June 2018

By Albert Palazzo The world is on the cusp of a new industrial age—the fourth. As with previous industrial ages, those who embrace it first stand to become the dominant powers of the future and will seize the right to set the rules that define the age. Those that are late to the party will struggle to secure their place and avoid a decline into humanity’s future backwaters. Australia has a choice to make: whether to undergo the social, political and cultural disruption that will result from the embrace of emerging technologies, or to continue to support an economy based on the status quo. In making this choice, Australia will also determine its security future. One of the likely changes of the fourth industrial age to which Australia will need to adapt is the decline in relative value of primary resources and manufactured goods compared to information. The rapid growth of additive manufacturing (3D printing) demonstrates this point. 3D factories, using very few staff, are coming into existence. These factories have certain advantages over current means of production. Being additive, 3D printers are very efficient and require less feed stock—iron ore for example—than traditional subtractive manufacturing. They can also be located anywhere, and be arrayed as individual units or in their thousands. That will promote distributed manufacturing. Many countries in Asia, including China, have chosen to lift their people out of poverty by becoming the manufacturer to the ‘Walmarts’ of the world. That model will come undone when every Australian, European, American and even Asian home has a 3D printer with which families can print whatever they want, from food to high-quality clothes and beyond. Value will cease to reside in the product, but will be found in the design. And as the economic foundations of the developing world fail, instability and social collapse […]

Mr Rustin Dring  A Sales and Marketing Business Leader with extensive international experience in channel management and new product innovation has been appointed to head the Australasian operations of globally successful high-pressure hydraulic tools manufacturer – Enerpac. Mr Rustin Dring will lead Enerpac’s long-established teams in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea as they introduce a stream of new product, technology, services and distributor support initiatives. Under Dring’s leadership, Enerpac will be looking to expand their value proposition to distributors and end-users by offering world class customer support for high-pressure hydraulic tools, controlled force products and solutions for precise positioning of heavy loads. Mr Dring – BsC, MBA and a member of Enerpac’s Global Leadership Team – takes overall responsibility as the General Manager of Enerpac Australia and New Zealand. He will manage the introduction of several new product platforms, new strategic initiatives, and drive regional expansion while continuing to evaluate the best way to support Enerpac’s customers and distributors in Australasia. “This is an exciting time to be leading the highly experienced Enerpac commercial and operations teams. We will be working very closely with our strong distribution network to bring new and innovative ideas to the market and back them up with the world class support known by our customers from around the world. As we continue to push the envelope of new product innovation we always keep a keen focus on the safety, productivity and durability of our world class products and solutions, in areas such as: Safety – several new Enerpac product designs incorporate lighter weight materials, reduced sound and vibration levels, improved operator feedback, and testing to the highest level of safety standards. Productivity – Enerpac tools are more efficient through our designs and various new technologies. We look to eliminate wasted time from our […]