Smart Manufacturing

Outback storms and record rainfall are hindering coal and mineral production and distribution with rocky and sticky material flowing through production and transport systems Record rainfalls across Australasia, Asia, and elsewhere are posing major challenges to materials handling, production, and profits at a time of high prices for coal and strong demand for high-value minerals including iron ore, lithium, nickel, gold, and others. While urban centres such as Sydney have attracted headlines with its highest rainfall ever recorded in 2022 – more than 2.2m months before the year was over – the problem has also been equally dire in major coal areas of the Eastern States and major mines and ports in the West and North. NZ, SE Asia, and India have also been saturated and flooded. “All this moisture and long-term rain makes coal sticky, heavier, and harder to handle for the mines, as well as for the organisations transporting it and the ports and power stations where it arrives. Ceaseless rain also causes major disruptions – even Force Majeure events – at iron ore and other mineral mines,” says engineering plastics specialist Laurie Green, Managing Director of Cut To Size Plastics. Cut To Size fabricates to individual requirements globally proven low-friction WearexUHMWPE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) chute, bin, truck, rail, and ship loader linings that assist product flow and avoid blockages and the OH&S risks and downtime that go with them. “When using wet or hard-to-handle coal, for example, the use of high molecular weight polyethylene plastic chute liners has become a number one method to improve the flowability of coal chutes, says Mr Green. The same benefits apply to harder mineral ores, where clogging, production hang-ups, and loading and unloading issues can cause costly production interruptions and OH&S issues.” Working with miners, transport operators, ports, and stockpilers, […]

-Tony Pearson, CEO of A.H. Beard (pictured). For the last 123 years, we at A.H. Beard have made it our life’s work to improve lives through better sleep. It’s our calling, and we’ve elevated the craft of Premium Sleep to its highest form. It’s for this reason that we’ve launched our first national brand campaign showcasing the meaning and importance of Premium Sleep. The idea of Premium Sleep is a concept that rejects the misconception that ‘sleep is for the weak’, but rather an essential act that replenishes, repairs and restores. According to the Sleep Health Foundation, up to 45% of Australians aren’t getting enough sleep. Sleep (and lack thereof) deeply influences our level of health, happiness and motivation and now more than ever is the time to prioritise one of the most important activities of our lives. Here, we unpack what it means to achieve Premium Sleep, and how A.H. Beard balances heritage and innovation when it comes to sleepsmithing. What it means to be Australian owned and made For over 120 years, A.H. Beard has been proudly Australian owned and made, supporting over 400 local employees and their families. A.H. Beard’s origins as a family owned business have continued to shape the business, with more than five generations committed to continuous innovation to ensure they remain leaders in the field. These family values permeate through the business and are embodied by the generations of employees continuing to craft A.H. Beard mattresses, made possible with on-shore production. Being Australian made not only supports local employees and economies, but it also demonstrates adherence to strict manufacturing codes for the highest level of product quality and workplace safety. These strict standards are recognised both by the industry and equally by consumers making the ‘Australian-made’ and ‘New Zealand-made’ labels very desirable. With […]

Benefits include up to 25 per cent faster execution of warehouse processes, a picking error rate close to zero, and a reduction in waste of around 100,000 paper sheets per year TeamViewer, a leading global provider of remote connectivity and workplace digitalisation solutions, has announced that global semiconductor manufacturer, GlobalFoundries (GF), has deployed TeamViewer’s augmented reality (AR) platform, Frontline, to digitally transform its warehouse operations at its facility in Dresden, the largest semiconductor plant in Europe. Among the major benefits that GF achieved through the implementation of TeamViewer’s solution is up to 25 per cent faster execution of warehouse processes, better employee ergonomics, a picking error rate close to zero, and a reduction in waste of around 100,000 paper sheets per year. Kevin Hidalgo, senior director of logistics, GF, said, “At GF, we always strive to improve our operational efficiencies to better fulfill our customers’ needs. When looking for a solution to digitally transform and improve our warehouse operations, we found that an augmented reality-based solution could really make a difference for us. Now, with the roll-out of TeamViewer Frontline, we are able to take efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability of warehouse logistics to a whole new level.”   Jan Junker, executive vice president solution sales and delivery, TeamViewer, said,  “Around 80 per cent of the global workforce is not working at a desk, but in manufacturing, production, logistics, or field service. With our AR solutions, enterprises have the first-time opportunity to also digitalise the tasks and processes from these areas and seamlessly connect the workers to the company’s existing digital infrastructure. The benefits that GlobalFoundries achieved in such short time speak for themselves.” At the GF warehouse, the software guides the warehouse workers through the picking process with clear step-by-step instructions displayed on the smart glasses directly in the user’s […]

Complexica Pty Ltd, a leading provider of Artificial Intelligence software for optimising sales, marketing, and supply chain activities, announces that Perennial Partners has invested $3 million into the company, bringing the total investment by outside investors to $22 million during the past 18 months. They will join existing institutional investors on the shareholder register, which include well-known fund manager Microequities Asset Management (ASX: MAM), ports and logistics operator Flinders Ports Holdings, and ASX-listed investment bank and fund manager MA Financial (ASX: MAF). “Complexica is a hugely exciting business for Perennial Partners. We believe that Matt and his founding team are outstanding, and highly backable, having built and exited two successful enterprise AI platform businesses over the last 20 years,” said James McQueen, Senior Investment & Legal Principal at Perennial Partners. “With Complexica, the team have built a highly sophisticated, AI-driven decision making platform that captures and delivers enormous value to a large and growing number of quality blue chip customers across a range of industries. Complexica has a market leading position in Australia and is well positioned to scale up significantly both within Australia and globally. We are thrilled to be joining the register and look forward to supporting Matt and the team as they grow Complexica going forward.” Perennial Partners is an Australian fund manager with over A$8 billion on behalf of institutional and retail clients. Perennial focusses on delivering outstanding investment opportunities and outcomes for its clients in segments of the market where active management adds meaningful value. Within Perennial, the Perennial Private team actively manages over A$700m across a series of private company and pre-IPO funds. Perennial offers wholesale investors the opportunity to invest alongside a highly experienced team with deep capabilities, networks and experience in both private and public markets. The Perennial Private Investments strategy focusses […]

Häuslein Tiny House Co, the Australian tiny house manufacturing company, has announced the launch of its new toy hauler model – the Häuslein Hauler (https://www.hauslein.com.au/toy-hauler) – a sleek-look recreational caravan for adventurous people. Designed and manufactured entirely in Port Macquarie NSW, The Häuslein Hauler is a 8m long recreational caravan trailer with a clean exterior aesthetic and a bold black interior offering customers living & sleeping space at one end and a large toy storage section at the back, making for the ultimate fun escape caravan trailer comfortable to stay in and secure for all your valuable sporting equipment. “The Häuslein Hauler was born out of our passion for dirt bike riding and mountain biking in the bush. We wanted to create a really unique toy hauler trailer which was highly-functional and attractive. We wanted to design something which wasn’t cluttered by ugly vents, flaps, panels, and gas bottles commonly found on conventional caravans in Australia.” says Scott Rohdich, Häuslein Co-Founder and designer of the Hauler. “We want people to be able to take the Häuslein Hauler to the bush, beach or mountains and comfortably stay fully off-grid with all of their valuable bikes or boards secure inside the trailer. And when it’s time to go home, people will spend next to no time unloading their equipment – ready for the next adventure.” “Strategically the new Häuslein Hauler model builds upon on the success of our core tiny house business and diversifies our product range into the caravan market with a bold new futuristic product.” says David Boyd, Co-Founder and Director of Marketing at Häuslein Tiny House Co. For more information and a product walkthrough tour of the Häuslein Hauler, visit (https://www.hauslein.com.au/toy-hauler)

The JEZ Media www.jezmedia.net media platform www.asiamanufacturingnewstoday.com has been recognised as one of the top information providers of manufacturing, business and technology information by Feedspot, coming 51st in a worldwide total listing of 70 such publishers. We have noticed a real surge in interest over the last two years, due to information required for business realignment and future development as a result of Covid 19. The changing face of products and services, for Industry 4.0, The Circular Economy, Supply Chain, Renewable Energy, and amongst others, Cyber Security are part of this picture. Asia is a major focus for us, as a large proportion of world business and development continues to occur through technology and growth in all Asian economies. As we share stories of success – from China to India and further -our networks continue to grow for a future full of ingenuity, creativity and blue skies in all Asian countries. If your company has a story to tell, please get in touch. -Doug Green, Publisher