Susan Close MP
Deputy Premier
Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science
The South Australian Government is providing $4 million for a new manufacturing growth accelerator at Flinders University’s Factory of the Future, honouring a key election commitment to bolster capacity in the state’s local manufacturing sector.
The funding will help small to medium South Australian businesses to integrate with major defence programs and other manufacturing projects and enterprises.
It is in addition to the $10 million committed by the new federal Labor government for the significant expansion of the Factory of the Future.
Business planning for the manufacturing growth accelerator is already underway, with the program’s first foundation project to begin in the coming weeks.
The Factory of the Future equips South Australian small and medium-sized businesses with the knowledge and technologies they need to be competitive in global supply chains.
This new funding, allocated over four years, will allow the university’s Australian Industrial Transformation Institute (AITI) to work with industry to accelerate the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies.
This means eligible businesses will participates in information sessions, bespoke accelerator projects, and/or Industry 4.0 assessment sessions.
Located at Tonsley Innovation District, the Factory of the Future was founded by Flinders University, the South Australian Government and defence giant BAE Systems Australia in early 2018.
It strives to connect industry with enabling technologies, research capabilities and training to modernise and transform manufacturing.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Dr Susan Close
The global manufacturing sector is evolving at a remarkable pace, and it can be a real challenge for our smaller businesses to keep up with new technologies and ways of operating.
What the Malinauskas government aims to do is support those willing to take on this challenge—empowering the business owners willing to learn, adapt, scale up, and invest in R&D to ensure the sustainability of their operations into the future.
We are delighted to support Flinders University’s Factory of the Future to establish the manufacturing growth accelerator. The organisation has already demonstrated early success in connecting research and industry to reach innovative new solutions.
Quotes attributable to Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Impact) and Director of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute, Professor John Spoehr
The manufacturing growth accelerator will help to realise the ambition of boosting the growth of advanced manufacturing output, jobs, and exports in South Australia by supporting companies to test, refine and adopt the most advanced technologies and processes available globally.
It will work with SMEs to maximise their prospects of successful participation in key local supply chains, better positioning them to secure local contracts and pursue lucrative export opportunities, through linkages with key industrial partners.
The Factory of the Future and manufacturing growth accelerator is primed for engagement with more than 200 enterprises, generating projected employment opportunities for some 800 highly skilled jobs.
A foundation project has already been put in place with leading South Australian welding company, K-TIG which will be working with Flinders researchers on trials of their innovative welding technology in the Factory of the Future.
Quotes attributable to BAE Systems Australia Director, Business Development and Continuous Naval Shipbuilding, Sharon Wilson
The Factory of the Future has achieved tangible results improving efficiencies at the Osborne Naval Shipyard, one of the world’s most advanced shipyards, and will play a significant role in transforming Australia’s shipbuilding industry by supporting the building of a world-class, continuous naval shipbuilding capability for our nation.
13 July 2022
