastic open source hardware-building project.
4:17 – Getting back to chemistry.
5:08 – Tinkering with machinery and different types of collected plastics. Finding polystyrene as a niche.
7:04 – Linking up with Country Road, with things snowballing after a small story on the ABC.
8:48 – A serendipitous meeting at “the magic shop” with Graham Rowe from Dulux Powders.
9:46 – The importance of Rowe’s advocacy inside Dulux.
11:10 – The scale of the problem with waste from powder coating and the difficulties associated with it.
14:02 – The PostPrime material and its first application in bar chairs for concrete pouring, plus some thoughts on the importance of identifying market need for a recycled product.
16:35 – Patenting what they believe is a world first and some further considerations in designing the product.
17:52 – Getting investment, linking with partners, and preparing to scale.
19:20 – A little more on structuring themselves to scale up. Starting the Micro Recyclers Association and supplying them with resins.
20:54 – Recomposition and retail. “If you don’t sell it, it’s not a circular economy.”
22:00 – Some thoughts on defining innovation. Being novel and having utility.
23:30 – The importance of stewardship needs more attention. Some comments on how to design for circularity.
Further readingTransmutation's website
We are trying to identify Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers. Nominate now
REDcycle’s collapse is more proof that plastic recycling is a broken system
Sending a computer-designed “Pac-Man” army into the war on waste
Plastics recyclers need to emphasise value rather than cost
Celebrating Australian Made – recycled plastics are a new frontier for innovation
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, and the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
Episode guide
0:51 – What Scimita does.
3:18 – A background in chemical engineering, energy systems engineering, elite cycling and elsewhere, plus what brought him to Australia from Iran.
5:55 – Why he quit academia.
8:35 – Cracking the innovation code, beginning with a process engineering approach.
9:40 – Even really smart people can be sucked into a black hole, where there is too wide a range of options.
11:00 – Matching TRL with CRL and why that matters.
12:02 – The golden rule.
13:30 - Identifying risks early on and turning them into timelines.
14:20 – Some other readiness levels that get considered.
16:30 – A personal view of innovation.
18:20 – Successfully refocussing their business model after a downturn, leading to a contract with the Trailblazer for Recycling and Clean Energy (TRaCE)
20:00 – What is the issue we need to address to improve research commercialisation in Australia? It’s “a mismatch problem wrapped in complexity.”
23:02 – Why they do business out of the inner west suburb of St Peters. It comes down to travel and modularity.
24:08 – A project involving a monitoring device for bedbugs, which required them to breed and observe the “most important stakeholder” for the product onsite.
27:02 – Safety cannot be compromised in commercialisation projects.
28:24 – The rise of the circular economy in Australia and what needs to change (Scimita co-founder Professor Ali Abbas is Australia’s first Chief Circular Engineer, among other roles.)
29:50 - The circular economy is a very old concept, though current opportunities are immense.
30:34 – Circularity doesn’t actually guarantee sustainability.
31:35 – A look back at Nomvar’s PhD work on a tiny carbon capture device, which might have a business case one day, but “not on this planet, probably.”
34:00 – The many challenges involved in his doctoral work, not all of them technical, and the spinoff benefits of solving these.
35:20 – Some thoughts on risk appetite when it comes to investment and high-tech manufacturing in this nation.
36:20 – What the US gets right in encouraging high-tech businesses and what we lack.
37:50 – Scimita’s plans to help the innovation ecosystem here.
39:05 “This is a golden time for Australia… This is the fifth industrial revolution… It’s not going to come around again.”
40:05 – Government initiatives need to consult more closely with industry to understand innovation.
40:45 – “I think we as a nation need to have a very open, thoughtful discussion about what manufacturing means to Australia, given that our labour costs are high. And we want [them] to be high, because that’s part of the prosperity conversation. But it also means we have to be a lot smarter about what we are manufacturing and how we are marketing that.”
Relevant linksScimita's website
Sydney metal powder technology company announces $15 million Series A
Kinaltek licenses catalyst technology to India
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
The 50 Most Innovative is an annual campaign by @AuManufacturing. This time around it has been made possible through the generous support of MYOB, CSIRO, and the NSW government’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
Be sure to check back at our website for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
Episode guide
0:50 – EMVision’s story and why Kirkland joined as a co-founder.
1:40 – What kind of company they are.
2:20 – Further origin story info, including the role of University of Queensland’s Uniquest.
3:15 – The problem of strokes internationally, and the current limitations to diagnosis and treatment.
4:30 – Time is brain. “...About 1.9 million brain cells dying every minute, and the earlier you can intervene, the better the outcome.”
6:10 – About 15 million strokes a year and 50 - 65 million TBI cases a year.
7:16 – Hopefully one day as ambiguous as a defibrillator. “That is the ultimate objective.”
8:24 – The business model.
10:02 – Off-the-shelf and other electronics used in the company’s scanners.
11:10 – Macquarie Park and the benefit of using nearby medtech companies’ “hindsight as our foresight”.
12:07 – Let’s talk about innovation
12:55 – Let’s continue to talk about innovation, specifically in the Australian context and what can be done to improve this.
14:05 – What 2024 could deliver for the company.
15:08 – A few thoughts on the importance of creating and capturing value here.
Further readingEMVision's website
Are you one of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Nominate today
EMVision further develops its portable stroke scanner
EMVision names first two sites for upcoming clinical trials of stroke detection machines
EMVision moves to new trial phase of stroke detector
Government grants EMVision funding for brain scanner
Risk, reward, and being brave enough to back yourself
In the last episode for 2023, we hear from Ben Sorensen, Director of Innovation & Commercialisation at EPE.
He tells us about the importance of collaborating with Australian researchers, EPE's role co-leading the ELO2 consortium hoping to build Australia's very first lunar rover, and more.
Episode guide
0:22 – EPE’s focus: protecting people in hazardous environments, typically defence personnel. Supplying and sustaining hundreds of robots and thousands of sensors for customers.
1:20 – Leading EPE’s innovation company. Work includes commercialising new products with CSIRO.
2:50 – Joining the company via Data61 and the role of R&D in strategy.
5:26 – Collaborations with CSIRO.
7:23 – Moon to Mars Trailblazer Stage 1.
9:40 – The on-earth value of building technology for the moon.
11:14 – Why the space industry is important in general.
12:10 – The Big Dipper and Little Dipper challenges.
13:28 – Capital – and how we feel about capital – is an issue to address. We also need to be bolder and better able to partner with researchers.
Relevant linksEPE's website
ELO2's website
ELO2 to unveil its moon rover candidate today
Competition to name rover all over. Roo-ver it is
Unlocking lunar potential: Australia’s Big Dipper Challenge
Rolling for regolith
The challenge to design sample collection for a lunar rover
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Dr Angus Forster, CTO of Vaxxas, at the company's Northshore Brisbane factory. He tells us about the plans for the site -- which was officially opened in June -- as well as some of the challenges of bringing biotech products to market.
Episode guide
0:25 - Personal background and work at Vaxxas since 2012. Plus what an explanation of what the company is trying to do.
2:03 – The first patents on the needle-and-syringe go back about 170 years, and weren’t designed specifically for vaccination.
3:10 – What is a microarray patch and what do they do?
4:33 – The advantages of dried vaccines on micro-projections?
5:34 – The large field competing to develop microarray patches for vaccine delivery methods.
7:05 – Scaling up.
9:04 – Types of vaccines in clinical trials currently.
10:24 – What’s special about their new facility.
11:35 – Current schedule for first product to market in 2028. What are some of the challenges?
12:32 – Trying to find a place in the supply chain for vaccine delivery.
14:10 – The difficulties and benefits of remaining in Australia.
15:40 – Preparing the facility to be audited by TGA for Phase 2 and 3 studies and for genuine manufacturing.
17:40 – There’s a desire to build biotech companies, but the amount of time and money isn’t always appreciated.
Relevant linksVaxxas opens new Brisbane manufacturing facility
Vaxxas raises $34 million for clinical program, increased output
Vaxxas and Aim Lab automate vaccination skin patch production
Vaxxas to begin Covid booster trials in Adelaide this year
Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers revealed
Vaxxas moves towards pilot line, Covid clinical trials
Slowly getting closer to the pointy end
We are launching the second iteration of our Australia's 50 most innovative manufacturers campaign, or "the 50 most innovative" in its shorthand form.
Just like last time around, we're seeking to identify and celebrate the country's most innovative manufacturers, learn about how they understand and go about innovating, and hopefully pick up some lessons we can use along the way.
This time around we're going with the theme “it’s for everybody”. Because innovation something every manufacturer does.
Special thanks go to returning lead sponsor MYOB.
This episode is a podcast version of the event's launch webinar, published on November 29. It features:
- Martin Ripple, CEO at ANCA Machine Tools;
- Ian Lowrey, co-founder of Wireman; and
- Bruce Minty, Senior Product Manager at MYOB.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Xavier Orr, co-founder and co-CEO of Advanced Navigation.
Episode Guide0.25 – Neural network-based navigation systems based on PhD research.
1:35 – Deciding on a stream at university while studying mechatronics and computer science.
2:12 – The big idea: a neural network-based alternative to the Kalman filter.
3:40 – Starting the company with co-founder Chris Shaw.
4:56 – Why they chose the co-CEO model. “You can cover double the territory” but it requires a deep level of trust.
5:51 – The first product, landing their breakthrough customer – Bombardier – about half a year after getting started, and what was behind getting acceptance by the market.
7:44 – Bootstrapping the company with loans and credit cards and getting their first major investor – Our Innovation Fund – about five years in.
8:55 – Taking “a little bit of an unusual path” in not relying on mentors when getting started.
9:50 – The secret to their healthy-sized venture funding rounds.
10:50 – Different sites: two facilities in Sydney, photonics in Canberra, radio research in Newcastle, UAV research facility in Brisbane and Perth underwater research and manufacturing facility.
11:28 – Size and capacity of the company.
12:10 – The benefits of shared infrastructure at UTS Tech Lab.
13:40 – The major projects Advanced Navigation is working on now.
15:35 – Moon mission
16:26 – Dealing with radiation and vacuum in developing lidav for space.
17:22 – Only four companies in the world can make strategic-grade fibre optic gyroscopes.
18:46 – Supply chain considerations.
20:26 – What steers R&D and how.
22:20 – Why their collaborations with universities have been successful. Where have things fallen over in other instances, what’s different for Advanced Navigation, and what was the role of IP arrangements.
24:02 – The talent shortage and how they’ve addressed this.
24:50 – What their workforce looks like.
25:30 – High-tech is the key for re-growing manufacturing here.
Relevant linksAdvanced Navigation's website
Advanced Navigation opens Sydney robotics facility
Advanced Navigation, Quantx Labs among seven defence grant recipients
Advanced Navigation unveils subsea robotics centre
Advanced Navigation to ensure safe Australian moon landing
Advanced Navigation aims to be first Australian to the Moon
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from PhD scholar Kathryn Anderson. Anderson won the University of South Australia Three Minute Thesis (3MT)this year with her presentation on innovation districts, a topic she has a little more time to expand on in this episode.
Episode guide
0:50 – Personal background and how she ended up studying innovation districts.
6:12 – How do innovation districts create economically valuable proximity?
6:50 – Understanding clusters, a subject influenced by Michael Porter.
8:05 – Alfred Marshall and “industrial atmosphere”.
9:12 – Innovation districts: “a bit of a new beast”. What is distinct about them?
10:55 – Looking at Technology Park Adelaide and Tonsley Innovation District.
14:04 – International case studies. Why 22@Barcelona is an exemplar when it comes to innovation districts.
16:10 – The amenity factor of places in modern life.
17:35 – “People stand up and take note when you say ‘Silicon Valley.’” Why it captures the imagination.
18:50 – Why it’s unreasonable to want to have another Silicon Valley.
20:10 – The sometimes-overlooked role of government in SV.
21:31 – Some important ingredients that have emerged.
22:57 – It’s not just the ingredients, but the intersection of the ingredients that matters.
25:02 – They are not set and forget. Tech Park, for example, has morphed over the years.
27:20 – Research on Geelong and its reinvention after Ford. What’s been important in this?
30:30 – A call to action regarding innovation districts.
Further readingUniSA Business 3MT Winner - FWFC's Kathryn Anderson!
Welcome to a special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we’re running as part of our The New Reinventors series, sponsored by business solutions provider Fusion5.
Be sure to check out Fusion5’s free ebook – Manufacturing: The New Reinventors -- here.
Episode guide
0:50 – An introduction to Robotic Systems, a company with its beginnings in competitive engineering, and to Amos and Perkins.
2:13 – Beginning in a garage with a contract from Orica.
3:09 – Work in many industries, but with a focus on mining.
4:22 – The importance of artistry in product design.
6:22 “There was no business strategy. There was no plan; it just kind of happened. And what that actually is a recipe for is pretty much a full-on disaster… The first seven or eight years were pretty much failures.”
8:37 – Reevaluating what they did and what the point was with the help of a “mountaintop acid” experience.
10:55 – How a customer’s idea is progressed, beginning with business case evaluation. “The tech is kind of secondary.”
12:44 – Final assembly, quality control and logistics for low-volume industrial equipment.
14:05 – The value of engineering competitions in creating new businesses.
15:55 – Winning competitive engineering competitions is not the point. It’s about gaining useful skills. If you’re thinking about getting involved, “there is no downside.” And they’re not just for students.
18:26 – The Build Assist Solution, an overhead camera system for quality control, which was part of the company’s nomination for our Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers campaign.
20:25 – Exports to nine countries for mining clients.
21:54 – Four patents awarded.
22:50 – The big vision for 2030: designing and building a satellite system that can work for 24 hours.
23:39 – The future of globally-competitive manufacture in Australia is small and specialised.
Relevant links
Robotic Systems's website
https://roboticsystems.com.au
Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers revealed
Welcome to a special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we’re running as part of our The New Reinventors series, sponsored by business solutions provider Fusion5.
Be sure to check out Fusion5’s free ebook – Manufacturing: The New Reinventors -- here.
Episode guide
0:50 – An introduction to Bernie Quinn, Premcar, and the company’s three manufacturing divisions.
2:33 – Some company history and some changes brought on by the shrinking of the local car industry.
4:40 – Quinn and two partners buy the company off its then-UK owner.
5:35 – “We are constantly reinventing ourselves. It’s not something that remains very stable for very long.”
7:44 – The importance of culture in reinvention.
8:45 – The personal touch is important, but it doesn’t scale perfectly when the company is growing rapidly.
10:55 – Some thoughts on the pluses and minuses of operating an automotive business in Australia, and some ideas on how to increase manufacturing activity in that sector.
Relevant links
Premcar's website
https://premcar.au/
Premcar begins production of Nissan Patrol Warrior at new factory
Premcar develops chassis, suspension for reimagined classic Ford
Premcar expands its Australian new-car manufacturing
Premcar launches its latest modified Nissan Patrol Warrior – video
Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers revealed
The new reinventors: learn about manufacturers who’ve pivoted at this October 5 web event
Welcome to a special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we’re running as part of our The New Reinventors series, sponsored by business solutions provider Fusion5.
Be sure to check out Fusion5’s free ebook – Manufacturing: The New Reinventors -- here.
Episode guide
0:45 – Career path. Accounting and finance and a move into operations as well.
2:19 -- Previous role at Tritium.
3:03 - “There’s nothing more exciting than working for a business that is growing at that kind of rate.”
4:02 – Current role as a Solution Architect and the huge range of possible outcomes when implementing ERP solutions.
5:10 – What manufacturers are seeking at the moment is agility.
6:10 – The challenges of setting up Tritium’s Tennessee factory.
7:50 – A recent client example of a drastic pivot.
8:45 – Changed inventory management and sourcing post-Covid.
9:50 – What companies should be focussing on in case they need to change course. “The system is everything.”
12:20 – Some particular challenges that Australian businesses are facing versus their overseas competitors.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hea from Joseph Kenrick, Program Manager at Lunar Outpost Oceania. He tells us about the EPE & Lunar Outpost Oceania Consortium, which is up against the AROSE consortium in a bid to build an Australian rover for the Trailblazer program. The winner's semi-autonomous rover could be on the moon as soon as 2026, where it will collect regolith and deliver it to a NASA payload, which will attempt to extract oxygen from the sample.
Episode guide
0:29 – Career path. Engineering for the petroleum industry, then a career shift.
1:29 – Earth has been a closed-loop system for 4.5 billion years.”Biological history tells us: any time we’ve seen a dominant species in a finite ecosystem consuming a limited amount of resources, that species collapses. It’s only a matter of time. Naturally, this thinking led me to the field of space resources.”
2:00 – Joining Lunar Outpost about two years ago.
2:32 – Moving to Melbourne from Colorado in May.
3:28 – Nowadays there are many pathways into the space industry, “and really anyone can be involved.”
4:28 – Big Dipper and Little Dipper challenges around the excavation subsystems.
5:08 – Early observations on Australia’s space sector, its strengths, and the challenges it will face in this Trailblazer mission.
7:02 – The partnership co-leading the Trailblazer team with EPE.
8:18 – What Lunar Outpost does and some of its current projects, including lunar rovers that are headed to the Lunar South Pole and Reiner Gamma regions on the moon.
10:08 - Existing spaceflight heritage on the Perseverance rover on mars.
11:10 – Some of the challenges to building a robotic system for the moon, including extreme temperature swings, jagged regolith, and no GPS.
13:40 – Potential commercial spinoffs from this R&D.
14:48 – Competition to name Australia’s lunar rover.
15:50 – The two consortia vying to build Australia’s rover.
17:15 – Some of the partners on the team. including Vipack, RMIT, Titomic, Inovor, One Giant Leap and others.
Useful linksThe Lunar Outpost Oceania website
https://www.lunaroutpost.com.au/AROSE lunar rover to test Australian technology capabilities
Australians invited to name upcoming locally-made lunar rover
AROSE and EPE to design lunar rovers following grant awards
Applications open for up to $4 m grant funding to help design an Australian lunar rover
Australia is putting a rover on the Moon in 2024 to search for water
Australia to develop small Moon rover – video
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr Paul Falzon, General Manager at Advanced Composite Structures Australia, in a lost-then-found recording made during our Australia's 50 most innovative manufacturers campaign earlier in the year.
Falzon, whose company was part of the top 50, tells us about the ACS-A's work at the pinnacle of composites engineering and manufacturing in Australia, which has recently moved into high-temperature ceramics and filament winding for pressure vessels.
Episode guide
0:26 – A brief company history
2:38 – A brief personal history
4:40 – The skillsets present at the company, including aerospace engineering, material science, boat builders, simulation and structural analysis.
5:55 – Emphasising the “advanced” in advanced composites.
6:54 – High-temperature work and what it requires in terms of materials.
7:43 – Recent work in structures for wave energy generation with Carnegie Clean Energy
9:00 – Projects in ultra-high temperature composites over the last three years. Green body and pyrolysis processes.
10:13 – A first step into hydrogen storage. Where a new filament winder could be used.
11:20 – What innovation means at the company.
12:24 – The new Lorimer Composites program and its role in company culture and staff satisfaction.
15:20 – Supply chain issues in composites and the reliance on overseas suppliers for ultra-high temperature inputs.
16:45 – How the skills shortage is affecting ACS-A.
Relevant linksExcellence in maritime manufacturing – material gains for maritime
MoorPower wave power project gets underway
Fibres and composites transforming industry: Composite repair and sustainment
Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers revealed
ACS delivers composite hydro-electric turbine blade
Composite creatures developed for theme parks
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr Phil Fox and Lachlan McLaren, CTO of Eco Detection and Project Manager at Grey Innovation Group respectively.
Eco Detection, part of Grey Innovation Group, was a Gold Award winner in our recent Australia's 50 most innovative manufacturers campaign.
Fox and McLaren tell us about the company's story, the many uses of electrophoresis, the need to connect manufacturers with design houses and other suppliers, and more.
Episode guide
0:20 – Introduction to guests
2:24 – An explanation of electrophoresis
3:10 – How the company got started.
5:26 – Going up the technology readiness levels, starting with understanding the market requirements.
6:50 – The period from engaging University of Tasmania to commercialising GreyScan and some of the things involved. “The capillary part was quite set, the electrophoresis, the CZE, that was quite set. It was all the infrastructure around that that took I think most of the development time.”
8:30 – What drove development of Eco Detection’s technology.
9:27 – Staff and what they do.
10:30 – Two iterations released so far.
12:20 – Where their customers are – environmental monitoring for rivers, compliance monitoring for discharge and wastewater.
14:27 – Ammonium monitoring and its use in wastewater treatment.
16:48 – The Linkage project with UTas.
18:20 – Nutrient runoff going into the Great Barrier Reef and the benefits of measuring them.
19:32 – Measuring inorganic carbon in seawater.
20:25 – How government procurement might drive new-to-market technologies.
21:18 – Why the National Reconstruction Fund needs to accept that some companies will fail, and to take risks.
22:50 – Lasting relationships from the notus ventilator project and why a better job is needed to connect manufacturers with design houses, contract manufacturers and others in Australia.
25:55 – Brokers have an important role in connecting manufacturers with suppliers.
Relevant linksEco Detection's website
https://ecodetection.com/
Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers revealed
What did we learn from Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers?
$10.2 million in ARC Linkage grants announced for advanced manufacturing projects
Ventilator project lead wants to recreate ‘the model that changed the world’
Welcome to a special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we’re running as part of our Spotlight on Scaleups editorial series, sponsored by business solutions provider Fusion5.
Be sure to check out Fusion5’s free ebook – Scale up your manufacturing business for success. 4 ways an ERP can help -- here.
In this episode we hear from Paul Hutchings, Industry Director – Manufacturing at Fusion5. He shares some observations from a long career in operations management, particularly some of the important things manufacturers should consider when they're in a rapid growth phase.
Episode guide
0:44 – Current role and career path, with a focus on operations management in manufacturing.
2:34 – “A lot of people overcomplicate manufacturing. But it’s basically grabbing ahold of ingredients or resources and converting it into something else.”
4:04 – A difference between Australian and New Zealand manufacturers versus those in the United States.
4:34 – Current role.
6:36 – Trends in food and beverage manufacturing during and since Covid.
7:44 – Traditional industries are starting to look a little harder at and invest in technology including robotics at the moment.
8:34 – Trends among small to medium companies who are scaling up, double-shifting, diversifying and the role of ERP in this.
10:07 – What scaleups are doing to address the labour shortage issue, and the importance of culture in this.
12:02 – Continuing with company culture, and the need to bring employees along as technology is introduced and their jobs change.
13:32 – The horror stories I’ve seen are around change management.
14:20 – “What am I, and where do I want to be?”
15:58 – Companies are often happy to help each other and can be an invaluable source of advice for high-growth companies. As long as they’re not commercial rivals.
16:48 – What clients are saying about the National Reconstruction Fund at the moment.
18:04 – Why planning is such an important – and overlooked – issue.
Relevant linksScale up your manufacturing business for success. 4 ways an ERP can helpSpotlight on scaleups: why more manufacturers need to grow up
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Meriel Chamberlin, Founder & Creator at Full Circle Fibres, a textile scientist who has worked at many different points within the industry's supply chain over almost three decades. She tells us the difficulty of going from test tube to tonnes in R&D, why we need to pay more attention to the doers rather than the ticket clippers when it comes to the circular economy, how Australia is focussed on developing the sovereign capability to kill but not to care, and more.
Episode guide
0:40 – “Yes, we still can make textiles in Australia, although we do have to do one stage overseas…”
1:40 – The work of a textile scientist is everywhere, but rarely considered.2:50 – Technically creative people “exist in all sorts of industries.”
5:10 – The twin problems tied to textile-making around the world: waste and slavery. “And the thing that’s really heartbreaking is… none of that’s necessary.”
7:34 – TCF “a bureaucratic term” particular to Australia.
8:20 – Textiles and related industries are huge in Australia, “but we don’t connect the dots.”
11:40 – Assumptions to do with a soft product and the engineering behind it.
12:40 – Mud to Marle. A project based on systems innovation.
15:25 – Using already-available, scalable technology with an end in mind rather than blue sky research.
17:20 – A 12-month project. Currently selecting colours for pilot batches.
18:06 – The “test tube to tonne” stage in R&D and why bridging this is so important for commercialisation.
19:40 – Some thoughts about scaling, and the issue in circular economy efforts: not enough doers and too many ticket-clippers.
21:15 – There is no remanufacturing without manufacturing. It is critical that existing manufacturers be brought along, because they have the expertise.
22:10 – “We’ve got all this support for research in the circular economy, but we’ll let the manufacturers just die a death of a thousand cuts… It’s like we need to graft the circular economy onto the shrubs and trees of manufacturing. To grow something from seed is so much harder.”
23:10 – Some attitudes that are holding us back.
25:10 – Some of the advisors and experts concerned with innovation in this country should probably be replaced.
26:40 – We can downcycle, but don’t have the ability to do textile-to-textile recycling here. What would it take to fix this? About $3 million and 2,000 square metres.
29:15 – Ending up in a funny no-man’s-land for attracting investment. “This is not a VC-type investment”.
31 – “We can’t make a sandbag or a tarp from scratch in this country.” Why we are “frighteningly at risk” for a lot of essential supply chains.
Relevant linksFull Circle Fibres' website.
Onshore textile manufacturing project among Country Road Climate Fund grant winners
Healthcare PPE, standard protocols and contingency planning: How do we flatten the curve of demand for PPE as we flatten the curve of infection rates?
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Keith Milne, the owner and director of Uncle Harry's Vegan Grill.
Milne bought the business in 2018 at the age of 70, and has no plans to retire soon. He tells us about what made him buy a struggling vegan food business, what he did after that, what he hates about a lot of the vegan/vegetarian products he sees in supermarkets, and the positives of being in his 74th year and running a business.
Episode guide0:18 – All ready to retire, but then…
2:50 – background in education, hospitality, and consulting. Bought the company in 2018.
3:38 – Didn’t want to waste away watching daytime television and saw an opportunity in vegan food.
5:02 – Chef background translates well to manufacturing.
6:32 – Finding a point of difference in the crowded plant-based food market.
9:48 – The pluses and minuses of running a business in your 70s.
11:20 – The role of staying physically active.
12:45 – Nobody is looking out for smaller manufacturing businesses, believes Milne.
Relevant links
https://uncleharrys.com.au/
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode we hear from Richard Simpson, Managing Director at Furnace Engineering, a maker of custom furnaces and ovens.
Simpson tells us about the history of the Notting Hill, Melbourne-based business, which his father began in 1968, the role of confidentiality in projects, and how it approaches innovation.
Episode guide1:15 – What Open Welding does – capturing and analysing welding sounds to understand weld quality.
2:14 – About Rigby’s career, starting as a plumber, and how it led to a key insight.
4:05 – “Surely there must be a way we can automate this.”
5:02 – Years and years of observation.
5:50 – A literature review. “I had no idea people had been investigating this for almost 80 years.”
7:37 – The ARC committee and the encouraging feedback from the panel.
10:20 – A critique of the university and working with them.
11:40 – How it’s done.
13:10 – Covid puts a black cloud over everything, with product development not finished.
14:20 – developing a new product associated with compliance and ISO 3834.
16:10 – the need and the challenge to focus and not dilute their message.
17:50 – “We can make anyone a welder in three days if they pass the aptitude test.” The problem is bodies, though.
19:10 – Lessons from the skills shortage in WWII and how it was met.
21:30 – Rigby’s opinion on what’s wrong with innovation initiatives.
23:10 – “Everyone wants to look at stuff that’s sexy. But the problem is, if you don’t get the basics and the foundation right, it doesn’t matter about the sexy stuff. Because you’ve still got to build a launchpad. You’ve still got to build a ship. You’ve still got to build a bridge.”
26:32 – Innovation hubs at universities and the gap between them and private businesses.
28:30 – The importance of having a broader mission behind what you’re doing.
Relevant linksOpen Welding's website
Lessons from Australia’s most innovative manufacturers
Nominations flood in for Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers campaign
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode we hear from Richard Simpson, Managing Director at Furnace Engineering, a maker of custom furnaces and ovens.
Simpson tells us about the history of the Notting Hill, Melbourne-based business, which his father began in 1968, the role of confidentiality in projects, and how it approaches innovation.
Episode guide1:17 – An introduction to Furnace Engineering and what it makes.
1:50 – A history going back to the late-1960s and Simpson’s father.
2:30 – Simpson begins his career as an engineer at Ford, before starting at Furnace and later taking over the business from his father in 2000. Diversifying the company away from the automotive industry and from a licencing model.
4:44 – The difference between an oven and a furnace.
5:18 – “Every piece of equipment is customised.”
6:20 – The importance of export sales, which began in the 1990s with the aluminium industry.
8:48 – The makeup of the company, which employs between 60 and 80 depending on demand.
10:27 – The importance of performing stimulating projects and being discreet about them. “Culturally we’re very, very comfortable with the idea that we need to respect people’s confidentiality. And if we jump out there and [are] willing to talk about everyone’s processes, whether they’ve given us permission or not, it’s probably not culturally aligned with what a lot of our customers would expect.”
13:24 – Furnace’s role in the emergence of a carbon fibre industry in Australia, particularly around Deakin University.
15:30 – Continuing with carbon fibre and its role in manufacturing locally.
17:32 – How innovation is understood and pursued at the company: novel solutions plus an appropriate amount of stretching.
18:48 – Continuing with the right amount of stretching.
20:39 – An important recent project with Deakin on a new, more energy-efficient process for making carbon fibre. A two-stage prototyping process, “a really interesting exercise” and a new patent for the team.
24:03 – One of the problem areas regarding collaboration with research institutions.
24:52 – There’s a lot of lip-service paid to the importance of manufacturing by governments.
Relevant linksFurnace Engineering's website
https://www.furnace.com.auLessons from Australia’s most innovative manufacturers
Nominations flood in for Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers campaign
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode we hear from Dr Munib Karavdic and Thomas Kerr, CEO and Design Lead respectively at WAVE Design.
Karavdic and Kerr tell us about avoiding the spectacle and focussing on the reality of innovation, getting from idea to implementation, why customer case should come before business case, and much more.
Episode guide
1:30 – introduction to guests
3:58 – What WAVE Design does – “our main focus is on helping established organisations to navigate innovation and leverage human-centred design as a way of delivering outcomes for customers and clients.”
5:46 – How they understand innovation. And why it needs discipline and structure, a focus on human needs and desires, and not spectacle.
8:08 – How you put a human at the centre.
9:34 – Establishing a customer case before you establish a business case.
10:58 – Why you need to keep learning, experimenting, and even failing. “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you actually didn’t learn.”
12:10 – Knowers versus learners.
13:30 – Organisational knowledge increases, but your connection with end users might not be keeping pace.
14:32 – A story about leaps of faith versus leaps of logic and the importance of validating assumptions.
16:10 – Avoiding “nice landing, wrong airport.”
19:55 – Taking an organisation’s culture from using innovation tools to having an innovation mindset. And why it’s not as hard as it sounds.
22:45 – An example of investing time understanding the problem and why it mattered at a pharmaceutical company and the longer-term results in culture.
24:30 – A few thoughts about lifting innovation among the nation’s manufacturers, concerning scale, culture, government support and IP.
28:10 – Some closing comments about what leaders need to know about innovation.
Relevant links
WAVE Design's website
http://www.wave.design
Lessons from Australia’s most innovative manufacturers
Nominations flood in for Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers campaign
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode, We hear from Paul Riley, CEO and founder of Samsara Eco. He tells us about how Samsara's enzyme-based technology works, how the company innovates, why the nation needs to reverse the hollowing out of its plastics industry, and more.
Episode guide
1:20 – An introduction to Riley and Samsara.
3:25 – The approach has always been with a view to handling a mixed bale of plastic.
4:04 – Enzymatic depolymerisation explained, and its genesis in a discovery in Japan. “The enzyme is like a little Pac-Man.
5:48 - Displacing fossil fuels by harvesting monomers from waste plastic.
7:10 – Enzymes that are designed by computer and new to nature. They can currently handle five types of plastic.
8:58 – How it addresses some of the challenges in scaling up.
10:03 – The only waste that comes out of the process.
11:05 – The low carbon footprint of the process and why this is commercially beneficial.
12:38 – The enzymes like to operate in a temperature range of 45 - 55 degree range and can produce monomers in an hour.
13:20 – The plastic is never melted, which is “fundamentally different” to other recycling approaches.
14:28 – How the enzymes are designed, developed and grown.
15:35 – The timing of their Series A raise and the downturn in venture investment.
16:55 – Why circular plastics hubs are needed and who would be involved.
18:55 – Australia lacks polymer processing capacity, and this presents “enormous sovereign risk.”
20:06 – Innovation and what it means at Samsara.
23:30 – One company is only one part of the solution. Things like redesigning are very important.
25:20 – Why we need to reverse the long-term offshoring trend.
Relevant linksSamsara's website
https://www.samsaraeco.com/
We are trying to identify Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers. Nominate now
Samsara’s designer enzymes to turn old plastics into new sportswear
“Infinite recycling” startup Samsara raises $54 million in Series A
Digesting the issue: Woolies-backed startup prepares to set its enzymes on our waste plastic
Samsara aims for infinitely recyclable plastics
Lessons from Australia’s most innovative manufacturers
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode, we hear from Simon McKean, CFO of XFrame, a company based on a novel framing system for construction projects, and which hopes to enable a more circular building industry. McKean tells us about the company’s story so far, an emphasis on distributed production, looking towards large-scale residential projects, and more.
Episode guide
1:18 – The background. Five years in.
3:10 – Clients so far. Almost 20 installations at ANZ bank sites in Australia. Presence at Tonsley in Adelaide and New Zealand where the company was founded.
4:30 – The problem – construction industry waste – that inspired PhD student Ged Finch to develop XFrame.
7:05 – The outsourcing model and how it works. Partnership with Bedford Group.
8:30 – International customers.
11:14 – Going from drawing to tender. Plus the bits that aren’t automated in this.
13:10 – Construction, fitouts and furniture. The current work on roof trusses.
15:44 – The innovation question. What it means at XFrame and what problems drive it.
18:14 – Expanding on roof trusses.
20:50 – International growth.
Relevant linksXFrame's website
https://xframe.com.au/
TONSLEY COMPANIES FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
CEFC COMMITS $75 MILLION IN FINANCE FOR PINKENBA RECYCLING FACTORY
AUSTRALIA NEEDS CONSTRUCTION WASTE RECYCLING PLANTS — BUT LOCALS FIRST NEED TO BE WON OVER
NEW $18 MILLION CENTRE FOR TRANSFORMING CONSTRUCTION WASTE ANNOUNCED
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode, we hear from Mark Croudace of MGA Thermal. He tells us about their upcoming onsite demonstrator project, their approach to innovation, a new partnership with knode on Western Australia’s energy shift, and more.
Relevant linksMGA Thermal's website
https://www.mgathermal.com/
MGA THERMAL’S PILOT PROJECT AWARDED $560,000 BACKING FROM SHELL
@AUMANUFACTURING CONVERSATIONS EPISODE 13 — ARDEN JARRETT FROM MGA THERMAL
MGA THERMAL AWARDED $1.27 MILLION BY ARENA TO BUILD DEMONSTRATOR FACILITY
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode, we hear from Dario Valenza from UAV builder Carbonix, which has its origins in Valenza's time working with composites on America's Cup racing teams.
Episode guide1:16 – Origin story.
2:25 – Background in America’s Cup racing and why that’s important.
3:15 – Why linear infrastructure has become the priority.
5:10 – Relationship with Quickstep, and why they are a good fit as a contract manufacturer as volumes increase.
6:50 – The types of skills present at the company.
8:16 – Innovation at Carbonix. “The short version is innovation is really about questioning the parameters and testing and finding out whether your theories are correct or not.”
10:30 – The new airframe developed in response to a need for improved climb rates and remote communications.
11:40 – Moving to understand and answer customer considerations e.g. power lines, and then juggling engineering and design tradeoffs.
12:57 – The mission – operating drones at scale and how this is acted on.
13:40 – Hydrogen electric propulsion and drones, and why Carbonix is partnering with H3 Dynamics on this.
15:40 – Which industries UAVs will change, and the appeal of “remote one to many” applications.
18:20 – “There’s a tendency to undervalue manufacturing” and what this leads to. And why there are signs this is changing.
19:38 – Attracting and developing talent.
Relevant links
Carbonix's website
https://carbonix.com.auQUICKSTEP SIGNS $1.5 M DEAL TO MANUFACTURE FOR DRONE DELIVERY COMPANY
CARBONIX BOOSTS DRONE PRODUCTION WITH QUICKSTEP ORDER
CARBONIX AND H3 DYNAMICS TO DEVELOP HYDROGEN-ELECTRIC DRONE
CARBONIX TO SUPPLY DRONES TO FUGRO
CARBONIX DRONES MONITOR REMOTE POWER LINES
CARBONIX BACKS DRONE OPERATION ROADMAP
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode, Ian Lowrey, Director at Wireman, tells us about trying to contribute simple though meaningful innovations to the fencing industry, a place where a lot of products "haven’t really been looked at in any great detail for well over 100 years."
Episode guide
1:12 – An introduction to Wireman and Ian Lowrey, a product designer who was introduced to the problems of wire fencing by his patent attorney.
2:20 – Started looking at barbed wire and the challenges faced by contractors. Invented the DeBarber.
3:10 – Everyone wanted better wire grippers, so they developed these.
4:14 – The issues with torsion springs.
6:18 – Fencing is a dangerous thing.
6:45 – Adoption of 3D printing at the business. Printing in aluminium has been “quite a big deal.”
7:20 – The main considerations in product development
8:30 – How they understand innovation and what they rule in and out when product ideas are considered.
10:35 – How product testing and customer feedback influence Wireman.
12 – A mixture of contract and in-house production.
13:30 – How wire grippers have been a good “gateway product”.
15:25 – Why there’s been a deliberate effort to make smaller-sized equipment.
16:55 – A boost from being featured on the Farm Learning with Tim Thompson Youtube program, and why Youtube is an important medium for people in the bush.
18:40 – “A lot of room to move” in their sector, though there are challenges to having their products adopted.
19:55 – Issues around IP for manufacturers trying to scale up.
Relevant linksWireman's website
https://wireman.com.au/
WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS. NOMINATE NOW
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode, Lachlan Smart from Smartline Medical tells us about how a small Sunshine Coast-based manufacturer found a niche it could lead the world in, its sharpened focus in the last decade or so, and why a company should try and move a purple chair when they see one.
Episode guide
1:16 – An introduction to Lachie and Smartline, which originally made farming equipment.
3:30 – Wings Around The World, and learning the importance of resilience and of knowing why you’re doing something – both lessons that have translated to business.
6:32 – A small business of just 19, though with customers around the world. Recent launch in South Africa.
7:30 – How they found a niche in endoscopy sterilisation. “We ended up there quite organically.”
10:20 – On innovation
12:06 – An explanation of endoscopy – “one of the fast-growing areas of health” – and the problem they’re addressing.
15:08 – The process. Identifying a problem, generating solutions, and validating these. An approach driven by needing the most efficiency from their R&D. Validating that an idea is worth pursuing before any time is spent on prototyping.
17:26 – “Applying innovation to innovation.” What they are measuring in determining R&D efficiency.
19:02 – Why it’s very expensive to fall off the innovation curve.
21:02 – Difficulties in attracting and retaining talent, and why engineers and tradespeople don’t have to look to big cities for fulfilling careers.
21:52 – The results of a recent supply chain review focussed on risk mitigation.
Relevant linksSmartline's website
https://www.smartlinemedical.com/WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS. NOMINATE NOW
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode we hear from Leigh Rust, Co-founder and Director at Safetyline Jalousie.
Rust tells us about innovation at a small (40 - 50 people) family-owned business and the benefits of an "open-door" approach, the importance of staying ahead of standards for the construction industry, and more.
Episode guide1:15 – An introduction to Leigh Rust and Safetyline Jalousie
3:07 – Size of the company.
3:50 – French designs from Technal for Australian customers.
4:58 – The two parts to innovation, plus why so much of it is to do with sustainability at SJ.
7:02 – What R&D involves, and keeping ahead of the curve with performance requirements.
8:03 – The SmartAir project and the problem of classroom ventilation. “We can actually thank Covid for that, if we can thank Covid for anything.”
9:58 – Automated window systems and the construction industry’s demand for building management system (BMS) solutions.
11:38 – Australia is quite behind in CO2 monitoring for buildings, plus building a local set of data around SmartAir.
13:16 – The importance of collaboration for a smaller businesses.
14:40 – Three new products to be released this year.
16:30 – Government needs to do a better job by manufacturers, and can start by sourcing more Australian content in projects.
Relevant linksSafetyline's website
https://safetylinejalousie.com.au/ELECTION 22 THE REAL ISSUES – MORE SUPPORT FOR MANUFACTURING
WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS. NOMINATE NOW
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode we hear from Lieuwke de Jong, Commercial Director at PPK Group. The focus of the discussion is White Graphene, a joint venture between PPK Group and Deakin University.
De Jong tells us about the remarkable properties of white graphene, AKA boron nitride nanosheets, which are being produced in what he says are world-leading quantities in Australia. As an additive, they boast impressive strength, anti-corrosion, anti-bacterial, radiation shielding and other properties. And like any new super-material, they're just looking for the right market.
Episode guide
1:22 – Introduction to de Jong and White Graphene.
2:28 – Boron nitride nanosheets – “the 2D polymorph of boron nitride” – and what they can do as an additive.
3:38 – Volumes being made currently.
5:30 – Current focus with applications.
6:44 – The understanding of innovation at the company.”To us innovation means developing unique products that have a meaningful impact on the products and services of our customers and thus contribute to a better tomorrow.”
7:35 – Innovating at a business-to-business company, and why de Jong believes white graphene will be more successful than regular graphene.
9:25 – Electronics and the advantage of white graphene over graphene.
9:55 – Working with the team at Deakin University’s IFM led by Associate Professor
Luhua Li.
11:30 – Customer-led R&D and functionalisation of nanosheets.
14:20 – New projects around validation and the potential – and challenges – of the rising hydrogen industry.
17:02 – The volatility of energy prices and why it matters to White Graphene.
Relevant linksWhite Graphene's website
https://www.white-graphene.com
THREE BUSINESSES FROM A SINGLE ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPANY GET FEDERAL GRANTS
PPK AND DEAKIN TO DEVELOP THIN-FILM WHITE GRAPHENE
GRAPHENE IS A PROVEN SUPERMATERIAL, BUT MANUFACTURING THE VERSATILE FORM OF CARBON AT USABLE SCALES REMAINS A CHALLENGE
PPK GROUP’S DIFFICULT TRANSITION TO BE A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode we hear from Miheer Fyzee, Product Development Coordinator at Workspace Commercial Furniture. He tells us about the company's efforts to keep productivity high by investing in new machinery, the importance of trade skills, and -- of course -- their approach to innovation.
We learn about the recently-released Forza table range, "developed from ground up specifically as a large format boardroom table or a community table", and influences on its development, including sales staff, user feedback, local material availability, and aesthetics.
Relevant linksWorkspace's website
https://www.workspace.com.au/
WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS. NOMINATE NOW
Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, one which we're running as part of our quest to identify Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers.
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers is a new campaign by @AuManufacturing. It has been made possible by the generous support of MYOB, SMC Corporation Australia, and Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions. Be sure to check our website and social media channels for regular updates, including profiles of nominees and other information.
In this episode we hear from Phil Scardigno and Corey White, co-founders at The Hygiene Co, which has its origins in the Covid crisis of 2020 and is now trying to rid the nation of plastic-based wet wipes while offering a locally-made, more sustainable option. According to the founders' figures, 96 per cent of all wet wipes in Australia are imported.
Episode guide
1:08 – About the company and its 2020 origins producing wipes for aged care facilities during the Covid crisis.
2:16 – Corey joins the business.
3:08 – 96 per cent of wet wipes are imported. Who makes the other 4 per cent?
5:02 – Counting the tonnes of plastic wipes going into landfill.
5:55 – The weight of wet wipes thrown out represents 30 times that of plastic straws.
6:50 – The company’s products and commercial partners at this stage.
8:35 – What people are doing in the UK and why Australians haven’t followed suit yet.
9:19 – Bamboo and viscose are imported due to a lost ability to make fabrics out of fibre in Australia.
11:24 – What innovation means at the company
13:23 – Developing Australia’s first certified flushable fabric, and how they worked with customers to identify uses for it.
15:58 – Planning for a launch of their new automated line next month.
16:50 – The cash management difficulties in manufacturing versus running an import business.
Relevant linksThe Hygiene Co.'s website
https://www.thehygieneco.com.au/
WE ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY AUSTRALIA’S 50 MOST INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURERS. NOMINATE NOW
SIX COMMERCIALISATION GRANTS, NEW PLANT PROTEIN FACILITY OPENED
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations With Brent Balinski, we hear from Andrew Moore, co-founder and CEO of AMSL Aero. Moore tells us about progress so far after starting the eVTOL company in 2017, how its meeting the challenges of locating talent and suppliers in Australia, the exciting prospects that e-aviation offers, and more.
Episode guide
0:26 – Career and the AMSL story. “I think I always wanted to design and build airplanes. So I did. Eventually.”
1:46 – The potential to radically change transport and the provision of medical services.
2:40 – Some of the Australian companies AMSL is working with, including Quickstep, CST Composites, SIL3 and others.
4:47 – Sourcing and retaining the necessary engineers for what they’re doing. Getting the right mix of energy and experience.
6:25 – The path ahead to get to manufacturing. Working with component suppliers considering scaling from low to higher rates of production. “We can’t afford to over-invest in automating the manufacturing before we get the first aircraft out. So it really needs to be a staged approach, and an iterative approach.”
8:24 – A thing they have focussed on since day one.
10:46 – The opportunities of electrified aviation for consumers and manufacturers.
12:10 – Australia's big issue relates to big OEMs.
Relevant linksAMSL's website
https://www.vertiia.com
AUSTRALIA AND THE FUTURE OF MOVING, MAKING AND COMPUTING
AMSL AERO RAISES $23 MILLION IN SERIES B
$18 MILLION AWARDED UNDER FIRST ROUND OF NEW AVIATION GRANT PROGRAM
HYDROGEN STORAGE, ELECTRIC AIR TRANSPORT, PLANT-BASED PROTEIN AMONG $47 M CRC GRANTS
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Ross and Lyn George, the Managing Director and Corporate Director respectively at Austeng.
Following episode 49's interview with Jennifer Conley of the Geelong Manufacturing Council, the Georges tell us about their place in the region's reinvention, and their work in helping some of the company's most interesting manufacturing startups realise their potential.
Episode guide
0:30 – Introduction and the company’s engineering heritage.
1:15 – Lyn joins the business, and the pluses and minuses of running a SME manufacturing business.
2:45 – Moving from a supplier to larger manufacturing companies in automotive and elsewhere to startups.
5:55 – A highly efficient waste heat-to-electrical energy engine.
7:02 – Bending corrugated iron at precise angles.
8:18 – Upcycling plastic and rubber into a new composite material.
10:30 – Glass-fibre-reinforced geopolymer, a locally-developed alternative to concrete.
12:30 – The cemetery and crematorium industry. “...Certainly in the downturn, when auto left, that was the sector that actually sort of did keep our business alive for a while, while we transitioned the other part of our business.
13:35 – New projects in hydrogen cremators, the onsite demonstrator, and addressing potential business risks for customers. “On an existing gas burner without modification we can inject up to 40 per cent hydrogen.”
16:12 – The place of Deakin University in Geelong’s manufacturing ecosystem.
18:20 – The Geelong Manufacturing Council’s 25th anniversary and its role in the community.
20:50 – What has moved the company towards environmental technology projects over the years. “Certainly, that’s where our young people here, our young engineers and tradesmen have got their eye on… They’ve got a whole career in fixing the problems that we’ve created in the last 150 years.”
22:42 – The issue of local procurement, as a driver of innovation and as something that needs adjustment to support manufacturers in general.
25:30 – The skills issue, and the need to inspire students at the high school level.
Relevant linksAusteng's website
https://austeng.net.au
AUSTENG HELPS CREATE NEW MONASH UNI CIVIL ENGINEERING RESEARCH FACILITY
AGE-DEFYING AUSTRALIAN-MADE COMPOSITE BRIDGES WIN PUBLIC WORKS AWARDS
GEELONG MANUFACTURER TO INVESTIGATE HYDROGEN-POWERED CREMATION
EVERYONE WOULD DO BETTER IF WE GOT TO KNOW OUR NEIGHBOURS
A NEW DEAL PLAN FOR MANUFACTURING – HOW GEELONG CAN SHOW THE WAY
CLEAN TECH: THE GREAT GREEN OPPORTUNITY?
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Jennifer Conley, CEO of the Geelong Manufacturing Council, recorded the day of the organisation's 25th anniversary celebration and awards dinner.
Episode guide
0:30 – Introduction, career path etc.
2:20 – The Geelong Manufacturing Council’s heritage and its 25-year anniversary.
4:40 – The census data support the feeling that manufacturing is on the up in Geelong.
5:50 – Major projects underway or upcoming.
7:30 – The adaptability of manufacturers such as the 160-year-plus-old IXL.
9:30 – The opportunities in defence for the region.
11:20 – The place of Deakin University in advancing SME manufacturers in Geelong.
12:50 – Gentrification and the shrinking industrial habitat problem in regions.
Relevant linksGMC's website
https://www.geelongmanufacturingcouncil.com.au
EMPLOYMENT ON THE RISE IN REGIONAL GEELONG
COMPOSITES’ BIG FUTURE IN DEFENCE PRODUCTS
FIBRES AND COMPOSITES TRANSFORMING INDUSTRY – WHY CLUSTERS MATTER
$15.9 MILLION AWARDED IN WOMEN IN STEM AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (WISE) GRANTS
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Kheang Khauv, Managing Director at 1Millikelvin.
This conversation took place at the Avalon 2023 Australian International Airshow, shortly after Khauv's company won both the National and the SME Innovation Awards at the show's Innovation Awards.
Khauv tells us about his quest to bring a clever Australian invention, which visualises stress in metal as it occurs, to a global audience.
Episode guide
0:24 – An introduction to Khauv and 1Millikelvin.
1:55 – A little bit of history about the development of stress imaging in Australia, beginning with the F/A-18 Hornet fleet.
3:55 – Wanting to bring the technology out via Flir Systems, but not getting the blessing of the overseas head office. Then trying after he left Flir.
5:01 – How it works in layman’s terms, with a Where’s Wally analogy.
7:15 – Bringing a commercially-ready product to market. “..I quickly realised when I started the journey that I don’t have the skills. We had the ideas, we had the direction, we had some really smart people helping us at defence. But we needed the implementation.”
7:55 – Engaging Outerspace Design and what each part of the team learned from the other. Developing “product two” – a compact, ruggedised version – through an Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre-backed project.
10:05 – Current users in the research community and growing an audience beyond that, and why the aerospace industry is a natural place to look.
12:30 – Needing big OEMs overseas means a lot of travel and going to airshows.
13:50 – Winning the award and what it’s the culmination of.
14:20 – A team of two people, but not really.
15:20 – Advanced manufacturing gets talked about a lot, but we need to see more of it actually going on.
16:08 – A shout-out to defence scientist Dr Nik Rajic.
Relevant links1Millikelvin's website
https://www.1millikelvin.com/
STRESS IMAGING STARTUP WINS AT AVALON AWARDS
STRESS-MONITORING INVENTION GETS COMMERCIALISATION BOOST THROUGH AMGC GRANT
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr Jehan Kanga, founder and CEO of Rux Energy.
Kanga tells us about their research and commercialisation of metal organic frameworks, how these nanoporous materials can be used to boost the efficiency of hydrogen storage, how quickly the green hydrogen era is approaching us, and much more.
Relevant linksRux Energy's website
https://ruxenergy.com/
"Multiple awards for the world famous Kanga family"
https://indiandownunder.com.au/2021/02/multiple-awards-for-the-world-famous-kanga-family/
Article about Innovative Manufacturing CRC-sponsored project
https://www.imcrc.org/imcrc-collaboration-en-route-to-develop-green-hydrogen-storage-solution/
HYDROGEN STORAGE, ELECTRIC AIR TRANSPORT, PLANT-BASED PROTEIN AMONG $47 M CRC GRANTS
MANUFACTURING NEWS BRIEFS – STORIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
AUSTRALIA CAN BE A CHEAP SOURCE OF GREEN HYDROGEN BUT FACES COMPETITION
GREEN HYDROGEN IS ELECTRIFICATION
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr Andrew Horsley, co-Founder and CTO of Quantum Brilliance, who tells us about growing qubits in diamond chips, why the growth of the quantum computing industry will need tonnes of roles involving non-quantum specialists, the company's $US 18 million raise this week, and more.
Episode guide
0:30 – introduction to Horsley’s career as a physics researcher and his company’s origins.
2:16 – Getting past mainframe-type quantum computing infrastructure and making it into an everyday technology.
3:35 – Some traditional electronics technologies used to enable their qubits.
5:30 – Their approach to fabricating diamond-based qubits versus implantation – “basically firing atoms at very high speed into a diamond” – and introducing an array of them inside a diamond with atomic precision.
6:55 – Diamond wafers are “unromantic rectangles” bought off-the-shelf and transformed, with more diamond grown on top.
8:10 – The Cray supercomputer analogy. Making quantum computing “an everyday technology” and enabling increasing compute density for lots of users.
10:50 – A team of 90, with 50 in Australia.
11:40 – The $US 18 million raise and what it will enable.
13:04 – The Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre installation in WA. “It is not a computational tool. It’s a tool for understanding how you deploy quantum systems and have them still operate and be performant. How do you integrate them into other devices?”
14:50 – How do we not blow it with Australia’s strength in quantum computing research and startups? It’s all about interlinks.
16:30 – We are fortunate that quantum attention is getting the attention it needs here, but it’s how do we shape that to get the best outcome.
Relevant linksQuantum Brilliance's websitehttps://quantumbrilliance.com/
QUANTUM COMPUTING MANUFACTURING BECKONS WITH QB’S CASH RAISING
QUANTUM BRILLIANCE MOVES TO DEVELOP HYBRID QUANTUM COMPUTER
QUANTUM BRILLIANCE IN GERMAN QUANTUM COMPUTING RESEARCH
QUANTUM BRILLIANCE BRINGS QUANTUM POWER TO SUPERCOMPUTER
QUANTUM TEAM FOCUSSED ON GETTING IT DONE HERE
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Ahmed Mahil, founder and CEO of Luyten.
Mahil tells us about his company, which began in 2020 and is the country's first maker of 3D concrete printers, adoption of their technology here and abroad so far, why the country needs a stronger electronics industry, and more.
Episode guide0:35 – An introduction to Luyten and to the issues it is addressing.
2:55 – The team’s background in mechatronics research and teaching. “What led us to this is we were talking about something everyone in our age group talks about – but it’s all complaining. No solutions. This is the most significant purchase in anyone’s life, to own a house.”
4:20 – FBR was an inspiration.
5:20 – What they’ve developed so far. Robots and their inhouse cementitious material, Ultimatecrete.
7:20 – Building the first-ever 3D printed house in the Southern Hemisphere to show they could be building code-compliant.
9:40 – US is the leading adopter: “We’ve got more sales there than here in Australia in the first year.” Mostly residential construction.
13:30 – It’s not about the glitz and glamour of new technology, but “the food chain” in the building industry and benefiting each of the players in it.
15:40 – Currently hiring in technical and admin roles.
16:50 – What’s easy to do in Australia and what isn’t.
22:30 – Is structural reinforcement necessary?
23:30 – Standards development working with ISO/ASTM. First draft published late-last year.
25:45 – How 3D printing has changed things for machine builders and how it will improve life for architects. “Now we’re telling them, ‘okay, what you’ve been saying and hearing for 30 years? Could you forget about that and give us more curves?’”
31:20 – Other modern methods of construction benefiting from the influence of manufacturing, with the example of PT Blink.
32:40 – We need more TAFE programs dealing with high-tech systems. “... It’s not all about the engineers. We need technicians as well. So there is a gap there.”
Relevant linksLuyten's website
https://www.luyten3d.com/
WHAT IS THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TRYING TO LEARN FROM ADVANCED MANUFACTURING?
BOSS COMPANY IN 3D PRINTING FACTORY FOR CONSTRUCTION
3D CONCRETE PRINTED HOUSES FOR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY
ADDITIVE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY GETS AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations With Brent Balinski, we hear from Rachael Barritt, Business Operations Manager at Dovetail Electric Aviation.
Barritt is co-founder at Dovetail, a company developing electric propulsion systems to retrofit to light aircraft. She tells us about her career in e-aviation manufacturing -- first at MagniX, now at Dovetail, the path to certification and commercialisation, her new role as Founder In Residence at Swinburne University, and more.
Episode guide0:50 introduction to Barritt and her career path.
3:05 – Joining the e-propulsion leader MagniX, which formerly had a site on the Gold Coast, in 2019.
5:30 – Dovetail’s origins and co-founding the company with David Doral and Aaron Shaw.
6:48 – A small team of fewer than ten. “Basically everybody except myself is a qualified engineer.”
7:32 – Challenges involved in what they are doing at this moment. What’s being done inhouse and what’s being bought off the shelf.
8:50 – What does a Founder in Residence at Swinburne University do?
10:50 – The path to certification.
12:40 – The good thing about getting certification in Australia, and the benefit of their relationship with MagniX in this.
14:20 – Longer-term goals after entering the retrofit market.
15:45 – Green hydrogen is very expensive. How can this be changed so it makes sense for aviation users?
17:10 – What does government need to do to drive nil emissions aviation?
18:10 – If Australia runs out of fuel tomorrow, we will have no way of powering our air fleet.
19:50 – Final words.
Relevant linksCompany website
https://dovetail.aero/
THE ONE THAT QUIETLY GOT AWAY?
SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY’S FIRST FOUNDER IN RESIDENCE WILL FOCUS ON AEROSPACE R&D
MONASH SPINOUT BELIEVES IT HAS CORE INGREDIENT FOR ELECTRIC AVIATION REVOLUTION
19 COMPANIES SUPPORTED IN CRC-P GRANTS
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Matt Holloway and Jim Prior, CEO and COO respectively of injection moulding specialist Holloway Group.
Episode guide0:30 – The second-generation company’s history, beginning in the mid-1980s.
2:35 - Jim Prior, COO, joins company via acquisition of Biax in Sept 2021
4:50 – What the company does and what its products are.
7:04 – Are people procuring locally? What they are noticing. “I think there is a degree of parochialism that is alive and well here, too, with some of the flagship businesses that have come to us and openly stated around this table their appetite to support more. There’s always going to be a commercial and financial driver, but they’ve been pretty candid about the fact that they just sort of feel like it’s just right as well, which has been really encouraging.”
8:20 – Recycled polypropylene is “by far” their most used resin. Some is procured in-house (cyclic recycling) and reused. Also buy in recycled PP from post-industrial waste.
9:28 – Developing their in-house blend of PP, designed for specific applications.
10:18 – Void formers are overwhelmingly made of polystyrene, a low-grade product with a high impact on the environment.
14:30 – The role of innovation at the company and how it’s understood.
16:02 – Challenging the staff “to think a little laterally” about what they can do. “No question or suggestion is stupid, and we want to hear more and more of them.”
19:02 – Rigid, injection moulded plastics are a different thing to single-use items like straws and shopping bags, but there are many ways they can be made more sustainable.
20:08 – Governments need to think differently about plastic and “which are the more evil of the evils.”
23:10 – What are the skills shortages felt at the company – engineering and toolmaking – and how are these being addressed?
25:10 – The difficulties in getting heard by government.
Relevant linksHolloway Group's website
https://www.hollowaygroup.com.au/
Most Innovative listing
https://mostinnovative.com.au/past-winners/holloway-group/
VOGUE HOMES TO FLOAT ON RECYCLABLE BIAX WAFFLE PADS
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr Will Gilbert from Diraq, who tells us about computing with puddles of electrons, and his unusual career so far.
Episode guide
0:30 – Career background. Engineering, electronics and music.
3:45 – Joining Professor Andrew Dzurak’s team at UNSW.
4:45 – An explanation of CMOS chips, puddles of electrons, and computing with electron spins and magnetic fields.
7:40 – Reaching millions or even billions of qubits and the importance of being able to scale up to this level.
10:10 – The accidental find and the resulting paper. “This was quite strange. We’d never seen this before.”
12:10 – How the find could enable long-range spin-to-spin coupling and why this is useful.
14:20 – The growing enthusiasm for semiconductor manufacture in Australia, and the semiconductor packaging operation planned for the Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility at Bradfield.
16:10 – Growing a semiconductor sector should involve targeting small, manageable projects, believes Gilbert.
17:20 – What Diraq is planning over the next few years. “It’s not a short path.”
Relevant linksDiraq's website
AUSTRALIA’S PLACE IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR WORLD: SILICON IS QUANTUM, QUANTUM IS SILICON, AND AUSTRALIA MIGHT FINALLY HAVE AN EDGE
QUANTUM TEAM FOCUSSED ON GETTING IT DONE HERE
AUSTRALIA’S QUANTUM SUCCESS A MODEL FOR OTHER TECHNOLOGIES
AUSTRALIA’S PLACE IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR WORLD: IP IS THE MAIN THING, SAYS QUANTUM COMPUTING HOPEFUL
In the first episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski for 2023, we hear from Kristi Riordan, co-founder of plant-based food ingredient maker Harvest B.
Episode guide
0:30 – What they do plus Riordan’s entrepreneurial background “in areas where categories were rapidly transforming.”
2:00 – Migrating to Australia and identifying a new venture aligned with Australia’s competitive advantage in agriculture.
4:10 – Identifying “a complete lack of innovation” in a particular part of the plant-based food value chain.
5:10 – Sites at Penrith, for R&D work and commercial production, and at Surry Hills, which tests for downstream applications of their ingredients.
6:08 – An appreciation for the view put forward by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre: “It’s fundamentally a technology business. It might be a hardware business, but it also requires a lot of software.”
7:20 – Why they’re bringing data to the “black art” of extrusion in food manufacturing.
9:10 – Why consumer-oriented problems needed to be tackled first for the category, though there are currently opportunities beyond “formed meats.”
12:10 – Why what they’re doing is different from seitan, a centuries-old fake meat product. “But I think what we’ve learned from seitan is that there is this special ability of gluten to be able to create textures that are quite desirable to our palates.”
14:05 – Targeting a consumer need for simpler products with fewer ingredients without binders.
15:50 – Why language and attitude matter when trying to grow the category among mainstream consumers, rather than appeal to just the idealistic early adopters.
18:50 – Why arguments about plant-based meat look a little like arguments about politics.
22:20 – Near-term and five years ahead. Plus unexpected inbound requests for vegan pet food and what changing, more localised supply chains could mean for overseas markets.
25:35 – Riordan’s point of view on localising production within Australia.
Relevant links
Harvest B's website
https://www.harvestb.io/
QUEENSLAND, WOOLWORTHS INVEST IN MANUFACTURING
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/queensland-woolworths-invest-in-manufacturing
SIMPLIFIED INGREDIENT LISTS AND INCREASED ECONOMIC COMPLEXITY
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/simplified-ingredient-lists-and-increased-economic-complexity
In episode 40 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from independent semiconductor professional Dr Steven Duvall.
Duvall hits some of the important points from his excellent four-part series, co-authored with Glenn Downey, contributed to @AuManufacturing's "Australia's place in the semiconductor world" editorial series.
From a very basic starting point -- an explanation of what semiconductors are and what they do -- he describes their importance in the modern world, the nation's use of them, where we can look to grow our participation in this ultra-competitive and highly-international sector, and more. All in under 20 minutes.
Episode guide
0:34 - Background at Intel and Silanna and current association with the Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau.
3:40 – What is a semiconductor and what are some of the different understandings of the term?
6:10 – How semiconductors pervade our lives.
6:50 – The oil of the 21st century?
8:55 – Why are semiconductors important to Australia? And why do we even need a role in this industry?
10:24 – It’s virtually important for Australia or any other country to produce every semiconductor product it uses, but there are probably a few we should focus on making here.
11:08 – “The evergreen nature of the semiconductor industry” and its support for engineering and scientific talent.
12:10 – “A somewhat controversial view” on what we need here.
12:40 – We have an opportunity to start small with compound semiconductors.
14 – The four areas where compound semiconductors can be important, and where Australia could focus. Where does the expertise currently lie?
15:55 – How much would it cost to get started?
Relevant linksThe four-part series by Duvall and Downey (in order)
AN INTRODUCTION TO SEMICONDUCTORS
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-place-in-the-semiconductor-world-an-introduction-to-semiconductors
THE CURRENT ‘STATE OF THE WORLD’
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-place-in-the-semiconductor-world-the-semiconductor-state-of-the-world
THE INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA AND ITS OPPORTUNITIES
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-place-in-the-semiconductor-world-the-semiconductor-industry-in-australia-and-its-opportunities
THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUSTRALIA IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-place-in-the-semiconductor-world-the-opportunities-for-australia-in-the-semiconductor-industry
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Professors Gavin Ash and Kerryn Phelps, the bid leader and Chair Elect respectively of the hemp Cooperative Research Centre.
The pair speak about what the CRC hopes to do to grow the nascent hemp industry, which with its low water and fertiliser requirements, and its abundance of food, fibre and other uses, could hold a wealth of opportunities.
Episode guide
0:30 – an introduction to the guests
1:03 – personal connection to hemp/cannabis. “A very exciting, future-focussed industry that [has] benefits across a range of industries.”
3:25 – Growing interest after the legalisation of cannabis and industrial hemp in 2016-17.
5:25 – The four research themes the CRC would focus on.
7:40 – Industry, university and other partners so far. And what has been interesting about roundtables held so far.
10:58 – Avoiding anything to do with recreational use. “That’s only one very small part of the overall story. So we’re looking at both high- and low-THC, but we’re looking at it from the perspective of medicinal and industrial uses.”
12:20 – Hemp has been a food and fibre crop for many, many years. It threatened other industries, such as cotton, and there was a backlash. That’s over now.
14:10 – Changing the economics of something that is currently grown in small volumes.
15:55 – Carbon credits could be part of the tipping point for this industry. “...$50 a tonne for carbon… changes the whole economics of growing hemp. It also changes what we can do with it, so that we do have the supply chains that could take some into textiles or paper and take others into carbon for buildings.”
17:52 – Closing remarks.
Relevant linksThe hemp CRC's website
https://www.hempcrc.com.au/CULTIVATING A HEMP INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/cultivating-an-industrial-hemp-industry-in-australia
USQ LEADS BID FOR TEN-YEAR HEMP CRC
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/usq-leads-bid-for-ten-year-hemp-crc
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, Kite Magnetics founder and CEO Dr Richard Parsons shares his path from materials engineering researcher to founder of an early-stage startup, why he chose the aviation industry, preparing to showcase their first product at the upcoming Avalon Air Show in March, and more.
Episode guide0:26 – Introduction to Parsons and to Kite, which is building smaller, lighter and more efficient electric propulsion systems for planes.
1: 54 – An engineering family, what drew him to materials science and engineering, and how atmospheric science played a role.
4:43 – What is aeroperm, what does it do?
5:12 – A description of how it’s made. “A bit like cooking.”
7:30 – Scaling up production from grams, interest from industry, the commercialisation process, and why licencing didn’t make sense.
10:56 – Meeting venture capitalists for the first time, why it didn’t go very well, seeking advice on entrepreneurship, going through CSIRO’s On Prime program, and isolating the use cases that were most likely to lead to commercial success.
12:50 – The mismatch between investors and first-time researcher-entrepreneurs.
13:20 – Why the automotive and drone industries were bad matches, but commercial aviation was the sweet spot.
15:50 – The climate change impact of the aviation industry.
16:43 – The first product they will be making and selling (and to whom.)
17:47 – Showcasing their first product at Avalon Air Show – a full-size electric motor for two-seater training aircraft, plus 2023 milestones.
19:04 – How Parsons expects electric aircraft to progress as an industry over the next few years.
21:55 – Total system efficiency is important when talking about the different options.
24:30 – The manufacturing question.
25:55 – final words.
Relevant linksKite Magnetics' website
https://kitemagnetics.com/MONASH SPINOUT BELIEVES IT HAS CORE INGREDIENT FOR ELECTRIC AVIATION REVOLUTION
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/monash-spinout-believes-it-has-a-core-ingredient-for-electric-aviation-revolution
THE ONE THAT QUIETLY GOT AWAY?
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/the-one-that-quietly-got-away
CSIRO ON, OFF SINCE 2020, NOW BACK ON
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/csiro-on-off-since-2020-now-back-on
In episode 37 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Marten Jurg, co-founder and CEO of Additive Assurance.
We learn about the company’s $4.1 million funding round last week, its progress since beginning 2019, what Jurg has noticed about investment appetite for high-tech manufacturing startups, the challenges that metal additive manufacturing companies need to address, and more.
Episode guide
0:28 – discovering a new way to spot very small defects in laser bed powder fusion printing while tinkering in the lab.
2:18 – Fault finding at university with a new machine from Germany.
3:35 – Being able to place material wherever you want and the complications this can lead to.
4:50 – “In this day and age you can call fund-raising rounds what you want.”
5:31 – What their investment funding round will support in terms of people and facilities.
7:08 – Has the reported slowdown in venture capital investment been noticed?
8:50 – Why things are getting better for researchers wanting to pursue commercial outcomes. “We’re waking up to what’s happening around the world.”
10:56 – How the labour market looks for the company, which is currently hiring machine learning specialists.
12:40 – Who their customers are here and overseas.
13:28 – There have been some interesting innovations in metal additive manufacturing, but the economics and quality still need to improve.
15:54 – Failure and success in metal AM jobs usually come down to what is being built and the experience of the users.
17:52 – We have incredible manufacturing ideas and talent in Australia, believes Jurg. We don’t need to make everything, but maintaining a strong ecosystem enables inventions to get off the ground.
Relevant linksAdditive Assurance’s site
https://additiveassurance.com/
Additive Assurance closes $4.1 million funding round
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/additive-assurance-closes-4-1-million-funding-round
Australian additive manufacturing innovator and Volkswagen announce partnership
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australian-additive-manufacturing-innovator-and-volkswagen-announce-partnership
Venture capital funding plunges almost 75pc in a year https://www.afr.com/technology/spring-brings-a-boost-to-vc-investments-but-clouds-loom-20221005-p5bncu
In episode 36 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from John Lake and Rob Fisher, the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder/CEO, respectively, of Bodd Technologies.
We take a look at a startup that seems on the cusp of great commercial success, and which is at the same time hard to categorise.
Are they a manufacturer? An SaaS business? A data analytics company? And do any of these questions even matter?
Episode guide
0:30 – Introduction to guests and to what Bodd does
3:22 – The evolution of the business. Starting out developing new technologies for the apparel business. Had a made-to-order clothing business focussed on custom-made suits.
7:10 – What their 3D printers are doing now. “You only have a certain number of hours in the day.”
8:26 – Why the word “journey” costs them money.
10:25 – Where they’ve looked for and found investors. And why things are changing for the better with hardware startups.
12:50 – Sector focusses: uniforms, retailers, pharmacies and wellness.
14:46 – The relationship with BAMS, their manufacturing partner. Assembly, packaging and test happens at Clayton.
16:30 – Further benefits of outsourcing production around sourcing.
18:30 – Primarily a SaaS company, but can still quantify themselves as a manufacturer in the context of their business model.
20:28 – Collecting more data from head to toe on a human subject than any other product on the market? And the ways this can be used in establishing wellness indicators from a single spin.
22:38 – Impedance and how it’s used.
23:10 – Customer data and keeping it away from bad actors. “Data rights are human rights.”
26:35 – Their “fairly lofty ambitions” to lead their niche, plus an explanation of what that niche is.
28:48 – Their take on why manufacturing matters, in terms of national security, and as an engine room for skills development, good jobs, and wealth creation. And why being Australian Made is an advantage as they look to build sales to Southeast Asia and North America.
31:10 – Why companies should be thinking about ethical use of data as an advantage
Relevant links
Bodd's website
bodd.io
Melbourne-based Bodd wins Company of the Year at the 2022 Pause Awards
smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/news/bodd-wins-2022-pause-awards
Bosch to manufacture 3d scanners for Bodd
www.aumanufacturing.com.au/bosch-to-manufacture-3d-scanners-for-bodd
From data to decisions -- three game changers explain how to get there
www.aumanufacturing.com.au/from-data-to-decisions-three-game-changers-explain-how-to-get-there
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Andy Brawley, former General Manager - Manufacturing at Silanna Semiconductor.
An item from the final day of our Australia's place in the semiconductor world series, this broad-ranging conversation is with a man who has spent over half a century in the industry.
Brawley shares his passion for electronics and the many different eras of Silanna, which has its origins in AWA Microelectronics. His career was ended by a NSW government decision to compulsorily acquire Silanna's site at Homebush for the Sydney Metro.
Relevant links
Silanna's website
silanna.com
Australian Semiconductor Sector Study
https://www.chiefscientist.nsw.gov.au/independent-reports/australian-semiconductor-sector-study
Series introduction
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-place-in-the-semiconductor-world-series-introduction
Interview with Bob Clark about the ASPI report, Australia’s semiconductor national moonshot
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-place-in-the-semiconductor-world-talking-about-a-moonshot
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, Dr Mohammad Choucair from Archer Materials shares the company’s progress on its quantum processor (it is also developing a biosensor), where he believes the nation can make a difference in the semiconductor value chain, what it would take to establish local chip fabrication, and more.
Relevant linksArcher's website
archerx.com.au
2016 article about the qubit breakthrough
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2016/07/18/quantum-computing-closer-with-chemistry-breakthrough.html
Barriers to bringing wafer production home
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-place-in-the-semiconductor-world-barriers-to-bringing-wafer-production-home
Episode guide
0:26 – Current work and an introduction to Archer
1:16 – What drew him to science and then to nanotechnology.
3:30 – An early breakthrough using graphene without graphite.
4:50 – Being interested in commercialising research output from early on.
6:38 – The size of the company and who makes up their team.
8:10 – The 2016 breakthrough, allowing the company to pursue quantum qubits that can operate at room temperature.
11:30 – Recognising a second paradigm shift, similar to making graphene without graphite.
14:10 – Silicon won for transistors, but we don’t know what will win for qubits.
17:55 – Why you shouldn’t listen to naysayers.
20:10 – Progress in technology development isn’t linear.
22:10 – What does it mean to integrate what they are doing into modern-day electronics, and why is that so difficult with qubits?
25:10 – Facilities in Australia that Archer is making use of.
27:55 – Praise for the Australian National Fabrication Facility (Full disclosure: ANFF is the sponsor of @AuManufacturing's Australia’s place in the semiconductor worldeditorial series.)
29:36 – Production onshore is unlikely, should they reach commercial readiness. IP is the thing. The greatest value is in R&D.
32:40 – Expanding beyond design and R&D in Australia is possible, and we shouldn’t give up. If we had the will from the top to get it done then it will get done. “If we have the will, then we can carve the way for the high-tech industry in Australia.”
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, David Chuter from the IMCRC shares some reflections on which collaborations work and why, the need for technology adoption and development to have a clear purpose behind it, the importance of design and engineering to the industry’s success, and more.
This episode was recorded at the IMCRC’s Australian Manufacturing Innovation Showcase event at Port Melbourne earlier this month.
Episode guide
0:34 – Introduction.
1:36 – Going from running an SME manufacturing business to running a Cooperative Research Centre.
4:06 – What successful collaborations require.
5:40 – Digitalising your business with a purpose. You need to be clear on your goals and informed about why you’re investing.
9:32 – Why some projects succeed and others don’t.
14:22 – Appreciation of the smiley curve by manufacturers since 2016, and how it opens up the opportunity to think about adding digital services to your products.
16:40 – How IT can help you reinvent your business model.
19:30 – Wanting to build the next batch of Australian brands that are renowned for design, engineering, innovation, and can make it here.
20:40 – The importance of the production step in manufacturing, and how you can carry it out competitively.
22:36 – Innovation versus invention versus improvement.
24:40 – Innovation requires a leap of faith.
25:40 – Why design and manufacturing should matter to our nation.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations With Brent Balinski, Lumination Head of Enterprise and Government Tom Pennington, who joined fast-growing Adelaide-based immersive technology company this year, tells us about how he expects “the metaverse” to change the way we learn, how it can supplement older methods of absorbing new information, and more.
Episode guide
0:34 – Introduction and professional background
1:42 – An introduction to some terms.
2:55 – What they do plus some recent projects.
5:32 – Overlay. A new project offering “truly democratised object recognition.”
7:10 – How is linking the physical and digital world actually useful for manufacturing companies?
8:56 – How has adoption changed among companies?
10:30 – Growth in headcount at Lumination and what’s driving this.
13:45 – The Beacon STEM outreach project with BAE.
15:45 – Why does immersive technology improve retention? And is the idea to replace book learning?
17:43 – How will “the metaverse” change our lives?
19:44 – The manufacturing ecosystem question.
This episode was recorded in October and is sponsored by BAE Systems Australia.
Useful linksLumination's website
lumination.com.au
@AuManufacturing article on Beacon
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/bae-systems-and-lumination-light-up-stem
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski – recorded at the IMCRC’s Innovative Manufacturing Accelerated conference a couple of weeks ago – Paul Keen of gTET tells us about the founding of his company by ex-automotive industry engineers, a project to reshore components in its heat pumps, and some of the benefits and challenges of adopting heat waste and biomass-based industrial heat solutions.
0:25 – Background to company.
2:07 – Where are ORC generators and heat pumps used.
2:40 – Developing heat pumps for up to 150 degrees Celsius, aiming to replace low-pressure gas boilers.
3:10 – The IMCRC project, beginning late-2019.
5:24 – Adoption of heat pumps in Australia.
7:10 – Biomass heat generation.
9:04 – Personal definition of innovation.
Relevant linksgTET website
https://www.g-tet.com/
IMCRC project report featuring gTET
https://imcrc.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMCRC020-Highlights-Report-2022_FINAL_protected.pdf
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Thomas Romeijn from Mineral Technologies and Dr Michael Behrens from UTS Rapido about their project applying 3D printing to separation spirals used in the mining industry.
Episode guide
0:20 – Introduction to guests.
1:40 – Why is this next step necessary?
2:56 – The possible benefits around safety, quicker iterations, and customisation for different orebodies.
5:00 – Some of the complexities of separation.
6:08 – Why the machines use FDM 3D printing technology. And have they developed any special resins for the job?
7:36 – Romeijn’s PhD and how it relates to the project. Considering geometry, loads and materials testing.
9:41 – Technical challenges to the project including fluid flow simulation and building the machine.
12:28 – “It’s printed without a support structure, which is quite unheard of.”
13:38 – Ways to define innovation. “A practical way of doing something new,” or “ a new use for things that already exist.”
14:50 – How ready until this machine will be used in the field?
15:32 – Shipping printers rather than air to users.
17:04 – Final words.
Relevant links
Mineral Technologies' website
https://mineraltechnologies.com/
UTS Rapido's website
https://www.uts.edu.au/about/faculty-engineering-and-information-technology/rapido
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations With Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr Ian Fordyce, Additive Manufacturing Engineer at Conflux Technology, and Dr Balaji Narayanaswamy, an Associate Research Fellow at Deakin.
The pair discuss a recently-completed, nine-month Conflux-Deakin project, supported by a $138,200 Innovative Manufacturing CRC grant, and covering aluminium alloy development.
This episode was recorded at the IMCRC’s Innovative Manufacturing Accelerated conference, held last week. Episode guide
0:22 – Introduction to Dr Ian Fordyce and Dr Balaji Narayanaswamy.
2:10 – Why additive manufacturing can create better heat exchangers, and how Conflux designs these for customers.
4:02 – The motivation behind the alloy project.
5:02 – How they’re trying to improve on off-the-shelf powders.
6:45 – Stage of development. About to sift through test data and compare it standard alloys and high performance alloys.
7:35 – How Conflux engages university researchers for projects.
8:42 – How innovation is understood by the two guests.
10:02 – Why manufacturing matters.
12:06 – Closing thoughts.
Relevant linksConflux's website
https://www.confluxtechnology.com/
Project description
https://www.imcrc.org/new-aluminium-alloys-for-heat-exchangers/Aninterview with Glenn Rees, Head of Engineering at Conflux
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/frontiers-in-additive-manufacturing-the-challenges-of-design-innovation-and-commercialisation
News story about Conflux's Series A round last year
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/conflux-technology-raises-8-5m-to-expand
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Lee Stanley, Business Development Manager at systems integrator Daronmont Technologies.
0:20 – Career path and introduction to Daronmont and its work.
2:50 – Overview of some projects, including as tier one subcontractor to BAE on Jorn Phase 6.
4:30 – The Jorn upgrade and their role in it, building transponder and sounder subsystems.
5:44 – What it takes to be successful as a defence supplier.
8:02 – How working with bigger companies helps the company lift its game.
11 – The increasing importance of Australia being able to develop and support its own technology for defence and elsewhere.
This episode is sponsored by BAE Systems Australia.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Shoaib Iqbal from earth observation startup Esper Satellite Imagery. Iqbal tells us about the company's story so far, the usefulness of hyperspectral data, why 18 satellites is the number they’re aiming to have in orbit, and more.
Episode guide
0:28 – What they do and how they got started: building sensors that image the earth from space after the two founders met each other at a Monash University hackathon.
1:45 – About to finish a space sciences degree at RMIT.
3:10 – Why hyperspectral imaging is useful.
4:10 – The company’s pivot away from building AI to design a satellite payload to earth observation.
6:02 – Use cases in precision agriculture, prospecting for minerals, and tracking emissions.
7:44 – A team of ten currently and the team’s silos in opto-mechanical and software/embedded systems.
9:10 – The recent delivery of engineering models to Space Machines Company, and the goal of delivering their flight models by early November. Plus some “shaking and baking.”
11:36 – The importance of Spiral Blue’s computers in the upcoming mission for on-board processing, and why edge computing is so important to hyperspectral imaging from space.
13:10 – Being able to image every point on the earth on a daily basis.
15:10 – The importance of sovereign Australian earth imaging.
17:20 – Where the government can have a role in supporting the space sector.
19:30 – Supply chain disruptions for satellite manufacturing, and being made to use legacy equipment as a result.
21:10 – Mentorship and how it has helped the company build its commercial chops.
Further reading
WOLVES OF WATERLOO SAY AUSTRALIAN SPACE SUCCESS HINGES ON COLLABORATION
SPIRAL BLUE DELIVERS SATELLITE EDGE COMPUTER FOR PROJECT RAINBOW PYTHON
SPIRAL BLUE TO PROCESS IMAGERY IN SPACE FOR TRANSMISSION TO EARTH
In episode 26 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Christopher Janssen, Managing Director at GPC Electronics.
Defence makes up about 10 to 15 per cent of turnover at GPC, the western Sydney contract electronics manufacturer run by Christopher Janssen, who describes it as “a tough but rewarding sector” and one offering good growth potential.
“It is a long horizon, so it’s not something you do because you’re going to get results in one or two years,” he tells @AuManufacturing.
“You have to develop the capabilities, the culture, how to work with defence, the understanding and the relationship with people.”
Janssen shares how and why the company got started as a defence supplier, some of the challenges involved, how GPC has dealt with the semiconductor shortage, some thoughts on how it’s been able to retain capable, long-term staff, and its approach to innovation as a contract manufacturer.
Episode guide
0:20 – Personal and company background.
6:04 – Their customers and their work in defence, which represents about 10 - 15 per cent of turnover.
8:25 - Defence projects, including with BAE on JORN and high-frequency systems, Boeing Defence Australia on the Currawong program.
10:10 – The challenges of working in the defence sector.
13:24 – What does innovation look like as a contract manufacturer?
15:38 – The different ways they’re dealing with the semiconductor shortage.
18:42 – Two-thirds of the company have been there more than 20 years. How do they keep staff interested in what they’re doing?
Relevant links
@AuManufacturing profile of GPC electronics from the 2022 Celebrating Australian Made series
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/celebrating-australian-made-gpc-electronics
In episode 25 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Steve Camilleri, CTO and co-founder of SPEE3D.
The episode was recorded at Land Forces 2022 last week.
Camilleri discusses the company's newly-launched expeditionary printer, XSPEE3D, the company's accidental presence in the defence market, and much else.
Episode guide
0:30 -- The company's history.
3:42 – “We knew exactly what we needed. We had a technology-shaped hole, we had to be able to print parts very quickly, so we targeted 100 grams a minute as our metric. We also decided that the parts needed to be able to be manufactured cheaply. So we were targeting about 100 bucks a kilo for our production cost. The first bit we worked out was that all the processes people were using already – mainly using lasers and electron beams and things like that – could not possibly achieve it.”
6:01 – Regarding cold spray: “There were papers at the time declaring loudly ‘this is a wonderful process, it would be perfect for additive manufacturing, but you can’t make geometries with it. It’s too constraining. You can only coat parts with it.’”
7:10 – Being daunted at first by the defence market and its complexity.
8:10 – “A bit of a coincidence” being discovered by the Australian Army for trials to see if they could solve a need.
10:10 – The new XSPEE3D printer plus the Hierarchy of Needs for 3D printer users.
12:42 – An insurance policy for isolated operations e.g. ports, farms: “You’re not the kind of person that yearns for a 3D printer, it’s not something that’s missing in your day, but what you do have is a lot of infrastructure, a lot of capital, and when that goes down very suddenly and unpredictably… you may not have any good choices on the table.” Much the same level of capability as WARPSPEE3D but not designed to be static.
15:05 – Pricing model.
16:10 – The current situation in Australia with metal powders and sovereign capability, and why this needs improving.
17:06 – Why the development partner for the printer is the UK’s Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and not an Australian organisation.
18:50 – Demonstrating the usefulness of their tech to the US Navy at REPTX. (A research paper is currently being prepared on what was learned about printing at sea.)
23:25 – Why they’re borrowing ANCA’s approach in exporting Australian innovation. “Let’s go to the world, and let’s make sure we succeed, because we know that our domestic market isn’t enough to sustain us… The curse and the benefit of being Australia is this isolation. So we thought ANCA managed that extremely well.”
28:20 – How defence has supplied itself throughout history, why the global supply chain could be a little bit of a short-term aberration, and why the hose fitting makers of the world are doomed.
32:40 – Some closing thoughts on Australian industry development.
Relevant links
ARMY, SPEE3D RELATIONSHIP TO EXTEND WITH A NEW 12-MONTH TRIAL
SPEE3D SUCCESSFULLY PRINTS PARTS AT SEA FOR US NAVY – REPORT
LAND FORCES 2022 – 3D PRINTING TO REVOLUTIONISE LOGISTICS AT THE FRONT
LAND FORCES 2022 — COLD SPRAY AM CONTINUES TO PROGRESS ALONGSIDE DEFENCE
In episode 23 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr Martin O’Connor, General Manager at QuantX Labs.
The episode was recorded at Land Forces 2022 last week.
O’Connor explains the usefulness of the company’s device in JORN (currently undergoing its $1.2 billion Phase 6 upgrade led by BAE Systems Australia) shares some thoughts on what it takes for successful applied research by universities, and tells us why alternatives to GPS are being developed.
Episode guide
0:30 – Introduction to QuantX Labs and its focus on precision PNT products and quantum sensors.
1:16 – Establishment of company and foundational IP for defence radars.
2:20 – Approach to commercialising science at IPAS. “The incredible power of ideas that are sitting inside of universities all around the world and in Australia.”
4:38 – What is an optical atomic clock? And why QuantX Labs is using lasers instead of microwaves.
6:40 – GPS is three decades old and has created trillions of dollars in value, but it’s also incredibly vulnerable.
8:55 – Beginning work with BAE Systems three years ago on a Sapphire Cryogenic Clock, QuantX’s flagship product, for the Jindalee Operational Radar Network. This recently passed full acceptance testing for inclusion into JORN.
11:05 – Decades in the making, beginning with the company’s founder’s PhD 25 years ago.
11:50 – 10 - 15 devices planned for manufacture over the next four to five years.
In episode 23 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dominic Parsonson, Head of Sales at Titomic.
The episode was recorded at Land Forces 2022 last week.
In it, Parsonson tells us about how two Australian companies have taken a technology that has been around since the 1980s, and moved it from coatings and repair into manufacturing.
As we speak during a defence industry expo, there is plenty shared about what cold spray additive manufacturing is offering defence users, as well as frontier applications of the technology.
Episode guide
1:30 – Titomic’s “friendly rivalry” with SPEE3D, and the points of difference between each company’s offering. “I think we both do a great job of promoting Australian innovation and Australian capability, and at the same time growing the cold spray additive manufacturing market.”
3:10 – What cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) can offer defence users.
5:40 – Narrowing the company’s focus down to 11 key areas. Three examples in ballistic shielding, weapons barrels, and radiation shielding, and what they say about the strengths of cold spray.
7:50 – How CSAM will change maintenance for defence.
9:10 – The differences across low, medium and high-pressure applications.
Relevant linksArticle about Titomic's recent acquisition of Dycomet Europe
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/titomic-buys-european-cold-spray-technology-company
Article about the radiation shielding for Fleet Space's satellites
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/titomic-to-make-radiation-shielding-for-fleet-space-satellites
Article about use of cold spray to make gun barrels
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/titomic-and-repkon-to-make-gun-barrels-but-not-locally
In episode 22 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Daen Simmat, founder and CEO at Black Lab Design.
The episode was recorded during a visit to Black Lab's factory in Frenchs Forest in late-September.
In this broad-ranging chat, Simmat tells us about starting a company in 2013, its natural evolution from sheet metal solutions to much more, his view on what "advanced manufacturing" means, what automation can and can't replace, the critical but often-overlooked role of marketing in keeping a manufacturer relevant, and lots more.
0:32 – Professional background: CAD, packaging machinery.
4:50 – “The next bit is kind of where the history started.” Borrowing $2 million to buy a laser cutter, a brake press and begin a new business.
7:40 – How the company moved beyond sheet metal componentry and slowly acquiring new skill sets.
10:46 – Who their customers are. Point of sale, hand sanitiser dispensers, street furniture, displays, building facades and other jobs.
13:20 – “Smart ways to make dumb things” and why we can still make a big impact as a manufacturer by making everyday items.
16:20 – Additive manufacturing is just one tool and you can’t do everything with it. Plus why advanced manufacturing/automation create rather than remove jobs.
18:26 – Where additive manufacturing is useful for producing dumb products.
20:30 – One of the best things about automation and one of the worst, and the places where it can’t replace human workers.
22:10 – Thinking differently about materials for more sustainable results.
25:36 – Three reasons why it’s worth devoting time to marketing yourself.
27:40 – Why they run a weekly newsletter on their manufacturing industry observations.
28:10 – With marketing, there’s no magic formula, but you do need to be active, measure your results and find out what works.
30:40 – Most traditional small-sized manufacturers are stuck on the donkey wheel.
32:50 – “The reality is you’ve got to be growing your business by five, 10, 20 per cent every year just to stay relevant.”
33:40 – What’s the next big wave of change? It could be around AI, but we don’t know. Whatever happens, we should be focussing on the importance of people – and skilled tradespeople – in advanced manufacturing.
37:30 – Why the company is based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney – and not in Western Sydney – and why it’s staying put.
40:30 – We’re great at mining and agriculture, but we also need to do better at adding value.
42:40 – Have a go, and don’t neglect the very important “one third”.
**Relevant links
BLD's website
https://blacklab.design/ Articles by Simmat published by @AuManufacturing**
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/advanced-is-great-but-what-about-traditional-manufacturing-by-daen-simmat
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/no-women-in-manufacturing-think-again-by-daen-simmat
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/onshoring-australian-manufacturing-beyond-2021
Article on AMTIL's website about BLD and its investment in Amada machineshttps://amtil.com.au/amada-blacklabdesign-sheetmetal-amtil/
Article in the Northern Beaches Advocatehttps://www.northernbeachesadvocate.com.au/2021/05/29/local-manufacturing-comeback/
In episode 21 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Philip Crealy, founder and Director at Equinox Medical.
The episode was recorded on the second day of last week’s Modern Manufacturing Expo, which @AuManufacturing is a media partner of. Crealy presented on the topic of “Custom medical device manufacture through machine learning and generative design” at the event.
In this conversation, Crealy recaps some of the themes in his presentation.
Episode guide:
1:20 – Orthopaedic implants and biomaterials.
2:06 – Regulatory changes in response to software and technology development. How this opens up a greater role for manufacturers in patient-specific devices.
4:35 – What are we talking about when we talk about AI?
8:20 – How machine learning is aiding in orthopaedic implants, diagnosis and elsewhere.
12:02 – How can generative design be made useful in medical technology?
16:35 – What they make here and what gets made overseas.
18:05 – When you miss a part of the value chain, you miss opportunities.
In episode 20 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from David Fox, Associate Director, Research & Technology at Western Parkland City Authority.
The episode was recorded on the second day of last week’s Modern Manufacturing Expo, which @AuManufacturing is a media partner of.
Fox has worked in manufacturing for over 30 years, and was at western Sydney pressure vessel manufacturer LA Services for 16 years, finishing as General Manager, before beginning his current role in late-2021.
In this episode, he recaps some of the points within his speech, giving listeners a few tips they can use to get started in modernising their business, and touches on some skills issues.
Episode guide
1:20 – Current role involved in WPCA’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF), connecting with smaller manufacturers and procuring new equipment for the first building in Bradfield’s city centre.
3:03 – Fox’s presentation at the expo, entitled “Cloud computing and data utilisation opportunities within small manufacturing businesses”.
4:30 – Finding where digital processes could fit within pressure vessel manufacture, with input from a UTS data scientist.
6:52 – The main barrier to technology adoption in smaller businesses.
8:01 – Recognising a personal skills gap, plus what educators are currently missing.
9:30 “Not all of us have to get across this, but someone has to. Someone in the business has got to be across the detail, otherwise you’re going to get a black box solution.”
10:54 – How you can get started with cloud computing.
12:35 – Appreciating the bandwidth of jobs attached to manufacturing.
Relevant linksThe Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility
https://www.wpca.sydney/delivery/amrf/
"Industry 4.0, skills and SMEs", an article by David Fox and Inu Rana that featured in @AuManufacturing's Technologies and tools for a manufacturing transformation editorial series
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/technologies-and-tools-for-a-manufacturing-transformation-industry-4-0-skills-and-smes-by-david-fox-and-inu-rana
Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre webinar about skills, titled "Hire the right people" (featuring Fox)
https://www.amgc.org.au/webinars/way-8-hire-the-right-people/
A 2017 article about LA Services (then L&A Pressure Welding) in The Australian Financial Review
https://www.afr.com/politics/digital-makeover-seduces-reluctant-welding-heir-20170515-gw562e
In episode 19 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Dr Marc Carmichael, a Senior Lecturer at University of Technology Sydney and Chief Investigator at the Australian Cobotics Centre.
The episode was recorded on the second day of the Modern Manufacturing Expo, which @AuManufacturing is a media partner of.
Carmichael’s work focusses on collaborative robotics, a genre of automation he believes is a good match for Australia’s SME-heavy manufacturing community, though something it has been slow to adopt so far.
He discusses the application of collaborative robotics for abrasive blasting – work which saw him named one of Australia’s Most Innovative Engineers by Engineers Australia in 2018 – as well as development of a new micro-credential through the New Education and Training Model (NETM.)
Episode guide
0:30 – Research background.
1:20 – Robots for abrasive blasting. An example of supplementing rather than replacing workers.
3:33 – The Australian Cobotics Centre.
4:25 – Automation for short-run, high-value manufacturing.
6:26 – The new micro-credential in cobots and what students learn during its 40 hours.
Relevant linksAustralian Cobotics Centre
https://www.australiancobotics.org/
Profile piece at UTS website
https://www.uts.edu.au/study/engineering/student-profiles/meet-our-engineering-postgrads/innovative-solutions
Interview in create
https://createdigital.org.au/collaborative-robots-people-partnership/
Article in @AuManufacturing by Carmichael and Sara Wilkinson about their "Wallbot" project
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/robotics-adoption-matters-removing-danger-and-cost-from-green-infrastructure-maintenance
In episode 18 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Peter Mackey, Executive Director, New Education and Training Model (NETM) at the NSW government’s Western Parkland City Authority.
This micro-episode is about micro-credentials, with Mackey giving an update on the NETM pilot program, which intends to develop 100 micro-credential courses between 2021 and 2025. These are in manufacturing and other sectors including agribusiness and logistics.
The episode was recorded during the first day of the Modern Manufacturing Expo, which @AuManufacturing is a media partner of.
Thanks for downloading this episode. If you enjoy the conversation and you haven’t already, please subscribe, leave a review via the podcast platform of your choice, and help us spread the word.
Episode guide
0:40 – Helping develop the “soft infrastructure of a future city” for Bradfield
1:14 – What are micro-credentials and who are they for?
2:27 – The program and its “flipped”, industry-led model.
4:02 – Face-to-face or mixed, with examples in technical drawing and composite manufacturing.
4:58 – A forty-hour figure and why it exists.
6:10 – A collaborative robot course about to begin, and the adoption of cobots among manufacturers.
7:52 – Possible funding models after government funding for the pilot ends.
9:50 - An upcoming semiconductor design micro-credential and the planned (opening 2026) electronics and semiconductor part of Bradfield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Facility.
In episode 17 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Steve Layton from Layton Corporation. The chat was recorded at last Friday’s Good Design Awards.
EmTech, a division of Layton’s company, was a Gold Winner at the awards for its Enviro Hide product, which is made from recycled leather and has a look and feel of new split leather.
Layton tells us about developing the product, which is currently produced in China, launching it here following the award, and the plans to make Enviro Hide in Australia.
Thanks for downloading this episode. If you enjoy the conversation and you haven’t already, please subscribe, leave a review via the podcast platform of your choice, and help us spread the word.
Episode guide
1:20 – Introduction/company history.
2:50 -- Moving away from "fast furniture" and a race to the bottom on price.
4:00 -- Enviro Hide, landfill and leather.
6:50 -- development challenges.
9:18 -- Don't call it bonded leather.
10:40 -- A big supply of raw material from discarded furniture as well as offcuts at China's tanneries.
12:18 -- 70 per cent can be reclaimed, but that's the limit.
13 -- Aiming to release Enviro Suede, the next product, in the second quarter of 2023.
14:04 -- Customers so far. Pushing harder with promotion locally following this award.
15:56 -- The opportunity to bring production to Australia.
17:50 -- The opportunity to licence the process.
Relevant links
Emtech's website
https://www.environmentalmaterialtechnology.com/
"Australian science and ingenuity transforms leather industry" on ABC's Landlinehttps://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/programs/landline/2022-02-12/hitting-its-straps:-australian-science-and/13752334
Article on the Australian Furniture Association's website about Enviro Hide
https://australianfurniture.org.au/a-greener-new-lease-of-life-for-leather-furniture/
Listing on Good Design Australia's awards page
https://good-design.org/projects/enviro-hide-by-emtech/
In episode 16 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Mark Chilcote, Managing Director of Energy Renaissance.
ER was founded in 2015, is currently running a pilot plant at Tomago, and is preparing to begin volume production of lithium ion batteries by the end of the year.
This interview comes during a week where industry minister Ed Husic and Tesla chair Robyn Denholm have used high-profile speeches to draw attention to Australia’s massive, unrealised potential to create wealth within the lithium battery value chain.
As Chilcote points out:
“I think there are some specialist areas, I think BHP in Western Australia are making good strides in the processing of nickel, for example. We still have an awful long way to go, I think. At the moment, when we start our cell manufacture in 18 months’ time, unfortunately we will still have to import 100 per cent of the product that goes into those cells, even though at the core of it, it’ll be Australian minerals."
This episode is generously sponsored by the All Energy Australia Exhibition and Conference, which will be held October 26 and 27 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. You can hear Chilcote expand on the challenges and opportunities of building a vertically-integrated battery and cell manufacturing facility at the event.
Thanks for downloading this episode. If you enjoy the conversation and you haven’t already, please subscribe, leave a review via the podcast platform of your choice, and help us spread the word.
Episode guide
1:15 – introduction to the company and its ambition to move into battery cell manufacturing as well as battery energy storage systems.
2:20 – A glossary or battery terms.
4:28 – Picking a niche and doing market research in the company’s early days.
7:25 – Moving into Renaissance One, after operating its pilot plant, then rolling out the robots next year.
9:38 – Growing Australian participation in Energy Renaissance’s supply chain, with the example of local company Academy Sheetmetal.
11:28 – Why 99 per cent Australian content is the goal but 100 per cent is unlikely.
13:10 – There’s “an awful long way to go” with adding value. Chilcote explains why more battery manufacturers would be great for everyone as well as competition for his business.
15:10 – Demystifying a few things about battery making and our ability to participate in it. “We have every ingredient. I think we’ve just got to change our mindset to wanting to do it rather than just making our money out of digging it out of the ground.”
17:55 – The difficulties in getting investment support in Australia. Plus the federal politician who told ER they’d be better off manufacturing offshore.
21:10 – What does a legislated 43 per cent emissions reduction target mean for companies?
23:27 – We can take a few lessons from the Americans.
Relevant linksEnergy Renaissance's website
https://energyrenaissance.com/
All-Energy Australia's website
https://www.all-energy.com.au/
‘Australia is missing out’ on battery revolution: Tesla chairmanhttps://www.afr.com/technology/australia-is-missing-out-on-battery-revolution-tesla-chairman-20220914-p5bhxk
Industry minister Ed Husic indicates that the federal government will back with cash new battery manufacturing in Australia.
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/we-want-to-be-able-to-manufacture-batteries-husic
In episode 15 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Associate Professor Cori Stewart, CEO of the Brisbane-based Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub.
Stewart is founder of the not-for-profit, which aims to accelerating the uptake of robotics and AI in manufacturing and other industries within Australia.
It officially launched in March 2020 and recently became the the only independent manufacturing innovation hub in Australia to be awarded approved research institute (ARI) status.
In this episode we get Stewart’s perspective on why we need to do better communicating the value of robotics and automation within companies, what’s needed from the new government as it looks to develop a national robotics strategy, why a tech accelerator for the defence industry is needed, and more.
Episode guide:
1:30 – Background to Stewart and her organisation.
5:16 – Robotics for low-volume manufacturing.
7:08 – Recent milestones.
9:48 – A modern understanding of manufacturing and its cross-disciplinary nature.
12:30 – A robot is just another workplace tool. How collaborative robots are being made more useful.
14:45 – Yes, manufacturers are technology companies. We need to communicate that.
17:30 – What we can learn from the UK’s Catapult Network and Manufacturing USA’s institutes.
19:40 – Why Stewart thinks the new federal government is listening on industry policy.
21:42 – Yes, Australia is slow with tech adoption.
23:40 – Why the AI and jobs conversation also needs improving.
27:06 – Addressing the local shortage of industrial robots.
29:08 – Leak detection startup Leakster.
31:05 – The manufacturing ecosystem question.
32:30 – Why we need a tech accelerator for defence.
Relevant linksARM Hub's website
https://armhub.com.au/
Article on Australia's international ranking in industrial robotics density
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/robotics-adoption-matters-how-do-we-compare-internationally-and-does-that-need-to-change
Article on ARI statushttps://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/arm-hub-awarded-approved-research-institute-status
UAP profile published during @AuManufacturing’s "Australia’s niche champions" series
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/australias-niche-champions-the-manufacturing-of-art-and-vice-versa
In episode 14 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Dr William Crowe and Dr Hiranya Jayakody from HEO Robotics.
The pair began HEO while they were PhD candidates at UNSW Sydney, initially with a focus on asteroid mining.
Today they are pursuing a beautifully simple goal: image anything within the Solar System on demand, and last month they launched their first publicly-available product.
HEO currently uses other companies’ satellite-mounted cameras to do their work, pointing and clicking with enough precision to capture objects whizzing by at 15 kilometres per second relative velocity.
However, they’re also building their own cameras at their office in Sydney’s CBD, and have just secured a factory in Botany as manufacturing becomes more important to their ambitions and a magic number of 2,500 cameras in orbit
Episode guide1:30 -- An explanation of what HEO does plus Crowe's background in academia.
5 -- Infinity Avionics and other suppliers. Transferring camera assembly to the new site.
6:40 -- How the co-founders met.
8:55 -- What's needed to make asteroid mining feasible.
12 -- The paparazzi in space. Why 2,500 cameras are needed.
14:50 -- Getting satellite operators to share their data.
16:50 -- Finding their purpose as a business.
20:10 -- Unusual laws in the US made half a century ago and how they give HEO an advantage.
21:40 -- The great thing about being a space business based in Australia.
22:45 -- A (nuanced) explanation of crowdedness in orbits.
25:30 -- Who are their customers. Preparing for a trip aboard Space Machines Company's Optimus-1.
28 -- The team, plus their view on the engineering skills shortage.
31:30 -- The skilled migration announcement.
33:20 -- HEO Inspect, the company's first publicly-available product. A world-first, invented in Sydney.
36:10 -- 2022 as a breakout year for space junk appreciation.
41 -- The value of shortening the supply chain by building a local manufacturing ecosystem.
Relevant linksHEO's website
https://www.heo-robotics.com/
@AuManufacturing interview with Crowe from June 2019
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/wanted-australian-manufacturers-to-support-small-satellite-sector
Australian Financial Review article referenced during the episode
https://www.afr.com/technology/aussie-start-up-spies-gold-in-space-junk-20220811-p5b91t
Article about the mission with Space Machines Company
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/space-momentum-grows-as-aussie-startups-team-up
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski we hear from Arden Jarrett, Business Development Officer at MGA Thermal.
MGA's name comes from "miscibility gap alloy", an approach to thermal energy storage developed over a decade by a team at University of Newcastle and which it is currently commercialising.
In late-June the company launched the first stage of its factory, followed by an $8 million capital raise led by Main Sequence and then $1.27 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency this month. The latter will help it build a medium-duration storage demonstrator at its Tomago site.
Arden tells us about joining the company in 2019, progress so far, and adoption of their brick-like units in Australia and overseas.
Episode guide
1:10 -- Joining the company at the beginning plus an explanation of miscibility gap alloys.
2:58 -- A short history of MGA and its technology.
4:04 -- Use cases.
6:27 -- IP protection.
7:27 -- The business model.
8:46 -- The team.
9:50 -- Converting coal and gas power stations here and in Europe.
11:06 -- The ARENA-backed project.
12:20 -- Newcastle's industrial transition.
Relevant linksMGA Thermal's website
https://www.mgathermalstorage.com/
Recent articles from @AuManufacturing about the company
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/mga-thermal-unveils-new-newcastle-manufacturing-facility
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/mga-thermal-awarded-1-27-million-by-arena-to-build-demonstrator-facility
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/mga-thermal-scales-up-for-thermal-energy-storage
Article in The Conversation from 2020 written by co-founders Professor Erich Kisi and Dr Alexander Post
https://theconversation.com/aussie-invention-could-save-old-coal-stations-by-running-them-on-zero-emissions-lego-blocks-144864
Interview with Kisi published in create this year
https://createdigital.org.au/solid-blocks-could-convert-coal-fired-power-stations-to-renewable-generators/
In episode 12 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we hear from Phil West, co-founder of Siren Cameras.
Phil comes from a family of fishers and moved to Australia from Scotland a decade ago. A few years back he was out bluewater fishing, caught nothing all day, then found himself in a 15-minute battle with what must have been a splendid fish before he lost it.
This was the inspiration for Phil’s camera for anglers, so there would be no mystery as to what they’re reeling in. This evolved into a dual lens camera, for footage of fishers as well as fish, and also collects environmental data.
Phil tells us about the invention, which he hopes will also eventually enable better decisions about fishery management.
After beginning Siren in 2018, he’s hoping to finally get the Siren X-1 camera into anglers’ hands, with a Kickstarter campaign going live this Wednesday at 7 pm, Brisbane time.
Thanks for downloading this episode. If you enjoy the conversation and you haven’t already, please subscribe, leave a review via the podcast platform of your choice, and help us spread the word.
Relevant linksSiren's website
https://www.sirencameras.com/Story in @AuManufacturing from September 2020 about Siren being awarded an Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre grant
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/startup-earns-178250-grant-from-amgc-to-support-local-manufacture-of-dual-lens-fishing-camera
Story in @AuManufacturing about the Kickstarter announcement
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/manufacturing-news-briefs-stories-you-might-have-missed-208Siren's Kickstarter page
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sirencameras/siren-x-1-dual-facing-hd-action-camera
A new promotional video about Siren
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYpY4DrNDDQ
Welcome to episode 11 of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski.
Our guest on this episode is Taya Permezel, Director of Partnerships at Coolon LED Lighting.
Taya is part of an ambitious SME manufacturer thats very much on the move, which was recently featured during our Celebrating Australian Made Series, and which has won a collection of awards this year for its work delivering IoT solutions through its industrial lighting.
Coolon began in 2001. Its leadership team spent eight years before that running contract electronics manufacturer FLC Microdesign. Its heritage has made the difference as industrial LED lighting has taken off.
“We were quite fortunate in that we were a semiconductor engineering company that entered the lighting space, rather than a lighting company that was producing traditional lighting that was then required to change and learn to work with LEDs” Permezel tells us.
Thanks for downloading this episode. If you enjoy the conversation and you haven’t already, please subscribe, leave a review via the podcast platform of your choice, and help us spread the word.
Relevant links
Coolon's website
https://www.coolon.com.au/
Statement about wins at the Endeavour Awards and Prospect Awards, held this year
https://www.coolon.com.au/news/winner-winner
Interview with Permezel in @AuManufacturing from June
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/celebrating-australian-made-lighting-innovator-looks-to-defence-iot-to-continue-expansion
List of Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards (Coolon won the Leader in Industry 4.0 category)
https://business.vic.gov.au/grants-and-programs/victorian-manufacturing-hall-of-fame
In episode ten of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Peter Torreele, founder and Managing Director of 3RT, a company that has developed automated machines for converting wood industry residue into products that look and feel like 100-year-old hardwood.
Peter is an engineer, economist and marketer by training and has worked at various manufacturing companies, as well spent five years as managing director of the World Economic Forum.
He shares 3RT’s story with us, which he began with a few insights into the flooring industry and built into a technology company which seems poised to make its mark on the world.
Last month 3RT announced that German chemical industry giant Henkel's venture division made an unspecified investment, which Peter said "will assist in turbocharging our technological advancements and global expansion.”
As well as Henkel, 3RT has developed its technology with the help of strategic partnerships with Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions and Flinders University.
Peter also shares some thoughts on what he believes innovation is, the importance of a networking approach to manufacturing, and why Australian companies need to better adopt a value-adding mindset.
Thanks for downloading this episode. If you enjoy the conversation and you haven’t already, please subscribe, leave a review via the podcast platform of your choice, and help us spread the word.
Episode guide
2:10 -- Company origin story plus professional background.
4:55 -- The types of wood waste that can be used.
6:50 -- R&D at the company, plus the differences between innovation versus optimisation.
10:52 -- Investment by Henkel Tech Ventures. Some explanations on strategy and partnerships.
12:20 -- Three distinctive phases: R&D, prototyping, and scaling. And why the Australian R&D tax incentive is "a godsend" for small companies.
14:30 -- More data = better wood.
16:40 -- The huge importance of market feedback in product development.
19 -- The more you dig into an industry, the more you appreciate its complexity.
20:50 -- "If there's one thing I learned at the World Economic Forum in my five years..."
23:30 -- It's not about machines, but about solutions.
25:50 -- Australian manufacturing must develop a value-adding mindset.
28:40 -- European expansion.
29:30 -- Curiosity and networking are the keys to innovation.
Relevant links
3RT's website
3rt.com.au
Article in The Lead South Australia from 2020 on 3RT's partnership with Bosch and Flinders University
https://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/industries/manufacturing/bosch-deal-fast-tracks-smartwood-technology/
@AuManufacturing story on the recent Henkel investment
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/henkel-takes-stake-in-recycled-wood-innovator-3rt
Interview with Torreele in @AuManufacturing published December 2021
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/leadership-in-factory-automation-wood-from-waste-for-a-world-market
In episode nine of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Dr Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre.
Goennemann tells us about Australia’s slide downwards in the latest Economic Complexity Index rankings, compiled by Harvard’s Growth Lab, which were released a couple of weeks ago and based on 2020 trade data.
Economic complexity looks at the sophistication and diversity of a country’s exported goods, and requires a country to have built up a store of productive knowledge to rank highly.
An analogy sometimes used is the letters in a scrabble rack. A good diversity of tiles raises the possibility of creating higher-scoring words, but being lumped with a bunch of the same ones is limiting.
Australia’s scrabble rack looks pretty poorly according to the recent rankings. We're placed 91st, sitting between Kenya and Namibia, reflecting a dependence on digging and shipping raw materials without adding much value to them.
Goennemann tells us why Australia can’t coast on its resources forever, why manufacturing is the answer, and a few other things, such as his view on how balanced the level of support for fundamental versus applied research is in Australia’s innovation ecosystem.
Thanks for downloading this episode. If you enjoy the conversation, please subscribe, leave a review via the podcast platform of your choice, and help us spread the word.
Episode guide
1:40 – Professional and personal background.
2:42 – Our economic complexity and why it matters.
3:40 – High economic complexity countries and what we can learn from them.
4:50 – We need to understand what manufacturing is, and where the value is added within manufacturing.
6:20 – The structure of Australian manufacturing and the need to have stable, long-term policies to support it.
9:20 – A disagreement over research excellence at the Innovation Papers Live event.
11:42 – There are advocates for universities, but not many for those trying to commercialise university research.
14:30 – What are the opportunities to build scale in Australian manufacturing?
16 – Why we should view manufacturing as a capability rather than a sector
Relevant links
AMGC's website
www.amgc.org.au
Selected articles by Jens published at @AuManufacturing
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/from-one-economist-to-another-manufacturing-needs-to-be-understood-not-saved
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/look-west-for-how-to-build-on-luck
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/because-they-are-hard
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/the-game-changes-the-name-doesnt
Article from Harvard about the recent rankings, and drawing a link between countries lifting their complexity and higher predicted growth.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/newsplus/harvard-growth-lab-projects-fastest-growing-economies-to-2030/
Australia's profile at Harvard's Atlas of Economic Complexity
(note both the low complexity ranking and predicted growth rankings.)
https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/countries/14
In episode eight of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Dr Shafali Gupta and Andy Epifani, the co-founders and co-CEOs of Uuvipak.
The cell biologist and the software engineer met last year and are commercialising a novel food waste-based solution, turning grain and beverage industry waste into single-use plastic substitutes that are home-compostable.
And here’s the kicker – you can eat their cups and bowls when you’re done with them.
Shafali and Andy are in the Ocean Impact Accelerator's current cohort, and are preparing to launch a Kickstarter this month followed by a capital raise later in the year.
Episode guide:
1:20 – Origin story. Targeting landfill, emissions, and plastics through their product.
3:15 – Previous business (Andy) and leaving the lab (Shafali.)
5:18 – Adapting compression moulding to transform food and beverage waste. Starting with edible plastics.
7:02 – Types of waste used.
7:35 – What does it taste like?
8 – Changing laws around cups with plastic liners.
10:10 – What logistics will look like with grocers and grain producers.
11:20 – R&D. Teaming up with Dr Vassilis Kontogiorgos of University of Queensland to be able to use a broader range of waste materials.
12:04 – Choosing to manufacture in-house rather than use a contract manufacturer.
13:58 – What they are learning from accelerator programs.
14:04 – Planned capital raise this year and Great Wrap’s recent Series A round.
15:07 – “There is something missing in Australia.”
17:10 – Australian Made.
17:40 – Upcoming Kickstarter.
Relevant links
Uvipak's website
https://uuvipak.com/
Ocean Impact's 2022 cohort
https://www.ocean-impact.org/accelerator-program-2022-cohort
Story about Great Wrap's $24 million Series A round in July
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/bioplastics-company-wraps-up-24-million-series-a
In episode seven of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Shay Chalmers, founder of Strategic Engineering and director at a collection of private and public entities, most of them to do with manufacturing in some way.
Shay describes herself as "believing in the power of collaboration to drive positive social change, especially as the global manufacturing community works towards a carbon neutral future."
1:20 -- A potted biography
2:20 -- Recent visit to Austin, Houston and Washington as part of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue
7:00 -- Australian and US cultural differences in manufacturing, what we can learn from their fearlessness, and why we need to do a better job talking ourselves up
11:45 -- Current work at Strategic Engineering, the moves being seen among local manufacturers to de-risk their supply chains, address labour shortages, and scale up
1420 -- Beginning a PhD this year to build on and "Australianise" international research for our particular cultural situation
17:40 -- The freeze on Modern Manufacturing Initiative grants and what this looks like for Turbine, planned as "Australia’s first purpose built, end-to-end food and beverage manufacturing and education precinct"
23:20 -- What happens when you offshore, failures in IP transfer across countries, and why there's "a lot of magic in manufacturing" that gets lost
27:40 -- Industry policy, why grants aren't always the answer, how the government can share risk, and the power of procurement
31:18 -- Why we need to talk more, and to celebrate both successes and failures
Relevant linksShay's website
https://www.shaychalmers.com/
Some articles by Shay published at @AuManufacturing
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/perception-versus-the-reality-of-manufacturing-by-shay-chalmers
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/a-new-deal-for-manufacturing-a-strategy-to-support-a-new-era-in-australian-manufacturing-by-shay-chalmers
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/how-we-can-achieve-net-zero-manufacturing
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/vanadium-flow-battery-pilot-opens-doors-for-manufacturers-by-shay-chalmers
The Turbine Precinct's website
https://turbine.org.au/
Article in create about collaboration between industry and public researchers
https://createdigital.org.au/how-can-we-bridge-the-gap-between-university-research-and-private-business-in-australia/
In episode six of @AuManufacturing Conversations with Brent Balinski, we speak to Jess Hodge, co-founder at the husband-and-wife-led startup Resourceful Living.
Resourceful Living gives discarded PE plastics many more years of usefulness as products including home signage, office furniture and more.
The Hodges were inspired to start their recycling business by a sunrise walk along a beach on their Thailand honeymoon. After a bit of saving, they eventually began Resourceful Living in 2021, with an official launch in October.
Their company has been nominated for Outstanding Startup at the upcoming Hunter Manufacturing Awards.
Relevant linksResourceful Living's website
resourcefulliving.com.au
TV news story from NBN News that ran in June
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2022/06/14/the-hunter-business-transforming-plastic-waste-into-functional-household-items/
The Hunter Manufacturing Awards website
https://www.hma.org.au/
In episode five of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Brent speaks to Catie Fry, founder and Master Distiller at Clovendoe, a Gold Coast-based distillery with a difference.
Catie’s career in the drinks business began with a gin and rum enterprise that she, her husband and some friends opened in Rockhampton in 2016. It was before the current explosion in popularity for no-alcohol beverages, but the number of designated drivers visiting their establishment on the Bruce Highway, and the shortage of femininity at the workplace, prompted her to leave and start Clovendoe.
The female-owned and operated Clovendoe is run from the Gold Coast by Catie and her long-time friend Sarah Bendy. According to the company it is Australia's first low- and no-alcohol distillery.
Catie tells us why she believes the current boom in alcohol-free drinks won’t turn into a bust, considering halal customers as part of the company’s inclusivity ethos, not trying to go too big too soon when offering a premium, artisanal product, the gender imbalance in manufacturing, and more.
**Relevant links
"Manufacturing leaders call for more women to join their ranks", Australian Financial Reviewhttps://www.afr.com/companies/manufacturing/manufacturing-leaders-call-for-more-women-to-join-their-ranks-20220717-p5b26u
Clovendoe's page
https://clovendoe.com/pages/our-story
IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, released in February 2021, on the growth of the no- and low-alcohol products. Worth 3 per cent of the total beverage alcohol market in 2020; "total volume is forecasted to grow by +31% by 2024"
https://www.theiwsr.com/wp-content/uploads/IWSR_No-and-Low-Alcohol-Gains-Share-Within-Total-Beverage-Alcohol-2021.pdf
In episode four of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Brent speaks to John Mellowes, CEO of PyroAg Wood Vinegar and Director at Biocarbon.
We learn some of the fundamentals of pyrolysis and its products -- such as biochar, wood vinegar and syngas -- when used to decompose biomass.
John tells us about the potential of wood vinegar, also known as pyroligneous acid, which PyroAg makes. PyroAg has worked with University of Newcastle researchers over the last few years on the product to understand its safeness and benefits in soil biological health.
We also get an update on Biocarbon’s work creating and incorporating biochar briquettes in electric arc furnace steelmaking with Molycop. The work is being scaled up and if successful could be used to replace coking coal.
Relevant links
@AuManufacturing article on the Biocarbon/Molycop project
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/startup-wants-to-help-steelmakers-kick-their-coke-habit
@AuManufacturing article on biochar
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/biochar-an-ancient-waste-to-value-product
PyroAg's website
https://www.pyroag.com/
A research paper published this year:
"Effect of Pyroligneous Acid on the Microbial Community Composition and Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) in Soils"
http://www.pyroag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PyroAg_soilsystems_PA-on-PGPB.pdf
In episode three of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Brent speaks to Jon Bulman, Director of Manufacturing at the greatest Australian manufacturer you’ve never heard of, Finisar.
We featured a story this week on our recent visit to Finisar’s Rosebery factory, a few kilometres south of Sydney’s CBD. As promised, here is the extended interview that informed that story.
Jon talks us through his career in high-tech electronics after moving here in 1994 from London, assembling Wavelength Selective Switches and the complex supply chain that feeds into this, the team of 250 at Rosebery, how skills shortage and supply chain issues have affected the company in recent times, and what he sees as a resurgence in high-tech manufacturing in Australia.
Relevant linksA story on Finisar on @AuManufacturing
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/the-sydney-factory-with-a-hand-in-half-the-worlds-internet-traffic
Federal department of industry story on Finisar's winning the Prime Minister's Prize For Innovation in 2018
https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-10/2018-prime-ministers-prize-for-innovation-the-finisar-team.pdf
Prototype devices from the Powerhouse Museum collection and article from 2011 describing Engana's origin story and technology
https://collection.maas.museum/object/418990
Finisar WSS's website
https://finisarwss.com/
In the second episode of Conversations, Brent speaks to Henry Bilinsky (no relation), the founder and CEO of MicroTau.
Henry founded his company in 2016 after proposing an approach he calls “Nature’s 3D printer” in response to a US Air Force challenge to reduce fuel use for transport aircraft.
Out of nearly 300 entries, his idea to improve fuel efficiency -- which creates a surface like shark’s skin for the outside of a plane -- made the final ten. Then it was one of only three from those awarded proof of concept funding.
MicroTau has been quietly refining its technology since through developmental grants from the US Air Force and others, and last month completed a seed fund round of $5.6 million led by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Henry tells us about the science behind making a surface rougher with "riblets" to go faster, progress so far, how their new spin on photopolymer 3D printing can borrow from bugs and animals, the path to certification, and more.
Relevant links@AuManufacturing news story about CEFC's investment
https://www.aumanufacturing.com.au/microtau-receives-2-m-cefc-investment-to-develop-shark-inspired-coating-for-planes-and-ships
MicroTau's explanation of its approach
https://www.microtau.com.au/technology
NASA article on riblets, developed for the US team that reclaimed the America's Cup from Australia
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20020087761
University of Sydney news story from 2017 about the about the Air Force challenge, Bilinsky's invention, and his background in physics
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/06/29/us-air-force-energy-use-efficiency-bolstered-by-our-graduate.html
In the first episode, Brent speaks to Jo Murphy, Owner of EFC Manufacturing Co since 2019.
Jo is the third owner of the company, which has made the Eezy Fabric Comb/Original Fabric Comb since the 1970s. Each comb is still made using the original machinery and tooling, and no two are exactly alike.
Jo tells us about how she came to be custodian of an Australian invention with oodles of heritage following a career in the fashion industry and her recovery from a health scare, the team of nine or so Australian suppliers that contribute to her product, being involved in "micro-micro manufacturing", the joy and the imperfection attached to handmade goods, and more.
Relevant links
Article from @AuManufacturing's Celebrating Australian Made editorial series www.aumanufacturing.com.au/celebrating-australian-made-a-story-with-teeth
EFC's website
www.theoriginalfabriccomb.com
A TV ad for Eezy from 1984
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBgZbJoyop8
The page for the Eezy Fabric Comb at Australian Made
https://australianmade.com.au/licensees/the-original-fabric-comb/eezy-fabric-comb
The company's Instagram page
www.instagram.com/theoriginalfabriccomb