Company News

Construction is commencing on the world’s largest radio telescope today. Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony on Wajarri Yamaji Country, 800 kilometres north of Perth. An international collaboration of 16 countries, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will be the largest science facility on Earth, combining sister telescope sites in Australia and South Africa. Minister Husic said the project is an extraordinary feat of astronomy, scientific infrastructure and international cooperation. “This first-of-its-kind technology will allow astronomers to tackle fundamental scientific questions, ranging from the birth of the Universe to the origins of life,” he said. “We also expect the SKA to attract an estimated $1.8 billion in foreign income flows to Australia over its first 30 years and create around 350 medium-term jobs Minister Husic announced that the SKA Observatory had awarded contracts valued at over $320 million to Australian business Ventia to begin infrastructure projects on-site including power and fibre networks, and the construction of buildings for data processing equipment. “Australia’s membership of the SKA Observatory is not only good for industry today but will inspire generations of Australians to dream big and follow a career in STEM,” he said. “It will also provide an incredible platform for the nation to show our incredible scientific knowledge and research on the world stage.” Western Australia’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Science, Roger Cook MLA, said he was proud to support the SKA project and welcomed its global impact. “SKA-Low will be the world’s largest and most capable low-frequency radio telescope. Data collected in Western Australia will expand our very understanding of the universe and drive technological developments across the globe,” Deputy Premier Cook said. “Beyond the scientific benefits, the SKA project will provide jobs for engineers, scientists and technicians around the world, including in Western […]

Anthony Spadavecchia, Managing Director at BE Switchcraft. Tell us about BE Switchcraft? Based in Adelaide, BE Switchcraft has become one of South Australia’s leading electrical switchboard manufacturers. It also makes lighting control and room automation systems as well as energy management systems and provides specialist laser cutting and labelling services. For over 50 years, BE Switchcraft has designed and made electrical switchboards for many large building projects in Australia and across the region. The company has been involved in large projects for iconic buildings such as Parliament House, Canberra, the Adelaide Convention Centre, and the Port Moresby Football Stadium in Papua New Guinea. What industry and company-level challenges led to BE Switchcraft needing to transform its processes? As BE Switchcraft grew from manufacturing 100 switchboards per month to more than 200 each month, the company needed to find new ways to track, monitor and manage each of its projects, with the existing processes not set up for such high volumes. The production of switchboards requires many individual steps, and the management team needed full visibility into the respective step each project was up to in order to keep customers apprised of which stage of development their switchboards were at and to ensure they were being produced in accordance with customers’ requirements. How were you introduced to Zebra’s solutions? BE Switchcraft worked on enhancing its manufacturing processes with Datanet, a Zebra PartnerConnect business partner. After working with BE Switchcraft to understand the challenges it was trying to solve, Datanet introduced the company to Zebra’s radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions, which included Zebra’s FX 9600 fixed RFID readers, which were complemented by Zebra-compatible RFID antennas and an RFID label printer. How did you find the implementation process? Although the original manual process was initially replaced with a barcode scanning solution that ended […]

Collaboration will enable on-time successful launches to meet increased customer demand Rockwell Automation has been selected by theFord Motor Company as its vehicle operations primary controls and solutions provider for its next three electric vehicle assembly sites in the US. While electric vehicle adoption in Australia is still low compared to other countries, there has been a 65% rise in EV sales compared with 2021, according to the Australian Electric Vehicle Council. By jointly collaborating on assembly tooling designs and architectures that will increase speed to market, Rockwell can help machine builders to meet production customer demands and achieve on-time successful launches. “We are strengthening the commitment to build world class electric vehicles for the future and fortifying the relationship between Rockwell and Ford that has been in place for more than 75 years,” said Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation. “We look forward to working closely with Ford and its ecosystem over the next several years to accelerate business outcomes and advance the company’s position as a global leader in the electric vehicle market.” The announcement follows a recent Australian contract win with Latrobe Magnesium, where Rockwell Automation will supply the Process Control System (PCS) and Motor Control Centres (MCC) for the new demonstration plant located in Hazelwood North, Victoria. Latrobe Magnesium has developed an environmentally friendly, sustainable process to manufacture magnesium metal and other valuable saleable by-products. The lightweight metal is extensively used in the automotive and battery manufacturing industries. Latrobe Magnesium’s proprietary process converts nearly 100% of unwanted waste into valuable commodities with a very low carbon footprint impact.

What are your concerns regarding worksite safety? There has been a lot of discussion recently about scaffolding problems, particularly regarding missing ties. With different trades working on a build simultaneously, miscommunication can cause ties to be removed and not replaced, which is a major risk to the structural integrity of the scaffold. We’re also still seeing the problems associated with the use of non-fireproof cladding – five years on from the Grenfell Towers fire, we’ve realised just how prevalent the use of substandard products has been. While these issues have different causes, the underlying theme is the same – compliance (and lack thereof) across the industry. David Chandler, the NSW Building Commissioner, is committed to combating this issue, but it’s a big job. Are the issues widespread? Unfortunately, yes – non-compliance is an issue throughout the construction industry. Post-pandemic, we’re seeing more new developments than ever – due, in part, to the government’s increased spending to stimulate the economy. While construction for new infrastructure, as well as commercial and residential needs, is absolutely necessary to support Australia’s progress, corners are being cut. The manufacturing industry is still experiencing supply chain issues due to the effects of Covid-19; this, combined with cost increases across the sector is leading some contractors to make poor choices. In an effort to limit margin erosion and meet dates of completion, some choose non-compliant products, which not only impact the quality of the build, but safety. Are there significant numbers of building products affected? Yes, particularly regarding flammable cladding. Some states have begun schemes to replace this cladding, however the issue is so widespread that it will take 20 years to fix the issue – and many instances go unreported. The Grenfell Towers disaster reminds us of just how dire the consequences of the use of […]

By Matthew Addley, Industry Strategist – Manufacturing, Infor The semiconductor and chip shortage affecting the automotive and technology industries is likely to persist through to 2024, which means Australians will continue to face longer wait times for cars and tech products. Even though manufacturers are expanding chip production, and governments are increasing investments in semiconductor technology, the problem is unlikely to be resolved in the medium term, especially due to the long lead times and other production complexities. The ongoing disruption has turned the spotlight on supply chain vulnerabilities and its impact on everyday commodities – from mobile phones to automobiles. The growth of the global semiconductor industry in the last decade was driven by widespread technology adoption and the subsequent demand for microchips. However, a mismatch in supply and demand has decelerated growth in the past few years. The pandemic in particular led to automobile sales plummeting in 2020, which resulted in automakers cutting chip orders and moving production lines to meet demand for other applications. What they didn’t anticipate was a rapid rebound, which has left automakers struggling to meet existing demand. Despite the subdued outlook, local manufacturers can learn the lessons and build resilience to navigate future disruptions by: 1.     Leveraging data insights Many manufacturers still have a very siloed approach to running supply chains. The benefit of operating in a data-driven economy is that there are myriad tools that you can use to analyse information within the business to understand what to tackle first. Without actually re-engineering their products to use less chips or find a magical new source of that particular supply, manufacturers can adopt modern, data-driven processes that can help adapt to sudden changes. Modern cloud-deployed ERP solutions are invaluable to capture and track data throughout an organisation. 2.     Optimising supply chain agility Earlier this year, the […]