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Articles on Australian manufacturing

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The trend of “mass customisation” will mean Australian factories will be very different places in the future. AAP

Will mass customisation change Australia’s manufacturing future?

Manufacturers across the world rely on economies from the scale of production to drive down unit cost. This “mass production” approach, focused on efficiency and uniformity of product, is feasible when…
The future of manufacturing lies in making high quality, niche products. Flickr\stevey b

Niche markets can breathe new life into manufacturing

Ford’s announcement that it will cease making cars in Australia is an enormous blow to manufacturing, and especially to the workers involved. But does it mean Australian manufacturing on its deathbed…
Ford’s impending shutdown of its car-making plants in Australia does not bode well for an already ailing manufacturing sector. AAP

Ford’s exit spells the end of the road for manufacturing

“You’ll never see Japanese cars in an RSL car park.” That was Bill Bourke, Ford Australia’s sales supremo of the ’60s. Bourke was wrong. Dead wrong. In 2016, Ford will cease manufacturing in Australia…
Nearly half of Australian adults are functionally illiterate, with manufacturing workers having some of the country’s lowest literacy levels, a significant issue as the industry continues to shed jobs. AAP Image/Julian Smith

The future for Ford workers: literacy will be key

Yesterday’s announcement that Ford will close its manufacturing operations in Geelong and Broadmeadows by 2016 at the cost of 1,200 jobs raises questions of what the workers’ future employment options…
Ford Australia has announced it will pull its car production out of Australia by 2016, with the loss of 1200 manufacturing jobs.

Ford to pull out of car production in Australia: expert reaction

The future of Australia’s auto manufacturing industry is under a heavy cloud after Ford’s announcement that it would cease its manufacturing operations in Australia by 2016. Ford Australia president Bob…
Recent redundancies at Holden have sparked debate over the need for a revised “industry policy”: but is this really the way forward? AAP/Andrew Brownbill

Industry policy must not second guess markets

The recent GM-Holden redundancies have provoked much comment, in many cases appealing for both state and federal governments to find solutions. But can government solve this dilemma, or is it a (big) part…
The Gillard government’s Industry and Innovation Statement aims to revive an ailing manufacturing sector and address Australia’s flagging productivity. AAP

Labor’s innovation plan provides hope for Australian manufacturing

While its launch in the heat of election battle was hardly propitious, the federal government’s new Industry and Innovation Statement, A Plan for Australian Jobs, is the long-awaited result of a serious…
Focusing on Australian electricity competitiveness will drive valuable investment in electricity-intensive industry. Jake Trussell

Australian electricity must get more competitive: here’s how

Electricity-intensive investment isn’t coming Australia’s way. We use our many natural resources to underpin our productivity and prosperity and we are extracting increasing amounts of metal from the ground…
Three recent reports into productivity highlight differing issues but agree that targeting industrial reform is not the key to lifting outputs. Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com

Changing work practices alone will not boost productivity

The Australian Government’s recently released white paper on Australia in the Asian Century identified productivity as one of five key areas for action, at a time when we are engaged in a major national…
With the government embroiled in an argument about how the level of car subsidies it pays, it’s time for a cost-benefit analysis that factors in the industry’s economic flow-on effects.

Concentrating on the costs of the car industry means we are failing to see the benefits

There are four facts we have all become aware of in the past few days – if not months – regarding car manufacturing subsidies. Fact 1: A lot of money has been given to Australian car manufacturers over…
The prime minister’s manufacturing taskforce calls for researchers, research agencies and business to work together to encourage innovation. AAP

Taskforce calls for more manufacturing-related research, sovereign wealth fund

The Prime Minister’s Taskforce on Manufacturing has made 41 recommendations to address the major challenges facing Australia’s manufacturing sector, including diverting funds into manufacturing-related…

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