Page 33 - Packaging News Sep-Oct 2020

September-October 2020 | www.packagingnews.com.au | LINE INTEGRATION & AUTOMATION
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It gives us greater control over tim- ing. But we also outsourced where necessary to a multitude of local engineering companies and machine shops for parts produc- tion. It was a triumph of collabora- tion between businesses and people to consolidate the 14,000 or so indi- vidual items and around 7000 assembled parts needed across seven machines.”
And the results? Although con- strained by the original mechanical design, the upgrades have notably increased production speeds and effi- ciency and reliability, easily meeting or exceeding the results from imported equipment. The controls system is smart-factory enabled and includes remote access, giving managers full transparency around machine func- tion and status, speed, masks per hour/shift, raw material levels, and any faults and reasons for stops.
Med-Con has increased its pro- duction from 2 million to 160 mil- lion masks a year, generating more than 90 local jobs in the process.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
The question now remains, what else can Australian machine
manufacturers put their talents to? What other IP do we have moulder- ing in storage that can be put to good use in our food and beverage indus- tries? And what can we develop from scratch?
Covid-19 has exposed all our sup- ply-chain deficiencies. If there was ever a time to be developing innova- tion in order to on-shore every aspect of our production and pack- aging – and develop new export markets – this is it.
Earle Roberts, CEO of Foodmach, says: “My advice to FMCG manu- facturers looking to on-shore pro- cesses is to look local first. As a line integrator, we’ve been involved in the remediation of a lot of imported equipment to local work- place health and safety standards. It’s more often than not the case that the troubles (and costs) out- weigh any benefits. Australian- made machines are high quality, usually fit for purpose, and come with service and support.”
And, if there was ever any doubt that we still have the skills required to reboot Australia’s manufactur- ing, Covid-19 has given us the confi- dence to know we do.
LEFT: The Foodmach Med-Con team.
ABOVE: Local assembly of a re-engineered medical mask machine.
Marks says: “Like many other manufacturing pivots we’ve seen lately, this project has been a great test of our skills, capacity, and sup- pliers. I think we’ve all come out on the other side feeling pretty good about it.”
A FASTER RECOVERY
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said at her recent ABC Press Club address: “Just as we’ve dedicated ourselves to an effective pandemic response, we need to put no less importance on building national manufactur- ing capability to ensure our eco- nomic sovereignty... I think con- sumer sentiment will ultimately encourage businesses to actively seek a higher proportion of inputs through domestic supply chains.
“We can’t supply all our wants locally but we have to be able to supply, or at least pivot our produc- tion processes to produce the goods we need.
“And we have to compete on value, not on cost.”
Research commissioned by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union shows that Australia has the lowest level of manufacturing self- sufficiency of all the OECD coun- tries. Manufacturing self-suffi- ciency is the proportion of manufactured goods produced domestically versus those we import. Clearly, there is room for improvement. In addition, the report shows that renewal of the manufacturing sector could gener- ate more than 400,000 jobs.
Australia’s machine manufactur- ers are equal to the world’s best. Let’s build the automation required to process our abundant raw inputs and add value through manufactur- ing. In the process, we’ll be support- ing ourselves through a trying eco- nomic recovery with more grace and higher employment levels than we other would.
Yes, we need better policy, investment, more visibility across supply chains and that all-impor- tant market demand, but the solu- tion to our problem starts in our own backyard. ■