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Flinders University has welcomed Labor’s backing of a proposed $50 million Australian Centre for Innovative Manufacturing (ACIM) at Tonsley, saying the precinct would connect Australian companies with the latest manufacturing technologies, research expertise and training to modernise workforces.
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The 4,000-square-metre advanced manufacturing test bed facility at Flinders' Tonsley Innovation District is anticipated to play a key role in providing "state-of-the-art facilities to explore the application of new technologies capable of manufacturing next generation products".
Pro-vice chancellor of research impact and director of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute, Professor John Spoehr, said he welcomed a $20 million commitment from Labor, and is "looking forward to support from all sides of politics".
“This is an initiative that transcends politics and is deserving of broad support in the state’s, and the nation’s, interest,” Professor Spoehr said.
“Advanced technologies are transforming manufacturing around the world, fuelling the growth of new and existing companies and generating thousands of well-paid and rewarding jobs."
The Labor commitment was announced by opposition spokesman for innovation, industry, science and research Kim Carr, and is expected to create more than 750 jobs in South Australia, and generate $182 million in economic activity for the state.
Flinders said that the ACIM would be established with a "mandate to create jobs and promote growth in areas of strategic importance to Australia, including defence and aerospace, construction, medical devices/assistive technologies, wine and food and minerals and energy".
The advanced manufacturing technologies that could be included at ACIM are:
- automation;
- robotics;
- cobotics (collaborative robots);
- digitally assisted assembly;
- photonic sensing; and
- land and maritime autonomous systems.
“Step-change strategies are needed to enable Australia and SA to be at the centre of this technological revolution," Professor Spoehr added.
"Large scale ‘Factories of the Future’ are playing a key role in accelerating this transition in the UK, Europe and the United States because they bring researchers and companies together in purpose-built facilties to explore innovation of existing technologies and experimentation with new technologies.”
The ACIM would be an affiliate of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in Sheffield, UK, which is the world’s leading advanced manufacturing accelerator and funded by the UK government’s Industry Catapult Program.
Flinders University will invest $10 million towards land, capital and operational costs, while $30 million in investment has been sought from the federal and state governments towards capital, equipment and operational costs. Industry investment is expected to be more than $10 million over the short term.
