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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we consider the practical adoption of modern-day artificial intelligence. Valantis Vais, General Manager - Product and Product Marketing at MYOB, discusses the current uptake by manufacturers, a concept borrowed from SAE's Levels of Driving Automation, the implications of agentic AI, and more.
Episode guide
0:53 – An introduction to our guest.
1:50 – What do we mean when we talk about AI in business.
2:58 – Traditional AI or machine learning e.g. vision systems.
3:32 – Generative AI or LLMs. The current wave.
4:14 – Agentic AI. The future. Also leverages LLMs, but able to complete end-to-end automation.
5:10 – Examples of agentic AI experiences in the office.
6:05 – Where is AI making a difference to productivity.
6:52 – Mapping autonomy in business onto the different levels of autonomy for cars and how it could play out over time.
8:16 – Where AI is providing benefits currently, such as in consistent and accurate documentation and improved administration.
9:20 – How companies can make use of the huge amounts of data that they currently collect or could be collecting.
10:15 – Profitability challenges and how AI might come up with answers.
10:50 – Leading applications from those surveyed include in payroll, inventory and supply chain optimisation and reducing administration tasks.
12:05 – The starting point is a foundation of digital data, stored in the cloud, and going business-first rather than technology-first.
13:20 – You should also consider the emotional aspect and how people understand their use of AI.
14:40 – Instead of waiting for shopfloor reports, line-level reports can be summarised and updated regularly.
16:05 – Top challenges for adopting cloud. The top answers were lack of inhouse expertise, high and unpredictable migration costs, and ongoing operational costs. The answer might be starting with pilots.
17:40 – Work with partners who understand your business’s “from” and “to”.
19:35 – What 2026 could deliver for businesses' AI adoption.
21:46 – MYOB’s Acumatica’s three pillars.
22:38 – A message to those on the fence: there are no shortcuts and here’s why.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Philippe Odouard, who has spend the last 15 years leading Quickstep, XTEK (now known as HighCom) and now SolidHydrogen. He tells us about his experiences running technology startups in Australia, where he sees growth in the hydrogen coming from, the best ways to keep ahead of competitors wanting to steal novel IP, and more.
Episode guide
0:23 – Moved to Australia 40 years ago and spent most of his time since then in industry. The last 15 years have had a focus on startups.
2:07 – What manufacturing startups take and some of the challenges (being Australian isn’t that big of a barrier, according to Odouard.)
3:35 – Differences – there aren’t too many – between heading defence startups and heading SolidHydrogen.
5:02 – A company needs a lot of different skills.
5:42 – Linking up with Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou.
6:29 – An introduction to hydride alloys if one is needed.
7:32 – “It’s not a question of pressure, it’s not a question of temperature, it’s a question of molecular connections.” Useful for “typically 10,000 cycles” or potentially 30 years.
8:30 – A benefit to hydrides is that, used correctly, they can purify, compress and store hydrogen at low costs, according to Odouard.
11:28 – The energy required to melt hydrides isn’t a dealbreaker for doing this here.
11:57 – What the company plans to sell to customers.
13:03 – The approach to defending against copycats, involving continuous R&D with customers, some patents, and trade secrets.
15:25 – Some comparisons with other up-and-coming hydrogen storage technologies including metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs)
16:40 – Their main market is in stationary applications. Batteries are better for energy storage in transport, but not large-scale stationary energy storage.
18:25 – You have to be price-competitive. Being green is not enough. “Subsidies are not going to change very much, because subsidies by the kilo, like Australia wants to do, and a few other countries: If you invest for 15, 20 years, the government is not going to give you the subsidies for 15 to 20 years. So your thing is shot very quickly.”
19:37 – ESAF and biofuels.
21:50 – An American project involving eSAF. Potential for that fuel in ships.
23:02 – Funding. How the company has supported itself so far and a planned capital raise to reach the next step: pilot manufacturing.
26:28 – Why Odouard sees a healthy future for hydrogen. “It’s not exactly a dying market… The top of the hype was probably a couple of years ago, the trough is probably now.”
27:45 – Hydrogen is an ideal fuel for off-grid sites like mines.
28:45 – There’s already a solid demand for hydrogen from forklift users. The chemical industry is another eager user.
30:55 – Hydrogen has strong potential in the reduction of iron ore.
32:08 – Australian companies should look to be globally-relevant from the beginning as the demand just doesn’t exist here.
33:02 – The lack of suppliers for manufacturing businesses in Australia and how to handle this issue.
Further reading
SolidHydrogen's website
SolidHydrogen partners with Korea’s EN2CORE Technology
Pressure and performance: Australian company pushes to be a global leader in armour
Equipping
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, our guests are Dr Jan Golembiewski, CEO and co-founder of Earthbuilt Technology, and Dr Clyde Webster, Founding Director of Crest Robotics. They share the origins and goals of their Charlotte project -- showcased at last month’s International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2025 conference in Sydney -- and discuss the opportunity presented by construction robotics.
Episode guide
0:34 – An introduction to our guests.
2:40 – What both companies do on a day to day basis, and how Charlotte relates to that.
4:10 – Both in “hard tech” startups for a similar amount of time.
5:15 – Enhancing and supplementing blue-collar workers, “taking the danger out of the job, not the person.” For example on the moon.
6:20 – What the hexapod robot Charlotte is and what it does. A robot, extruder and “very sophisticated fill delivery system that transfers over material at… really highly productive rates.”
7:25 – Sourcing material for building.
9:40 – Why was it a hit with news coverage?
11:30 – Robotic construction is “a huge market opportunity” and they hope to work with other such companies.
13:03 – Why their approach is “fundamentally different” to other companies such as FBR and Luyten. These are companies that are also showing “that this sort of work can be done here and should be done here.”
14:15 – Some reasons why the moon is so extremely difficult to build on.
15:20 – Charlotte is several technologies coming together. They still need to be properly integrated and tested.
15:56 – Other projects Crest Robotics is involved in, including the Gorilla Mark 1 Robotic Puller and the Emu, for repetitive overhead work.
17:15 – More on the EarthBuilt printer and how it can be used.
17:55 – The valley of death and what makes it so difficult.
18:30 – Manufacturers are invited to get in touch with Crest, which is seeking more local suppliers.
Further reading
Self-belief, cementitious 3D printing, and sensors
FBR to build three new Hadrian-X robots
Melbourne Polytechnic to get new Modern Methods of Construction hub in 2029
Luyten sells giant 3D printer to construction startup
Graphene oxide creates stronger 3D printed concrete, but less seems to be more
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we consider some quality standards for various kinds of manufacturing businesses, emerging standards that are worth paying attention to, tips on making proactive improvements at your business, and more.
Our returning guest is MYOB Senior Product Marketing Manager, Bruce Minty, who recently discussed the importance of midsized manufacturers in episode 129.
For more on MYOB Acumatica, visit this link.
Episode guide
1:06 - An introduction to Minty.
2:10 – The impact of the end of passenger automotive assembly in Australia.
3:10 – “...It more or less marked a transition period where the industry gradually shifted to advanced manufacturing, and the growing need for more stringent quality control processes.”
3:47 – Why quality matters
5:20 – Why you should be building quality in from day one.
6:23 – Seemingly small mistakes can escalate as you scale and become more costly to fix.
8:10 – Some of the better-known standards that are out there and where they apply.
9:50 – Emerging standards.
10:58 –Where standards intersect with ERP.
12:40 – Some ways in which meeting strict quality management standards can be a driver of growth.
14:10 – Preparing for an accreditation forces organisations to tighten operations.
15:10 – Dealing effectively with the nightmare of a product recall.
16:02 – Prevention, transparency and rapid response are vital.
18:02 – Emerging themes in compliance and why Australian manufacturers must pay attention.
18:58 – The example of premium fish and traceability to meet consumer demands.
19:52 – Strong cyber practices have become essential.
21:31 – Some tips on proactive improvements that listeners can consider.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Space Machines Company's co-founders, Rajat Kulshrestha and George Freney. They tell us about why they plan to build hundreds and hundreds of their 200-kilogram vehicles, the local companies helping them do it, their new Scintilla engine, what Australian space manufacturers' collective superpower must be, and more.
Episode guide
0:42 – Professional backgrounds of the two founders
3:32 – A very simple origin story.
4:20 – The problem was the need to manoeuvre in orbit.
6:01 – Moving rapidly in orbit, at low cost, to assets that are depended on.
7:48 – If first responders on earth cost millions of dollars, then they wouldn’t be useful.
9:04 – The maiden launch of Optimus, what would be considered a successful result, and how it was achieved.
10:58 – “On a very tight budget, we built Australia’s largest single spacecraft and got it into orbit. And the outcome of that is belief.”
12:32 – The inputs. Supply chain in India, Europe and Australia. “We are targeting that by the end of the third mission, we should be able to get up to 70 per cent Australian content.”
14:10 – More than 50 suppliers in Australia currently.
15:42 – What an industrial sewing example shows.
17:55 – Getting to scale and what manufacturing at scale would look like.
22:20 – What their business model is based on and who their customers will likely be. National security, then civil government, then commercial is the likely order.
24:33 – The recently-unveiled Scintilla engine.
27:34 – Testing on Scintilla began late last year. Some of the tests performed so far.
29:00 – Ethane and nitrous oxide propellants. A combination “used by a lot of companies in the US” and which brings “simplicity and ease of handling” among other benefits.
30:05 – The road to the MAITRI mission. Local partners include HEO.
31:10 – The spread of the company so far, including an important recent hire in Washington.
32:45 – What’s needed here to grow industrial strength is focus, and making for space is an answer to this.
Further reading
Space Machines Company finalises Australian-first 3D printed rocket engine
Space Machines Company, NewSpace India sign launch agreement at Indian Space Congress
Space Machines Company opens Australia’s largest spacecraft manufacturing facility
Space Machines Company-led project awarded $8.5 million through International Space Investment India Projects
Space Machines Company purchases navigation system from Inovor
HEO’s Holmes space camera to fly on upcoming Australian-Indian mission
Space Machines unveils Optimus Viper for satellite repair
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we hear from David Taylor, Founder and Managing Director of BusinessHub. BusinessHub has been in business for over two decades, and is an MYOB partner specialising in the MYOB Acumatica platform.
Taylor shares how manufacturers can move beyond manual workarounds and isolated data to enable smarter operations. Make sure you listen to the end for a checklist you can use if you think you might be suffering from disconnected systems.
Episode guide
0:49 – An introduction to both Taylor and BusinessHub, which has been around for just over 20 years.
1:44 – Why working with manufacturers and their problems is exciting.
3:18 – Unique requirements in terms of cost and quality.
4:02 – Moving to cloud-based ERP, what that means, and why it represents progress.
6:52 – BusinessHub’s partnership with MYOB and what it looks like in practice.
8:32 – Data silo issues and overcoming them, with a practical example on quoting, delivering and forecasting.
10:11 – Quote-to-cash at an automotive add-ons business.
11:33 – Finite capacity at a food business, assisting production planning and optimising workflow.
12:50 – The digital thread in practice, plus some complications regarding the concept.
14:03 – A challenge around inbound deliveries of an important ingredient with sensitivities around temperature.
15:55 -- Some thoughts on change management.
18:24 – Productivity, AI, data and workplaces.
19:10 – What productivity gains through better digital tools look like at the company level.
20:21 – Having better-structured data to make the adoption of AI easier and more useful.
22:15 – A practical checklist for listeners regarding cloud-based ERPs.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Samuel Taubert, CEO of graphene and hydrogen maker Turquoise Group, shares a little about the company’s story so far, the immature markets for what they make, and why they’ve elected for an “aggressive pricing strategy” rather than partnering with clients on applications development.
Episode guide
0:25 – Career background, mainly in the oil and gas industry
1:55 – Why hydrogen and graphene? And the similarities/differences in commercialising both.
2:50 – Their proprietary process.
4:04 – Can much more detail be shared? Not really. “It’ll have to remain a secret for now.”
4:55 – Fellow Brisbane company Graphene Manufacturing Group.
5:35 – Anticipated volumes and what stage they’re currently at.
6:07 – Financing. “We’re definitely not a subsidiary of Pure Hydrogen.”
6:50 – The economics of what they’re doing.
8:45 – A point of difference is no real interest in developing downstream applications.
9:57 – One graphene isn’t good for all applications, and graphene is a family of materials.
10:33 – Multilayer graphene powder for bulk markets. Niche markets aren’t so interesting.
11:27 – Markets that are interesting for TG.
13:08 – Capital raise for the next plant plus other near-term plans.
14:27 – Some current difficulties the industry faces.
Further reading
Turquoise Group begins bulk graphene sales, aims to have commercial pilot project online “by the end of 2027”
Turquoise Group produces hydrogen from methane
Brisbane company takes delivery of equipment to produce “turquoise hydrogen” and graphene
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with MYOB, we consider the vast potential in helping more manufacturers make the jump from small-sized enterprise to medium (or beyond.)
MYOB Senior Product Marketing Manager Bruce Minty shares some reasons why midsized manufacturers matter, and how ambitious companies can navigate hurdles as they grow into the category.
For more on The Bigger Picture report, see here
Solutions like MYOB Acumatica are purpose-built to replace outdated systems, streamline processes, and provide real-time visibility, helping businesses scale with confidence.
Episode guide
0:44 – Minty’s background.
1:53 – How shifts in the industry impacted Minty’s family, which counted the last three car makers as its biggest customers.
2:48 – A shift from mass production to high-tech and customisation.
3:41 – Strengths and opportunities for Australian makers.
5:16 – Challenges to do with fragmentation and a lack of scale.
6:48 – What can improve productivity within manufacturing
7:31 – The benefits of modern ERP systems and their features.
8:31 – How small improvements add up.
9:20 – The important role of midsized businesses in Australia (and why we need more of them.)
10:28 – Midsized businesses are only 3 per cent of companies, but deliver a vastly outsized performance in private sector GVA and employment.
11:28 – Why a thriving midmarket can enhance all of manufacturing.
12:30 – Why success begins at home for exporters.
14:20 – Growing pains and how to avoid them at scaleups.
15:18 – It’s essential to regularly review if systems and processes are fit-for-purpose.
16:10 – What getting it wrong while growing can look like. Plus a counter-example.
18:38 – Some scaling sustainably self-assessment steps.
19:50 – Leadership should regularly pause and review if goals, people, processes and technology are aligned.
20:16 – A simple question that can uncover risks, plus how you can start small to prepare for growth.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Jeff Lang, a serial entrepreneur who is currently CEO and Executive Director of Vortair.
Lang shares plenty of detail about the highs and lows of founding and growing high-tech manufacturing businesses, why the industry needs better leaders and to stop blaming others for its difficulties, and more.
Episode guide
0:33 – Athletics aspirations and abandoning them to do a trade in signwriting.
1:32 – The early days of automation and digitisation. “I’ve been lucky and in the right place at the right time with my age.”
3:05 – The emergence of snowboarding in Australia and making boards in the mid-1980s.
3:52 – Founding Force Industries and making skis, snowboards and kite boards.
4:32 – Reluctantly offshoring to China in 2004.
6:05 – Being approached by the CSIRO in 2007 to work on cold spray additive manufacturing for sports products, then realising the market potential was in other industries.
8:15 – Partnering with Professor Richard Fox, an oncologist, at Force Industries and then at what would become Titomic.
9:40 – IP, CSIRO, wifi and parking a patent with them.
11:05 – An unusual offer from the UK to buy their patent.
13:15 – Raising capital, deciding on a direction for the company, and being approached by Innovyz.
14:30 – Reasons why Titomic listed publicly. “We went to market with nothing more than a patent.”
16:38 – The disconnect between the big investors and most manufacturing in Australia.
17:33 – The national weakness around value-adding and two theories on why it exists.
20:20 – The stepping aside to become CTO to progress the manufacturing readiness of cold spray.
21:20 – The gap between a founder’s passion and the board’s expectations.
22:10 – Printing a tank and other projects resulting from discussions with prime defence contractors.
23:30 – A change of board and direction following the 2020 capital raise. “We did over-corporatise too quickly.”
24:40 – The bulk of the market was in the US and Europe, so it’s necessary to set up there.
25:58 – Leaving in 2022.
26:30 – “What upset me the most…”
28:40 – People want to point fingers and apportion blame.
29:30 – It’s unfortunate the mining sector has lost interest in value-adding.
30:25 – What’s lacking in Australia is fortitude and leadership from the manufacturing industry.
31:50 – “We should have the cheapest energy in the world.”
33:37 – Vortair Technologies and becoming aware of its founder’s work via CSIRO’s interest in metal swarf milling.
35:02 – Making an offer to buy the patent earlier and the deal collapsing.
35:42 – The inventor, Axel Andre.
36:30 – Building a powdering system for an unnamed tomato processor in New Zealand.
38:06 – Waste to value in tomato processing and elsewhere.
39:25 – Grinding kerbside glass.
40:55 – Why being able to mill various substances into tiny particles is useful.
42:30 – Milling insect larvae. Making carbon black from pyrolised car tyres.
43:40 – “Resource carbon black” from municipal waste rather than petrochemicals.
45:10 – Financing the company privately. Plans to create different divisions within Vortair for different industry problems. Potential joint ventures.
47:20 – Considerations around manufacturability, robustness, food safety, supply chain and other requirements.
48:45 – Praise for SEW Eurodrive as a supplier. (Full disclosure: SEW is an advertiser with this title.)
51:10 – A pet issue: a lack of commercial thinking among startups.
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This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is the opening session of our June 25 Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar. Alf Taylor, Managing Director & Co-founder at TNA Solutions, and Nadia Taylor, the company's Director and Co-founder, share their story.
The keynote speakers share their adventure from husband-and-wife engineering consultancy to an international food packaging and processing solution provider with a headcount of over 600 and offices in 30 countries, which began with one invention for bagging snack food quicker than anything else available.
Episode guide
0:36 – Introduction to the event and the presenters
5:02 – How Alf and Nadia Taylor met. “We fell in love among the potato chips” at Arnott’s Snack Foods.
6:22 – The company’s origins and the breakthrough invention, the Robag.
7:45 – Customer Smith’s Chips Australia funds the first Robag.
9:15 – The intention was always to remain a family-owned business.
10:05 – Setting up the first overseas office in Birmingham, UK.
11:20 – The difficulties of being Australian and some unfair preconceptions.
12:20 – The ANCA connection.
14:15 – Patent protection didn’t stop three overseas copycats. It took five years and $6.5 million, but they won the case and $8.5 million.
16:05 – Going from a bagging equipment maker to providing the entire line to food companies.
19:30 – Maintaining customer relations across so many markets.
20:30 – Middle East misunderstandings.
22:03 – The company’s biggest project.
23:01 – The origins and focus of the Nadia and Alf Taylor Foundation.
26:10 – If you’re dedicated, you can make an internationally-relevant business. It doesn’t even have to be high-tech.
28:18 – Even with the headaches, patents were still worthwhile.
29:35 – The importance of an early grant to help get overseas.
31:10 – Australia is a brilliant place to do it, believes TNA.
Further reading
Spotlight on Scaling Up event wrap-up
Introducing Spotlight on Scaling Up: an unmissable June 25 event about one of Australian manufacturing’s key issues
TNA solutions offers digital twins technology for food manufacturers
Australia’s niche champions – tna Solutions innovates to success
TNA opens second Sydney site for confectionery equipment
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with Hannover Messe’s Industrial Transformation Australia event, Simran Gill speaks to Professor Henrik von Scheel, the strategist who coined the term "Industry 4.0".
He warns that Australia risks becoming a mere consumer of technology rather than a producer if it continues following global best practices instead of charting its own course in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
@AuManufacturing is a media partner for Industrial Transformation Australia 2025. You can find more information about this free event – to be held July 22-24 at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park – here.
Further reading
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This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is the “It can happen here” session recorded at our June 25 Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar.
The panel features leaders from three established manufacturing companies that have grown handsomely through international leadership within their respective niches. How have they changed their industry? How do they continue to stay relevant? And how do they address the challenges of doing this from Australia? The moderator is David Martin, the Australian Industry Group's Director of Emerging Industries and Innovation.
The panel guests are:
- Martin Ripple, CEO, ANCA;
- Jon Bulman, Senior Director of Manufacturing, Finisar; and
- Simon Crane, CEO, Lovells Group
Spotlight on Scaling Up was hosted by @AuManufacturing in partnership with AMGC, BDO, and the Australian Business Growth Fund.
Episode guide
0:50 – An introduction to the panel
2:00 – Panellists introduce themselves
5:56 – The one government grant that Lovells won, the horrors attached to it, and the lessons from it.
7:35 – ““That was a great example of focussing on the grant, not on whether this is a good idea at all.”
7:50 – A lesson learned at Finisar from a difficult project after “a period of pain”.
9:22 – It’s very easy to pick to wrong country before trying to export, and some lessons from ANCA on this.
11:10 – Why Lovells is attached to making it here. “I come from employing a lot of Australians. I really like it and I’m just not interested in building factories overseas.”
12:29 – Finisar’s approach to production and its supply chain. “A good balance” has been established across South Korea, China and Australia.
15:30 – The “Australian government should” issue and why companies should maybe ignore it and be masters of their own destiny.
17:35 – Issues of scale versus the United States market. “It’s not one order of magnitude…difference.”
18:45 – Ripple’s libertarian point of view when it comes to the government’s role.
19:44 – Government has a role, but it cannot supply the key ingredient of passion that startups need.
20:52 – Creating a culture of believing we could do it.
22:05 – The mentality of looking to Asian factories first among startups.
23:18 – A case for propaganda to convince Australians that we can manufacture.
24:10 – A question on access to finance from an audience member to the “landed gentry”.
26:40 – A question for ANCA about customer service, and an EOFY sales offer.
27:50 – Succession difficulties.
29:30 – Increases in the cost of doing business in Australia.
30:35 – “You can turn red tape into a profit.”
32:02 – Australian biotech and why it so often ends up overseas.
33:12 – The peculiar situation of being US-owned and owning a Chinese factory.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, published in partnership with Hannover Messe’s Industrial Transformation Australia event, Professor Veena Sahajwalla tells us about working at “the exciting new frontier” of recycling, where Australian companies can contribute globally, and more.
@AuManufacturing is a media partner for Industrial Transformation Australia 2025. You can find more information about this free event – to be held July 22-24 at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park – here.
Episode guide
1.18 – introduction
2:35 – Forming and progressing industry partnerships, for example recycling e-waste into 3D printing filament with Renew IT.
4:10 – Going beyond the traditional way of thinking about recycling.
5:50 – People are noticing Australian recycling technology internationally.
7:03 – What Australians do well.
8:02 – The critical thing about recycling and remanufacturing.
9:22 – “End of life products are literally just products waiting to be remade into something else.”
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This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is the "Patient capital: how long tech takes at times" session recorded at our June 25 Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar. SoSU was hosted by @AuManufacturing in partnership with BDO, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, and the Australian Business Growth Fund.
The panel featured three high-tech businesses, each of which took many years to develop and prove their technology through to eventual adoption, and each of which remains strongly focussed on R&D. It was moderated by Ryan Pollett, Partner, Audit & Assurance, National Leader, Manufacturing & Wholesale, BDO.
The panel guests are:
* James Walker, Chair, BluGlass;
* Geoff Bell, CEO, MicroBioGen; and
* Phil Hodgson, CEO and Managing Director, Calix.
Episode guide
0:12 – Introduction to the panel.
3:22 – A very brief history of MicroBioGen from CEO Geoff Bell.
4:43 – A very brief history of Calix from CEO and Managing Director Dr Phil Hodgson.
6:46 – A very brief history of BluGlass from Chairman James Walker
10:02 – Baker’s yeast and why MicroBiogen focussed on it.
10:55 – How MicroBioGen made investor money last and kept everyone happy during the long period between Series A and their first customer.
12:10 – Having a platform technology and being tempted by the “bright, shiny ball.”
13:06 – What makes a bad patent, and why the worthwhile IP resides with staff.
13:55 – The gallium nitride semiconductor niche.
15:12 – Maximising R&D investment and keeping management costs down.
17:02 – Government assistance for R&D.
18:02 – Spending two years unravelling a $30 million convertible note.
19:02 – On capital raises: “When the ducks are quacking, feed the ducks”.
20:08 – You can be a listed company that also requires patient capital, but it requires transparency with investors.
22:32 – Why MicroBioGen’s strategy was to work with the world’s biggest and best, and why that took a lot of time and effort.
25:16 – Why Calix looked overseas for partnerships with cement companies.
27:02 – The turning point for BluGlass seven years ago with laser diodes.
29:12 – A few words on convertible notes.
30:50 – Lessons from the heady valuations at the peak of the decarbonisation wave.
33:20 – The dream of creating a GaN chip manufacturing industry in Australia,
34:20 – Be willing to accept a pay cut if you want to be involved in a startup technology company.
Further reading
MicroBioGen, Lesaffre announce exclusive worldwide licensing and collaboration deal on industrial yeast technology
BluGlass raises $5.3 million in SPP
Introducing Spotlight on Scaling Up: an unmissable June 25 event about one of Australian manufacturing’s key issues
Winners announced at 2024’s Australian Export Awards
In the strain game
Calix raises $25 million to speed low carbon commercialisation
Calix green iron tech recognised at UN climate talks
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Simran Gill speaks to Dr Ian Mann, CTO of semiconductor business BluGlass, about why deep tech companies must prepare for scale from day one and embrace long development timelines.
Further reading
BluGlass raises $5.3 million in SPP
BluGlass secures $2.9 million sub-contract through US microelectronics hub
BluGlass to provide chips for blue ocean LiDAR project
BluGlass completes GaNWorks acquisition
BluGlass launches laser diode range at US industry event
BluGlass demonstrates working laser diodes
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, John Broadbent tells us about the worrying prevalence of fully-depreciated equipment in Australia's industry, explains why a smart factory he helped build in 2011 has only become more productive in the years since, and more.
@AuManufacturing is a media partner for Industrial Transformation Australia 2025, which Broadbent will be a speaker at. You can find more information about this free event – to be held July 22-24 at The Dome, Sydney Olympic Park – at this link.
Episode guide
0:56 – An introduction. Approaching a 50th anniversary in the industry.
3:28 – Industrial Transformation Australia and his message on practical transformation and not getting stuck in “pilot purgatory”.
4:15 – Why organisations need bottom-up and top-down buy-in and get to “proof of value”.
6:16 – A lack of understanding from many companies on what Industry 4 is.
7:10 – Poor level of industrial sophistication in Australia.
8:10 – A remarkable number of factories not on a stable network that can mine data in real time, plus an anecdote about inefficient operations at one company.
9:58 – The need for investment and, again, strategy.
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When a critical medication that protects Australia's most vulnerable communities runs short, who pays the price? A new investigation reveals the shocking gaps in our pharmaceutical sovereignty.
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Simran Gill learns about Australia's pharmaceutical manufacturing challenges and the experts' detailed proposals for sovereign medicine production.
Featuring
- Dr Rosemary Wyber, Senior Research Fellow, The Kids Research Institute Australia;
- Associate Professor Glenn Pearson, Director of First Nations Strategy at The Kids Research Institute Australia; and
- Associate Professor Laurens Manning from The University of Western Australia.
Further reading
Call for homegrown medicine production as penicillin imports dry up
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Spotlight on Scaling Up is an event by @AuManufacturing and sponsored by BDO, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, and the Australian Business Growth Fund. Join us at UTS Building 8, 14–28 Ultimo Road to learn the importance of the issue at an economy-wide level, how world-class local enterprises have grown out of the small business category and beyond, and how you can apply their lessons to your business. TICKETS AND INFO HERE
here: https://events.humanitix.com/spotlight-on-scaling-up
In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, we hear from Paul Childers, Partner in BDO's Deal Advisory team in Sydney. He tells about some of the things that private equity investors will stress test in a manufacturer, how you can command a higher multiple, and more.
Episode guide
0:53 – An introduction to Childers and his work.
1:58 – The issue of scale’s importance in manufacturing at a macro and micro level.
4:15 – How to get the best valuation when fronting potential investors
6:02 – What a bank is looking for vs an investor
7:02 – Articulating a clear value proposition
8:15 – The importance of investor materials and what these should include
9:28 – There are different kinds of investors, and it’s important to look at a number of them.
10:55 – Spotlight on Scaling Up and Childers’ presentation, which will look at what makes a manufacturing company valuable through an investor’s lens.
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In this episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, Rachel Reilly from Ethical Clothing Australia tells us about the shape of the Australian TCF sector and its workforce, the importance of government procurement, what international trade issues could mean, and more.
You can find out about the Ethically Made In Australia Week Pop-Up Event here. It runs Thursday June 26 – Sunday June 29, 2025, at 306-308 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC
Episode guide
0:30 – Career path
1:50 – What Ethical Clothing Australia does
3:54 – The TCF industry in Australia in terms of its economic value
5:10 – Data on the industry’s size and some of the shortcomings of these figures
6:03 – Most businesses are on the smaller side.
7:10 – The workforce and some of the difficulties in properly accounting for it.
8:24 – The highly-feminised nature of the workforce
9:55 – A large proportion of the workforce is born overseas
10:54 – The market for what’s made here. It tends to be geared towards quality and an ethically-conscious consumer.
11:55 – The importance of government procurement to the sector
13:02 – Regarding trade uncertainties and what they mean for this industry.
15:25 – A maturing workforce, skills shortages, and the ability to ramp up production if needed.
17:41 – Ethically Made In Australia popup from June 25th to June 29 in Fitzroy
19:16 – Ethical Clothing Week in October
20:25 – Where listeners can find out more
Further reading
Ethical Clothing Australia's website
Rediscovering our ability to spin a yarn
TCF’s commitment to ethical local manufacturing and jobs
Andrews says buying locally important “now more than ever”
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Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.
It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.
In this episode, Simran Gill speaks to David Smirk, who explains how a vindictive equipment operator's act of sabotage in 1989 led to an internationally significant breakthrough in mining waste management.
Phibion was a Top 10 Gold Award winner at the recent Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers awards.
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