Editor’s Note

SYED SHAH – Managing Editor, Manufacturers’ Monthly

ASSOCIATIONS and industry bodies have constantly urged the manufacturing community about focusing on their capacity to innovate in terms of complexity, rather than on cost. Since Australia is a high wage economy and cannot compete when it comes to mass production and the more cost-efficient labour that overseas countries may provide.

It is a reality that the country has had face up to, has done. It has innovating, adopting Industry 4.0 technologies and concepts, embracing automation to speed up production and as a result, there was an improvement. Then along came COVID-19.

The coming of the pandemic did bring about a big challenge to the economy and the manufacturing sector. Despite the Ai Group reporting a surge in last month’s PMI to 53.7 points, it does not speak for the entirety of the sector. Other segments are in the process of coping and regrouping with help from the state and federal governments.

The Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) has started a portal for manufacturers, which has gotten great responses so far, who want to connect to the right people and departments across the country in the fight against COVID-19.

Jens Goenemann, managing director of the AMGC said that by developing this portal, there will be a better understanding of the skills, supplies and capabilities that exist right now, and a potential to connect anyone who wants to contribute with the right government department or manufacturer. The portal leverages on the existing large network of manufacturers of the association.

He mentioned that the manufacturing sector will play a significant role in Australia’s recovery as businesses continue to navigate challenges and he believes that the country will emerge from this crisis more “resilient, stronger, and more self-sufficient than ever before”.

The calls for the government to increase its funding and current programs that support domestic manufacturing have not gone unheard. Across the country, state governments have pointed out that the country has the “call to action” it needs to drive the nation’s recovery during and after.

The government(s) are obliged to do their duty to support the businesses that have been affected during this period because by giving manufacturing a boost, it will ensure that the country has the essential supplies to manage the crisis. At the moment, there are a large portion of those essential supplies that are imported in. Having the productive capacity to stockpile those supplies and carry on, moving forward, will certainly be an economic and morale booster.

But not forgetting, at the other end, there needs to be an obligation for those who have received the lifeline to return the investment to the country. The thought process that is put into potentially restructuring a business to provide the essentials during this time of need is critical, not only for the country, but also for self-survival.

One example is South Australian packaging manufacturer, Detmold, which has begun making millions of surgical masks and respirators from its Adelaide factory to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The federal and South Australian governments reached an agreement with the company to produce 145 million masks – 100 million for the National Medical Stockpile and 45 million for SA.

During this time, the company has bolstered its staff capacity and will be employing up to an extra 160 staff in the coming months. In addition, they will invest more than $1 million in local supplies that will support other Australian businesses. What they are doing is to ensure that there is a steady supply stream of masks for the coming months which may prove to be critical in the fight against COVID-19.

Forty-five million masks will go directly to South Australia through the SA government, and another 100 million will be distributed around Australia by the federal government.

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews has also been in the spotlight with the media about where the government stands with regards to its support of manufacturing and its strategy to ensure its self-sufficiency during this difficult period. She reiterated that all the governments have been supportive of any manufacturer that comes forward with a good plan to assist the economy during this period. These included Detmold and Victorian manufacturer, Grey Innovation, who have responded by producing additional personal protective equipment (PPEs).

Andrews conceded that COVID-19 has proven to Australia that it was wrong to be totally reliant on supply chains from overseas, especially with essential goods like PPEs and pharmaceuticals. She said that supply chains need to be examined closely to help out the targeted local manufacturing base in addition to saying that it is not sustainable for the country to rely on foreign supply chains for these products. She said that the government needed to work with these companies more closely and see how they can pivot and produce these essentials in an effort to restructure the existing supply chains and be less reliant on overseas ones. Read more on this in our news segment in this issue.

SPONSORS