Page 32 - Packaging News Sep-Oct 2020

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LINE INTEGRATION & AUTOMATION | www.packagingnews.com.au | September-October 2020
Reboot, reset, and refocus
Rebooting Australia’s manufacturing industry and onshoring our supply chain is one of the strongest economic imperatives emerging from the Covid-19 crisis. Anita Olsen writes for PKN.
RECENT social and political events have triggered a need for Australia to revive its manufac- turing industry. Not just to shore up supply chains – manufactur- ing is increasingly seen as essen- tial to our economic recovery.
Policy is following suit. The recently appointed Task Force into the National Covid-19 Commission released a report declaring the need for manufacturing policy reform. The idea is for Aussie manufactur- ers to maximise their contribution to Australia’s GDP in a jump from six to 20 per cent.
So, if Australia is to achieve this advanced manufacturing status, how big is the skills gap we need to bridge?
Within the packaging industry, at least, seemingly not too great.
DISRUPTION BREEDS INNOVATION
Our whole-of-economy effort to tackle Covid-19 has led a few indus- try players down the path of pro- ducing PPE and Covid-related sup- plies. These endeavours have required operational agility, effi- ciency, and collaboration between industries and businesses – and a whole lot of scrambling.
It’s been an admirable effort with excellent outcomes. Detmold Group pivoted to produce surgical and P2 masks. Scores of other mask and PPE manufacturing operations were increased or established. Grey Innovation led the charge for venti- lator production. Pact Group, cos- metics companies, distilleries, and craft brewers made hand sanitiser. Shortages of ingredients and pack- aging led to the establishment of a government task force to connect manufacturers with bottle produc- ers. New packaging was developed and made on the fly to account for the shortfall.
This has frequently required hasty imports of automation equip- ment from overseas, sometimes it’s meant developing completely new
innovation, but in at least one nota- ble example, old home-grown IP was recreated and modernised.
PROJECT MED-CON
Packaging machinery manufacturer Foodmach’s recent project, which has received worldwide attention and considerable media coverage, saw a 40-year-old Australian medi- cal mask machine design (Australia’s one and only) re-engi- neered from scratch and put into action within eight weeks – with no blueprints and major updates to lat- est controls, electrical and safety technology.
Seven of the complex machines were turning out masks at PPE man- ufacturer Med-Con’s facility 24 hours a day within just 18 weeks. All this during a pandemic, where extra pressure on staff safety, workplace logistics and blown-out supply chain timelines were added to the mix.
Peter Marks, director at Foodmach comments: “We certainly put in the hours over those 18 weeks. We were selected for the job in the first place because we’re an advanced engi- neering-to-order firm with a diver- sified skill set within the business.
We can’t supply all our wants locally but we have to be able to supply, or at least pivot our production processes to produce the goods we need.” — Minister Karen Andrews