By CASEY NEILL
AN INDUSTRY forum has heard that marketing innovations, trade agreements and collaboration are three key issues facing manufacturers.
Chisholm’s Automotive and Logistics Training Centre in Dandenong hosted more than 200 industry guests from the manufacturing sector last Monday, 7 April.
Financial journalist James Kirby hosted a discussion forum on the state of Australia’s manufacturing industry with Manufacturing Minister David Hodgett, Jayco’s Gerry Ryan, Diver Consolidated Industries’ Jim Griffin and South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) executive officer Adrian Boden.
Opening the event, Chisholm CEO Maria Peters said the institute would establish an ongoing conversation for manufacturing industry members through a series of seminars.
Mr Griffin said manufacturers in Australia received support for research and development, but were often at a loss when the time came to commercialise the product they’d created.
“That’s where a lot of companies fail,” he said.
“A lot of good ideas get left on the vine.”
Mr Griffin also highlighted “massively unfair trade agreements” with South Korea, Thailand, the US, Japan and Malaysia as a disadvantage for Australian exporters.
He said there was “no control” over what products came into Australia, yet tough restrictions on Australian products entering overseas markets.
Mr Ryan said Australian businesses had to “jump through hoops” to export to Europe, but companies sending products into Australia didn’t comply with standards here.
“All we ask for is a level playing field,” he said.
Mr Ryan was non-committal when asked if he could have established and built his business in today’s climate.
“There are opportunities out there. They are different today,” he said.
“It comes down to each individual and his passion.
“Australia has got the capabilities. We’ve just got to believe in ourselves.”
Mr Boden said Australian manufacturers were nimble because the vast majority were small, but that this reduced their ability to compete overseas.
“It’s very expensive to export. It’s very expensive to get yourself into a position to export,” he said.
He highlighted a “great lack of collaboration within our own environment” – which would strengthen exporting power – pointing to one local company that made guitars but bought cases from the UK.
“It comes back to complacency,” he said.
Chisholm will soon announce dates for further industry leader forums over the coming 12 months.
