Company News

Tasmanian composites company gets entry to defence manufacturing

–Brent Balinski Good to see Penguin Composites get a contract to supply fibreglass parts for the Hawkei, following Quickstep’s decision to cancel (Quickstep refocussed this year, and glass fibre bonnets etc. were non-core business). I visited Penguin’s factory a couple years ago and owner John van der Woude told me they’d tried their hand manufacturing just about everything from dog wash trailers to caravans to septic tanks over the years. They started nearly four decades ago, making fibreglass canoes for outdoor enthusiasts. Like many in the north-west of Tassie, they were a supplier to Caterpillar Underground Mining, before Cat moved this manufacturing to Thailand, and were working out what they’d do to fill the gap. A lot of people think in terms of big shipyards or JSFs on runways when they think of our defence investment, but there’s a lot of mum and dad suppliers like Penguin, of course, that make a local defence industry possible.

Immersive booths to bring business expos to life

Technology that brings standard exhibition booths alive with video projections has launched this month. The immersive booth technology is the brainchild of Andy Roberts, the founder of Rogue Lumens, a technology company in Adelaide, South Australia. In a previous role, Roberts had travelled the world attending conferences and was constantly uninspired by the static displays of posters and logos on show. “At an exhibition in October 2016 I was standing there and it occurred to me that we could do a lot more in a booth by introducing new technology,” said Roberts. He first looked into incorporating augmented or virtual reality but found the technology was not ready for a mass market. “The uncomfortable interruption of having someone ask you to put something over your face in a crowded room is such that you just can’t do it. But we wanted to find a way we could produce an immersive type experience without having to interrupt someone naturally,” he said. Roberts and his team came up with a software program that allows projectors to seamlessly turn the three sides of a standard 9sq m booth into screens. “We built our own software and web portal to solve how we would populate this size of screen,” said Roberts. The web portal allows users to see what their booth would look like from all angles as people approach the stall, and incorporates a human outline to ensure the scale is correct. “It is all put together with a bespoke interface that companies can make with their own content – such as photos and video – and the software scales it,” said Roberts. “We’ve had the luxury of actually being in the position of being at exhibitions so we are solving a problem we’ve had ourselves. We were thinking about the tools we […]

Omron appoints new director for Oceania region

Omron Asia Pacific has appointed a new director for its operations in the Oceania Region. Mr Henry Zhou, the general manager of Omron Electronics Oceania (Australia and New Zealand), joins Omron Oceania Managing Director Mr Greg Field and Mr Takehito Maeda (MD, Omron Asia Pacific) as Oceania directors. Mr Zhou joined Omron, a global leader in automation, in 1998 in Singapore before moving to Sydney the following year. He has held several prominent roles with the company including Sales Engineer, State Sales Manager NSW, Product Manager and Business Planning & Marketing Manager. And earlier this year, he was appointed head of Omron Food & Beverage and Commodities operations for the APAC region. He is a qualified engineer (automation) and holds an MBA (Management and Marketing) from RMIT University. “It is a great honour to be appointed a director and I look forward to helping the company grow its business in the Oceania and APAC region,” said Mr Zhou, who took up the appointment on August 1. “Our directors have a duty to ensure the company stakeholders – customers, shareholders and staff – receive maximum benefits. Established in 1933, Omron has 36,000 employees and US$7.3 billion revenue. Its APAC network covers over 23 countries with more than 5,200 employees.

Rio Tinto releases second quarter production results

Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said “This was a solid quarter for production, including record output at our bauxite operations. Iron ore production was in line with last year, although iron ore shipments were impacted by an acceleration in our rail maintenance programme following poor weather in the first quarter. “We believe our focus on capital discipline, maximising cash flow from operations, driving productivity and portfolio shaping will continue to support the delivery of strong cash generation and shareholder returns.” Highlights Pilbara iron ore shipments were 77.7 million tonnes in the second quarter (100 per cent basis). Shipments were impacted by accelerated rail track maintenance. Iron ore shipments guidance for 2017 is around 330 million tonnes (previously 330 to 340 million tonnes). This takes into consideration first half production and further rail maintenance in the second half to improve track conditions. Record quarterly bauxite production of 12.9 million tonnes was seven per cent higher than the corresponding quarter of 2016, driven by strong production at Weipa and Gove. Third party shipments of 8.0 million tonnes were achieved in the second quarter. Mined copper production recovered compared to the previous quarter, however was six per cent lower than the second quarter of 2016 as Escondida continued to ramp up following a labour strike. Titanium dioxide slag production increased by 34 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2016, reflecting higher market demand. On 26 June 2017, Rio Tinto confirmed Yancoal Australia as its preferred buyer of Coal & Allied, after an improved offer from Yancoal of $2.69 billion. Rio Tinto shareholders have since approved the sale. The sale is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2017. All figures in this report are unaudited. All currency figures in this report are US dollars, and comments refer to Rio Tinto’s […]

Australia can’t lose in the global race for cheaper, cleaner energy

Paul Graham, Chief economist, CSIRO energy, CSIRO Despite our sometimes heated national debate about our energy future, Australia is well positioned to benefit from innovative low emission technologies. No matter which avenue we take to cleaner energy, our energy-rich resources means there are opportunities for Australian businesses – and cheaper energy for Australian consumers. That’s the conclusion reached by CSIRO in our Low Emissions Technology Roadmap, which outlines potential pathways for the energy sector to contribute to Australia’s emissions reduction target. Our target under the Paris climate agreement calls for a 26-28% reduction of emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels. Our analysis also considers how the energy sector could meet the more ambitious aspiration of avoiding 1.5-2℃ global warming. Looking past the political wrangling Perhaps one of the reasons the energy debate in Australia is so vehement is that, with the exception of oil, we are rich in energy resources. While we cannot wait indefinitely, the lack of resource constraints means we can monitor and test what options emerge as the most cost effective. Technology neutrality is often called upon as a key policy design principle. Another reason for caution is that technological change is inherently unpredictable. For example, at the start of this century, few would have expected solar photovoltaics to be one of the lowest cost sources of electricity. Current expectations of sourcing cost-effective bulk electricity storage would have seemed even less likely at the time. However, there are two key choices that will determine how we reduce greenhouse gases, and the shape of our energy future. First, we must decide how much weight we give to improving energy productivity, versus decarbonising our energy supply. This is essentially a policy decision: should we use our existing energy more intelligently and efficiently in our buildings, industries and transport, or […]

Resource employers launch 2017 campaign for workplace relations reform

Australia’s resource employers have launched a 2017 workplace relations campaign focusing on ‘Five Urgent Reforms’, and is first calling on the Turnbull Government to take action on Labor’s excessive and costly union workplace entry laws. “AMMA’s members across the national resource industry are deeply concerned that our parliament appears unable or unwilling to address fundamental problems in our workplace relations system,” Steve Knott, chief executive of AMMA, said. “Reform priorities identified in 2016 by more than 100 leading resource companies – a highly representative cross section of an industry directly and indirectly employing around 1.1 million Australians – are yet to be acted upon or even debated. “This is despite many of these reforms lining up with changes recommended by the Productivity Commission, and Australia’s deteriorating economic and employment conditions highlighting the urgent need for political action.” The five reform priorities identified by AMMA’s members and forming its 2017 campaign are: 1. Restore balance to union workplace entry laws; 2. Focus enterprise bargaining on employment matters; 3. Expand agreement making options for employers and employees; 4. Return to balanced termination of service laws, where a valid reason exists; and 5. Replace the Fair Work Commission with modern, balanced institutions. On the first priority, AMMA has released an animated video and written to key senators and members of parliament, highlighting the absurd costs, delays, productivity impacts and safety issues associated with the thousands of site entry requests resource employers now receive each year. “When Labor’s Fair Work Act gave union officials and recruiters almost unlimited rights to enter worksites, the number of visits sky-rocketed to thousands. One project received 17 visits in just 24 hours, while another received more than 300 in 90 days,” Mr Knott said. “We are even seeing union recruiters target employees in their lunchrooms and resource employers […]

Geelong strengthens its carbon fibre industries x2

Two developments in two days have strengthened Geelong’s carbon fibre industries showing the coastal Victorian city is more than capable of giving itself a future after the closure of the city’s Ford stamping and engine plants. CSIRO and Deakin University have patented a new method for making carbon fibre which should be both stronger and with more consistent quality across its length than existing methods. A wet spinning line was launched at Waurn Ponds just outside Geelong. Carbon fibre combines high rigidity, tensile strength and chemical resistance with low weight and is used in aerospace, civil engineering, the military, cars, and also in competitive sports. Only a handful of companies around the world can create carbon fibre, each using their own secret recipe.” Also this week the Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre announced $250,000 project funding for Geelong-based carbon fibre composites manufacturer, Quickstep Holdings. Quickstep has its own fast curing process for composites, makes vertical tail parts for the F-35 fighter jet, and manufactures rocket fairings for European customers. The investment will help the company develop a carbon fire fender for the European market. AMGC claims that the project has the potential to generate $25 million in revenue and increase in-demand jobs in the region. The funding comes on top of $250,000 in project funds the AMGC granted to the Advanced Fiber Cluster Geelong. This funding will directly support the Geelong Manufacturing Council in collaboration with Carbon Nexus, a Deakin University research centre. Picture – CSIRO’s carbon fibre spinner.Show less

Konecranes extends steel industry and advanced technology leadership

In the picture:Konecranes staff at the 2016 Steel Convention. From left to right, Daniel McCarney (Operations Manager), Peter Monaghan (National Industrial Equipment Sales Manager), James Dowe (Managing Director, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines) and Steve Gagnuss (Head of APAC Region). Global crane manufacturer and service leader Konecranes is extending its technology and leadership involvement in the steel industry by being a major sponsor of the Australian Steel Convention for the 5th year in a row. At this year’s convention, hosted in Melbourne CBD from September 11-13, Konecranes, which employs over 12,000 people across 600 locations in 48 countries, demonstrated its UNITON crane. UNITON is particularly applicable to the steel industry and related uses such as materials handling, manufacturing and maintenance. A strong focus this year was on advanced technologies such as SMART features, lifecycle care through yourKONECRANES and the new Konecranes parts store, all of which are designed to provide a greater level of safety, reliability and information that can help to better plan maintenance and service schedules. “Our continued support of this convention provides us with a valuable opportunity to discuss the steel industry with other experts and help shape its future into one that is safe, efficient and reliable,” said Konecranes Managing Director, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines, Mr James Dowe. Mr Dowe will also personally be attending Konecranes’ booth at the convention, along with Konecranes Head of APAC Region, Mr Steve Gagnuss, National Industrial Equipment Sales Manager, Mr Peter Monaghan and Operations Manager, Mr Daniel Mccarney in order to answer any questions about Konecranes technologies or the steel industry in general. “Our company has a strong ethos of safety, which is vital to the steel industry. I’ve had some insightful conversations about the future of the steel industry at past conferences, and I’d invite anyone who is […]

Sundance Energy Australia’s Borrowing Base $67 Million

DENVER – Sundance Energy Australia Limited (ASX:SEA) (“Sundance” or the “Company”), a U.S. onshore oil and gas exploration and production company focused in the Eagle Ford and Greater Anadarko Basin, is pleased to announce the completion of its second quarter 2016 borrowing base redetermination. The borrowing base under its Revolving Credit Facility with Morgan Stanley has been reaffirmed at $67 million. CEO and Managing Director Eric McCrady commented, “We are pleased with the outcome of the semi-annual redetermination of our borrowing base and appreciate Morgan Stanley’s support.” The Company’s Term Loan with Morgan Stanley remains unchanged at $125 million. The Revolving Credit Facility matures in May 2020 and the Term Loan matures in November 2020. Sundance Energy Australia Limited is an Australian-based, independent energy exploration company, with a wholly owned US subsidiary, Sundance Energy Inc., located in Denver, Colorado, USA. The Company is focused on the acquisition and development of large, repeatable oil and natural gas resource plays in North America. Current activities are focused in the Eagle Ford and Greater Anadarko Basins. A comprehensive overview of the Company can be found on Sundance’s website at www.sundanceenergy.net.

Company tax reform a boost for Australia’s resource industry

Statement by AMMA Chief Executive Steve Knott Australia’s resource industry welcomes the Turnbull Government laying out a roadmap to bring Australia’s company tax rate into line with the OECD average. While immediate support for small and medium businesses will provide junior miners, explorers and suppliers to the resource industry with welcome tax relief, the 10-year plan to have a 25 per cent company tax rate across the board will provide a great boost for investment in new major resource projects. The resource industry is in the business of long term planning and development, with multi-billion dollars investment decisions often having lead times of more than 10-years. Thus, certainty and stability is critical for Australia’s resource industry to remain a globally competitive place to invest, employ and do business. AMMA urges the opposition to take a bi-partisan approach to company tax reform; one that will see both major parties commit to the 25 per cent target within 10 years whether in government or opposition. These important budget measures must be complemented by other reforms that maximise the proportion of Australians in jobs, paying tax and generating growth. Australia cannot allow our unbalanced, increasingly uncompetitive workplace relations system to remain in a holding pattern, creating barriers to jobs and growth. The next Australian Government must tackle the growing imperative for workplace relations reform. Implementing key recommendations from the Productivity Commission’s review of our workplace relations framework would be a very positive starting point.

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