The Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) today opened up its Celebrating Australian Manufacturing Innovation event at The Timber Yard in Port Melbourne.
The two-day event seeks to recognise and celebrate the research and commercial products that came from IMCRC’s research and development projects. These projects leverage emerging technologies that are designed to champion Australia’s manufacturing innovation.
David Chuter, chief executive officer of IMCRC, said the event is the product of the research centre’s efforts to do what the organisation “could do,” which means bringing the industry and other entities together to celebrate new Australian innovations, business models, and outcomes from more than 30 of IMCRC’s product portfolio.
“With IMCRC approaching the end of its term, it is time to celebrate what our partners – ambitious manufacturing businesses, forward-thinking universities, talented students and supporting government organisations – have together achieved,” the organisation said.
In 2016, IMCRC and its business partners sought to catalyse the transformation of Australia’s manufacturing sector through collaborative investment, research impact, and innovation.
“Today, you all get an opportunity to see what can happen when you get the recipe and the ingredients right for collaborative investment, research impact, and innovation,” Chuter said in his speech.
Aside from their economic and socio-political benefits, Chuter also touched on the environmental impact of projects IMCRC and its partners have established.
Chuter also noted how COVID-19 and other geopolitical tensions and issues have severely exposed Australia’s capacity and capability to manufacture what the nation needs and create products, processes, and platforms to deliver globally.
The Celebrating Australian Manufacturing Innovation event is slated to run until tomorrow, 3 November, and is expected to foster collaboration among partners from various industries, including manufacturing businesses, academia, students, and government organisations.
In his speech at today’s event, Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic commended IMCRC’s successful demonstration of how successful the CRC model can be.
Since IMCRC’s conception in 2016, more than $230 million has been invested in collaborative research, manufacturing, and education across Australia, the minister added.
“The showcase over the next two days is a testament to the innovation and collaborative research and outcomes you have achieved,” he noted.
The IMCRC has helped catalysed a roster of transformative innovations for Australian companies. Take a look at some of the centre’s projects here.
