Industry partnership explores Australia’s manufacturing potential

Monday, 22 October, 2018

UNSW Sydney and the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) and St George Banking Group have announced a strategic partnership to advance Australian research and accelerate the introduction and commercialisation of new manufacturing technologies. The partnership is designed to help Australia unlock its competitive edge in manufacturing by bringing together three different streams of the Australian economy — research, industry and banking.

Recent job figures illustrate the re-emergence of the manufacturing sector, with domestic employment increasing 6.1% over the past five years. In Australia, the sector employs approximately 978,000 people (August 2018 ABS trend data), which is approximately 7.7% of the total workforce.¹

Michael Sharpe, State Director of the AMGC, believes that every Australian manufacturer can transition to the digital age in order to build their business and compete globally.

“To improve our country’s innovation and competitiveness, manufacturers need to become highly integrated, collaborative and export focused so we can provide high-value, customised solutions to global supply chains,” he said. “This complementary partnership will forge the industry ahead by helping manufacturers to think more laterally about how they can use the latest technology to scale their businesses and seek new opportunities both onshore and overseas.”

Professor Gangadhara Prusty, Director of UNSW-based ARC Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites (AMAC), said the collaboration will give potential partners access to the nation’s most advanced manufacturing facilities, and where appropriate, secure funding through AMGC or other government funding sources.

“This partnership will enable St George customers and AMGC members to leverage technologies developed at UNSW and take advantage of the university’s skills and expertise in the engineering field,” said Professor Prusty. “Using advanced manufacturing automation and innovative material solutions, we can assist potential partners in solving their real-world engineering challenges. We are excited to collaborate with new industry partners to ensure Australian manufacturing remains competitive in the global market.”

Matthew Kelly, Head of Manufacturing and Wholesale at St George, said: “Manufacturing is an export-focused industry, and digitisation, data, automation and new materials are driving the re-emergence of manufacturing in Australia,” Matthew Kelly, Head of Manufacturing and Wholesale at St George. “Our customers are forward thinking and want to tap into research to differentiate their businesses and make their processes more efficient, such as using real-time data to drive better decision-making.”