Australian manufacturers are facing their biggest energy risk in decades – Most haven’t noticed yet
By Jonathan Pooch Let me be direct: most Australian manufacturers are carrying a significant energy risk right now, and most of them don’t know it. That world of low, stable energy prices where energy sat in the engineering manager’s inbox and not the boardroom is gone. And the organisations that […]
Wind and Transmission Towers a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity for Australian Manufacturing
Weld Australia says renewable infrastructure build-out can unlock jobs, capability and regional industrial growth Weld Australia has welcomed growing momentum behind domestic wind and transmission tower manufacturing, describing it as one of the most significant industrial opportunities available to Australia’s fabrication, steel and manufacturing sectors. The Federal […]
Cooling is becoming the constraint: how data centre design is changing under pressure
Data centres have traditionally been designed with a focus on compute capacity, with cooling treated as a supporting system that can be scaled as needed. That assumption no longer holds. As demand for data processing continues to grow, driven by cloud services and artificial intelligence, cooling is becoming a primary […]
Power surge: Deakin study finds sharing energy cuts costs and boosts fairness
Australia’s first-ever large-scale randomised control trial exploring a new technology that enables households and small businesses to buy and sell solar and battery power, has found to have increased access to solar and battery use, lower electricity prices, and encourage greater perceptions of a fairer energy system. The Virtual Energy […]
Fuji SMBE Macquarie and New Edge Group deliver critical electrical infrastructure for major fulfilment centre
Fuji SMBE Macquarie and New Edge Group have collaborated to deliver critical electrical infrastructure to a major new fulfilment centre in Western Sydney, NSW. This project is the first of two new fulfilment centres being built, with $490 million being invested across both facilities. This first facility spans 80,000 square […]
Adelaide Manufacturing and Innovation to Take Centre Stage at ROKLive 2026
Key sponsor Business Events Adelaide supports the future of industrial automation ROKLive 2026 will build on the success of ROKLive 2025 (pictured) on the Gold Coast, which saw more than 900 problem solvers come together for keynotes, training, networking and a showcase of the latest industrial automation technologies. Rockwell Automation, […]
Boresight lists on ASX
Boresight Ltd (ASX: BST), an Australian defence-technology company specialising in low-cost aerial target drones for counter-drone training, today commences trading on the Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney, following a strongly supported $8 million initial public offering. Managing Director and CEO Justin Olde says, “A lot of people have put in a […]
Engineers explore pneumatic air spring actuation for 30-40 per cent boost to outputs of industrial energy and rural solar farms
Urban business including commercial, manufacturing and processing plants have been quick to recognise the cost efficiencies of solar power Australia is on track for 82% renewable energy by 2030, according to the Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water. This doubling of green energy’s share of the […]
Agricultural spraying specialist HARDI curtails downtime and wear with robust LAPP cable harnesses
LAPP cable harnessing solutions built for harsh Australian environments are delivering durability, traceability, and reliability benefits to agricultural spraying equipment specialist, HARDI. Agricultural spraying equipment specialist HARDI is using robust, traceable, and fit-for-purpose cable harnessing solutions from LAPP Australia to reduce downtime, improve reliability, and extend equipment longevity. […]
The future of distribution depends on AI upskilling
By Geoff Thomas, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, Infor Australia’s manufacturing sector is at a critical crossroads. Rising energy costs, economic shifts and workforce shortages have challenged the industry to remain competitive. On the brighter side, government initiatives and technological innovation have been driving a transformation. In particular, AI has transitioned from a tool […]
Streamlining the onboarding process amidst high manufacturing turnover
Andy Nicholas, WorkJam The manufacturing industry continues to navigate a highly active and turbulent labour market. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, job vacancies across Australia have remained elevated in recent years, with hundreds of thousands of roles unfilled – including persistent shortages across manufacturing and logistics. However, keeping the […]
Australian Made Week puts manufacturing in economic spotlight
Australia needs to continue building domestic manufacturing capability says Earlypay CEO James Beeson. Australian Made Week which begins Monday (18th) puts Australia’s manufacturing sector firmly in the spotlight at a time when many business and government leaders believe the country needs to rebuild local capability, strengthen supply chains and invest […]
Australian manufacturers are facing their biggest energy risk in decades – Most haven’t noticed yet
By Jonathan Pooch Let me be direct: most Australian manufacturers are carrying a significant energy risk right now, and most of them don’t know it. That world of low, stable energy prices where energy sat in the engineering manager’s inbox and not the boardroom is gone. And the organisations that haven’t updated their thinking are the ones most exposed to what’s coming. The federal government’s Demand Side Statement of Opportunities (DSOO) is a signal worth paying attention to. The study, currently in development by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water with CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator, is expected to be released later this year. It will for the first time formally model the value of industrial energy users as active participants in managing the grid. The CSIRO’s FlexCost study alongside it puts a price on what it costs to incentivise businesses to flex their energy loads, shifting consumption to off-peak periods, storing heat or power for later use, responding dynamically to grid conditions. The first FlexCost report is due this quarter. This is a fundamental shift in how the energy system is being designed. And most manufacturers have no idea what it means for them. Here’s what it means. We are entering a new world of renewables, batteries, solar and electrification, and with it comes a significant and growing risk for manufacturers who haven’t started thinking strategically about energy. Gas prices are up. Price volatility is increasing. The grid is becoming more complex. And at some point, government funding becomes irrelevant, because the energy price itself will force decisions. The question is whether you’re making those decisions under pressure or whether you’ve already mapped your options and can move fast when the moment arrives. I’ve been in enough boardrooms to know that energy is […]