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Australia’s largest defence exporter has continued its tour around Australia as it seeks to engage with Australian businesses ahead of its bid for the $3 billion Offshore Patrol Vessel project.
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This week, Austal was in Brisbane continuing an industry engagement series presenting the AustalFassmer joint venture bid for the Australian government’s $3 billion OPV project.
Austal’s market development manager Tim Speer was joined by Ross Vasta, federal member for Bonner, to outline the opportunities for Queensland defence and manufacturing companies as part of the AustalFassmer supply chain.
"We cannot succeed without a strong supply chain," Speer said
"More than 1,000 Australian companies are already contributing to our supply chain and this supports work on our naval vessels for the Australian government, the US government and our numerous commercial projects.
"It is very important to AustalFassmer to maximise engagement with Australian industry, which means engaging as many local companies as possible, on all aspects of the project.
"The AustalFassmer joint venture is the only bid participant to commit to doing all of the OPV design work in Australia, something that gives our country a real platform for future exports.
"Austal is Australia’s largest defence exporter and, armed with Fassmer’s world leading design, we are confident Australia can be an exporter of choice for these sorts of ships."
Last week, Austal engaged with the Victorian defence industry with more than 120 Victorian defence and manufacturing companies attending the industry engagement forum in Melbourne, along with others two days prior in Bendigo.
Austal was joined by Senator Bridget McKenzie to engage local companies on supplier opportunities in the Bendigo region.
Austal’s vice president defence Davyd Thomas AO, CSC said that Austal is committed to increasing the Australian industry content.
"This is a national endeavour and there are opportunities in every part of Australia, including the regions, to be part of Austal’s global supply chain. As the country’s largest defence exporter we look forward to working with Bendigo companies as we continue to grow our operations in Australia and overseas," Thomas said.
The OPV program will see 12 vessels built for the Royal Australian Navy, with the first two boats being made in Adelaide and the remainder in Western Australia.
AustalFassmer is up against two other European companies for the project, Damen and Lürssen, which have both teamed with ASC Shipbuilding and Forgacs (Civmec).
