Business

Aussie manufacturers cracking US market

A growing number of South Australian manufacturers are expanding their footprint into the United States on the back of renewed interest in American and European markets. Global engineering companies, tech firms and manufacturing businesses based out of the Tonsley Innovation District in Adelaide, South Australia are among those broadening their reach across the Pacific and opening offices in cities across the United States. XFrame managing director Carsten Dethlefsen said they launched in the US last year at NeoCon in Chicago, one of the country’s largest commercial furniture conferences. Without using a single nail or screw, the Tonsley-based business has invented a system of interlocking plywood that can be used to build shelters, office pods and studios. “Within two weeks of that conference we had projects on our books,” Dethlefsen said. “We delivered those projects within four weeks of that, so speed to market there. The type of clients I think caught us a little by surprise as well.” A phone booth made by XFrame, which can be easily disassembled and moved. Dethlefsen said there was a “big appetite” for their work post-COVID-19 because many offices needed reconfiguring. Their product allows companies to change their fit-out down the track without costly renovations. Dethlefsen said construction of trade show booths and retail display stands were in hot demand. As a result, the company now has manufacturing partners in Michigan, Oregon, and Grand Junction, Colorado. He said companies also wanted XFrame to build ancillary housing units to meet the huge demand for housing in the US. “The booth we did for that conference was all manufactured in the States, so we used local manufacturing, local supply chains and local labour. “We designed it up, sent it across the desert, they cut the components delivered to our team, they pre-assembled it and stood it up in the […]

Company Profile: Viatris

Viatris is a new kind of global healthcare company whose mission is to empower people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life by expanding access to medicines regardless of geography or circumstance; advancing responsible, sustainable operations and targeted innovation to improve patient health; and leveraging its collective expertise to connect more people to more products and services. Viatris has scientific, manufacturing and distribution expertise with proven regulatory, medical and global commercial capabilities to deliver high-quality medicines to patients in more than 165 countries and territories. Viatris Australia is one of the leading suppliers of medicines to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, currently with 43 out of the top 50 PBS products distributed by volume being a Viatris medicine. Their broad portfolio ranges from iconic brands, generic, complex generic and branded medicines, biosimilars and over-the-counter products across more than 10 major therapeutic areas. In November, Viatris will be celebrating their second anniversary, following the combination of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn business. In Australia the manufacturing facility at Carole Park has been operational for 40 years – growing from 6 employees to over 600. Viatris is a global pharmaceutical and healthcare corporation headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The company has local offices in both Australia and New Zealand. In 2021, Viatris sold more than 80 billion doses of medicine worldwide and reached approximately 90% of low- and lower-middle-income countries with approximately 7.7 billion doses of medicine. In Australia the world class manufacturing facility at Carole Park, Queensland, exports medicine to more than 40 countries. Viatris produces approximately 3 billion doses of medicine every year in approximately 450 different formulations and with the opening of the new manufacturing suite, this will increase to approximately 4 billion doses of medicine every year. Sylvain Vigneault, Country Manager (pictured), believes that Viatris is in a really […]

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Keeping blackouts at bay

On June 15 this year, Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) suspended trading across the country’s east coast electricity power network as it faced an increasingly volatile situation. AEMO was set up in 2009 and this is the first time the operator took such drastic action across the entire network that it manages. There has been much debate and discussion on the causes ranging from the onset of winter to the war in Ukraine and maintenance shutdowns at power stations. While policy makers, regulators and power generators grapple with the situation, consumers are being asked to better manage their consumption. The conversation is evolving from generating more energy to better managing the energy we produce. With domestic consumption, energy transmission terminates at the premises of the end consumer. In the current situation, a lot is being asked of this often-neglected group. They are being requested to reduce consumption by shutting down appliances in certain times or use them outside peak periods. Customers have also been warned about potential blackouts. Current policies around demand management are focused on industrial plants and other large energy consumers, and these are governed by clear policies and processes. Consumers meanwhile are bracing themselves for energy price hikes and power cuts. Fortunately, technology has advanced and, when implemented, can give consumers more visibility and control over their energy usage. A good example is Sense, which has developed AI that runs on smart meters. Over two million Sense-enabled meters have been announced in the US and this technology is now coming to Australia. Their machine-learning algorithms can assess domestic electricity right down to the appliance level in real time. According to a directions paper released by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), only 25 per cent of premises in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT […]

Victorian opposition recognises gas for cleaner energy future

Australia’s oil and gas industry has noted the return of a balanced discussion about Victorian energy policy, with recognition from the State Opposition that natural gas is central to the cleaner energy future. The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) today said Opposition Leader Matthew Guy’s pledge to end natural gas bans and use the energy source to replace coal and partner with renewables on the road to net zero was a sensible position backed by experts. APPEA Chief Executive Samantha McCulloch said: “This position understands the fundamental energy system changes occurring globally – with natural gas widely acknowledged to have a central, and even wider, role in the future energy mix than it does today. “Natural gas will replace higher emitting coal and firm renewable power generation, support manufacturing, help make everyday products as well as act as a feedstock for hydrogen. “As the Federal Government’s special adviser on low emissions technology, former chief scientist Dr Alan Finkel, said recently, gas can even speed up the journey to a cleaner energy future.” Ms McCulloch said Mr Guy had called out the untenable position of Victoria relying heavily on coal-powered electricity while having minimal onshore gas production because of a decade of development bans, which have deprived Victorians of the cheapest gas available to them. “Victorians currently pay $2 extra for every gigajoule of gas to be transported from Queensland under this policy, which ignores the fundamental rule that the cheapest gas is the gas produced closest to the customer,” she said. “The industry has announced over $20 billion of new supply investments over the past two years. But little of that has been in Victoria because of a decade of uncertainty, moratoriums and bans. We need certainty and the investment policy settings to be right. “As well as […]

Freightlancer and Loadshift merge

Leading Australian heavy haulage marketplaces Freightlancer and Loadshift today announced an official merger. Both platforms will merge under the Loadshift banner, forming Australia’s largest transport marketplace which has delivered over 125 million kilometers of freight across Australia in the last 12 months. The merger will transform Loadshift from a simple membership-based bulletin board to a full marketplace for freight, and in the process of doing so introduces a 3% (for shippers) 10% (for carriers) commission-based model for non members. “Merging our freight division into one marketplace is a significant milestone for the business. Combining the two platforms will give our carriers more opportunities to find loads, while offering shippers access to more carriers across Australia. The new platform will also provide our users with new features which will enhance the shipper and carrier experience,” said Matt Barrie, Executive Chairman at Freightlancer. For carriers, the new marketplace platform will offer more access to freight, secure payment options, shipper transparency, invoice financing powered by Butn and an internal messaging platform which will offer direct quoting. As for shippers, the new features will provide enhanced carrier reviews which will improve the vetting process and managed services offerings including freight operations and project management. “Whilst the new platform will be a new experience for members, we have still kept the core principles of connecting shippers and carriers across the country. We have, however, introduced enhancements which will improve the overall user experience and offer carriers an additional level of safety and reliability when transporting loads. The added vetting features will be crucial to ensure shippers are finding quality, reliable carriers,“ said Drew Davis, General Manager at Loadshift. Founded in 2007, Loadshift was designed to solve the issue of trucks running with empty trailers by connecting shippers and carriers around Australia. According to a recent […]

Transforming Australia’s supply chains with knowledge graphs

By Dr. Maya Natarajan, Senior Director, Knowledge Graphs, Neo4j Since the onset of the pandemic, global supply chains have suffered unprecedented disruptions. Volatility in supply and demand, as well as route restrictions, have caused catastrophic breakdowns. Critical supply chains that should be resilient with ample redundancy built in have instead been revealed to be highly vulnerable. A Dun & Bradstreet study found that 163 Fortune 1000 companies had Tier 1 suppliers impacted and 938 had Tier 2 supplier impacted by the pandemic. According to Capgemini research, 74% of supply chain companies faced a shortage of critical parts and materials, and 68% had products held up in ports or across borders. Similarly in Australia, according the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), over a third (37 per cent) of all businesses experienced supply chain disruptions in February 2022. The survey found the most common supply chain issue facing businesses was domestic and international delivery delays (88 per cent), while 80 per cent had supply constraints and 75 per cent had seen increased prices (including transport costs). A key reason is the vast complexity of global supply chains. With so many different links in terms of sources, suppliers and routes they are highly multi-dimensional, making it extremely difficult to get visibility through traditional methods. Without visibility, it’s very hard to find redundancies in terms of alternate routes and suppliers. The need for supply chain visibility To be resilient, supply chains need to be visible. As McKinsey notes, one way to build long-term supply chain resilience is to construct a digital twin: “a virtual replica of a business’s operation that allows companies to simulate how a product, process, or service will perform before it is implemented in the real world.” Essentially, supply chains are all about understanding networks and dependencies. So, data that’s usually in different data stores, such as […]

Study paves way for architectural use of end-of-life tyres

A new study by The University of South Australia has tested and verified the structural integrity of walls constructed from tyres packed with earth, with the results potentially providing new opportunities for the reuse of end-of-life tyres in the construction industry. Tyre waste represents a major sustainability challenge globally, with Australia alone generating an average of 55 million (450,000 tonnes) end-of-life tyres each year. While earth-packed tyre walls have been used in niche construction scenarios for decades, there has previously been no strong empirical data available to support their use, a fact that has limited their wider uptake by architects and engineers. Supported by Tyre Stewardship Australia, a UniSA team consisting of Yachong Xu, Martin Freney, Reza Hassanli, Yan Zhuge, Mizanur Rahman and Rajibul Karim, has rigorously assessed the structural integrity of a test tyre wall to examine how the structure performed under various stressors. According to Dr Martin Freney, the wall proved to be as structurally sound as conventional walls used in residential applications. “The wall we tested was the first of its kind to be scientifically tested in this fashion, and all the data indicates tyre walls can be extremely strong and safe structures,” Dr Freney says. “While that structural integrity has been observed for many years in applications such as the retaining walls in earth-sheltered, Earthship homes, the lack of supporting data has prevented wider uptake of tyre walls by engineers and architects, and we’re hoping this study will change that and expand the range of projects in which these walls are used.” In considering expanded uses for tyre walls, Dr Freney suggests several unique characteristics of the structures may offer benefits over some traditional building approaches, particularly for retaining walls. “Not only are the tyre walls as structurally sound as concrete or wood sleeper retaining […]

Aus Steel selects SYSPRO Cloud ERP to drive efficiencies

Australia’s number one residential steel frame supplier, Aus Steel has selected global Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) specialist, SYSPRO, to help the company drive efficiencies in its build process and improve the scheduling of its precision engineered frames. Headquartered in Cameron Park in Newcastle, Aus Steel has been an innovator in the residential steel frame and truss industry since 1992. The company produces custom frames with cutting edge technology using the highest quality G550 steel on its roll form machines. ⁠Aus Steel has seen unprecedented growth due to the residential property boom. The increased demand has resulted in two new production sites in Crestmead in Brisbane and Goulburn in New South Wales, with more sites planned along the east coast of Australia. “We’ve spent years perfecting our steel frame system and we’re constantly looking for ways to evolve and improve the total build process to make it more efficient. We have ambitious plans to grow the business further, so we’ve looked at innovative ways to improve our manufacturing and achieve our vision of challenging the way Australia builds,” said Lewis Onley, Chief Operating Officer at Aus Steel. Aus Steel took the decision to implement a cloud-based ERP system to replace its manual systems which are currently based on unlinked databases and Excel spreadsheets. The company looked at several options in the market and then shortlisted three ERP systems. “We ultimately selected SYSPRO Cloud ERP due to its superior manufacturing capabilities complete with advanced planning and scheduling through the SYSPRO MOM (Manufacturing Operations Management) system as well as the team’s deep understanding of manufacturing and Aus Steel’s specific needs,” said Onley. SYSPRO will be implemented across Aus Steel’s core business processes including Manufacturing, Distribution and Finance and will enable the Aus Steel team to efficiently schedule production processes, provide more accurate costing information to clients […]

Digitally lead supply chain resilience

By Scott Philbrook, MD ANZ, RS Components With pandemic subsiding and being seen as a situation we will have to live with for many years, the economy is now shifting back towards growth. Many manufacturers are seeking to invest in order to position themselves to manage increased demand: supply chain resilience is an integral piece of the puzzle they will have to get right. In the next 3-4 years, fluctuating internal costs, increased competition, and demand variability will all be factors that manufacturers will need to manage. Manufacturers in 2022 will need to maintain flexibility in their supply chains, with the ability to shift dynamically to cater for volatile shifts in demand. An obvious example of this scenario is the spike in domestic toilet paper demand, with manufacturers having to rapidly cater for a hike in domestic demand, whilst shifting production away from commercial. This is an example where suppliers were not agile enough to cater for demand, and in an unpredictable global geopolitical environment, manufacturers will need flexibility and resilience in their supply chain to cater for rapidly changing market circumstances. Manufacturers that have invested in digital capabilities are likely to be well placed in 2022 and beyond. RS Components have evolved their sales channels heavily towards digital technology. Manufacturers looking to 2023 and beyond are investing in data capture and dashboarding, and evolutional capabilities such as artificial intelligence (AI) based forecasting and predictive maintenance, and data driven dynamic optimisation that drives organisational priorities. The analytics behind data forecasting gives manufacturers insights that will improve sales, shipment, pricing, and time to market. They can use these analytics to improve transportation costs and create scenario planning to future proof their supply chain. Manufacturers that will thrive in uncertain economic times will be those with a digital first approach to their […]

Made in Australia – Kickstarting a resilient local IT Supply Chain is critical

-Phil Straw, CEO, SoftIron The world has been through a fundamentally transformative time that has demonstrated the fragility of supply chains. Talk to anyone you know in any field, and virtually everyone is dealing with issues of a supply chain that is struggling. This is true for Australia, but also the world at large. SoftIron is a company working to bring sovereign resilience to Australia where mission-critical data infrastructure is concerned. Whether it’s transportation, food, medical facilities, or critical supplies, computers have become the critical infrastructure for virtually every industry that enables the way we live. It’s imperative that data infrastructure be readily available, regardless of geopolitical events disrupting supply chains; and governments and industry leaders operating in today’s climate must start paying more attention to this matter for their longevity. SoftIron is currently in the process of establishing a local manufacturing facility and audit centre equipped to deliver critical data infrastructure for Australia and the region at large. It will be the first-ever base-level computer manufacturing facility on Australian soil – a game-changer. We are funding this facility, in part, via a Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority Grant from the Department of Defence, complemented with an initial investment on our part of around AUS$2M. We believe we can uniquely contribute to the security of Australia’s Critical Infrastructure and Systems of National Significance in very substantive ways. We liken the current global situation to a detrimental “addiction” that had not only become practical, but unavoidable. The addiction of which I speak is the IT industry’s current reliance on cheap technology design, supply and manufacturing from foreign nations, including China. While things were great for a period of time, events like COVID-19 have sounded the alarm bells about the necessity of sovereign capability in building critical infrastructure. In the aftermath of this […]

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