By Casey Neill
A manufacturing forum in Dandenong celebrated successful transitions from automotive to new sectors and looked to a bright future.
The Drum Theatre hosted the free, day-long Victoria’s Transforming Manufacturing Industry Forum: Opportunities and Challenges on Tuesday 12 September
Dandenong MP Gabrielle Williams told the forum’s opening session that in recent times, the focus in relation to manufacturing had been on challenges, especially with the closure of passenger vehicle manufacturing in Australia.
“But we need to be careful that we aren’t confusing or conflating the story of auto manufacturing with the story of manufacturing more generally,” she said.
“Because, especially here in the South-East, our manufacturing sector has been the author of many, many good stories.
“We produce world-class trains and trams, we are home to the most well-known and loved caravan manufacturer in the country.
“We also have businesses doing exciting work in the defence space, as well as world leading food manufacturers.”
Ms Williams said the region was “the beating heart of manufacturing in Victoria”.
“I hope the day leads to the valuable sharing of opportunities, of partnerships and ideas so that we can continue with the next chapter of positive stories, the next phase of world leading innovation and design, and jobs – lots of jobs!”
Business network SEBN and South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) hosted the afternoon session titled The Future is Now … and Always Has Been.
SEMMA executive officer Adrian Boden explained that innovation and creativity had been an ever-constant factor in human development.
“The idea that we must innovate misses the fact that we have been doing just that for millennium,” he said.
“Can we do better? Absolutely. Are we as good as the best? Probably not.
“To compete, we need to measure ourselves against the best globally and go from there.
“And remember – today is yesterday’s future.”
Nitto Denko Australia managing director Michael Finn spoke about the business’ transition as a subsidiary of an international company.
The company’s headquarters had long identified its Australian arm as an auto industry company so its purpose was in doubt following the auto industry exit announcement.
Mr Finn and his team looked for an opportunity in Australia that would fit within the global organisation and identified agriculture, specifically livestock monitoring.
Simultaneously, HQ was working on smart device technology without an intended application.
They met in the middle and Nitto Denko Australia quickly moved from facing likely closure as “a peel and stick company to a leading tech company”.
Venture DMG CEO Dean Lomas said he brought his team into the transition process.
“Everybody knew exactly where they stood,” he said.
“You cannot take everybody with you on the journey.
“The auto skills we’ve learnt are transferrable across industries and across countries. We shouldn’t lose sight of that.”
But Mr Lomas said that in branching out into other sectors “we didn’t really know what made those industries tick” so partnerships were important.
