The Australian Government has announced the Board that will lead the Manufacturing Industry Precinct, an initiative under the $1 billion Plan for Australian Jobs.
The Board convened for the first time on June 13 and is chaired by Mr. Albert Goller, the former Managing Director and Chair of Siemens Australia and New Zealand. It is composed of a core group of highly-skilled individuals representing different players in the manufacturing industry:
- Christine Bridges-Taylor, General Manager and Director, B&R Enclosures
- Paul Bastian, National Secretary, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
- Dr Fred Davis, Vice President of Business Development, Universal Biosensors
- John Dixon, Managing Director, Silk Logistics Group
- Dr Calum Drummond, Group Executive, Manufacturing, Materials and Minerals, CSIRO
- Mike Edwards, General Manager, Boeing Research & Technology Australia
- Professor Paul Greenfield AO, Chair, ANSTO
- Michael Heard, member of South Australian Premier’s Science and Industry Council and former CEO of Codan Ltd.
- Dr Frank Koentgen, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ozgene
- Rhett Morson, General Manager, Morson Engineering
- Mike Rausa, Executive Director Corporate Services, Toyota Motor Corporation Australia
“The board includes a strong mix of major manufacturers and SMEs, along with representatives from unions, the research sector and the manufacturing value chain,” said Mr. Greg Combet, Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation in a media release.
“We know that collaboration and innovation are vital to improving the productivity of our industries and these experienced business and research leaders will work with our manufacturing sector to improve knowledge and skills, deploy technology and develop growth-oriented businesses.”
Headquartered in the New Horizons building at the Clayton Campus of Monash University in Melbourne, the Manufacturing Industry Precinct will bring together manufacturing experts and researchers that will foster innovation in the areas of product design and development, manufacturing techniques, and firm organization and management.
The Precinct will work alongside staff from Monash and CSIRO, and will also be collaborating with entities such as Austrade, AusIndustry, Commercialisation Australia, the Cooperative Research Centres and Enterprise Connect.
The Innovation Industry Precincts Program is one of the key initiatives in the Plan for Australian Jobs, which aims to support various Australian industries to win new business abroad and help local businesses benefit from the economic opportunities emerging from growing demand in international markets, especially in Asia.
More than half a billion dollars will be invested by the Gillard Government to build Industry Innovation Precincts throughout the country.
Aside from the Melbourne headquarters, the Manufacturing Industry Precinct will also have a presence in Adelaide focusing on defense-related manufacturing.
Commencement of the Precinct will be in July.
