TRAINS carrying steel rail for a major upgrade to South Australia’s rail network began departing Arrium’s steelworks in Whyalla in September, on a contract to supply tens of thousands of tonnes of rail over the next three years.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester said the steel leaving Whyalla would be used to replace old rail on the railway line from Adelaide to Tarcoola with heavier, stronger steel. The contract between the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and the administrators of Arrium, KordaMentha, for about 73,000 tonnes of steel was officially handed over in Whyalla on September 8. 

“We are boosting the economy and saving money for freight companies by upgrading this 1,200km of rail to move more freight, faster between Adelaide and Tarcoola,” Mr Chester said.

Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Greg Hunt said the Turnbull Government was committed to supporting South Australia’s steel sector and the workers at Arrium.

“In addition to using Arrium’s steel for the railway, we are supporting the industry by using Australian steel across our naval shipbuilding program and by strengthening Australia’s anti-dumping system," Mr Hunt said.

"And earlier this year the government approved a $49.2 million loan to Arrium which will be used to purchase equipment for the company’s iron ore operations near Whyalla. We want to set the right business environment to ensure Australian firms like Arrium can grow, prosper and be globally competitive.”

ARTC Chief Executive John Fullerton said ARTC had been busily finalising a careful, staged roll-out plan for the project, but had a focus on delivering early orders of steel.

“The existing rail between Adelaide and Tarcoola has been nearing its end of life and the new rail delivered by this contract will allow rail operators to carry heavier wagons of freight at faster speeds," Mr Fullerton said. “This means ongoing benefits from this project for Australian businesses and ultimately, consumers.”

The Australian Government is fully funding the re-railing of Adelaide to Tarcoola.

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INNOVATIVE mini-cell evaporative cooling pad technology developed by Seeley International is said to improve its ducted air conditioning cooling capacity by 21 percent.

Seeley International founder and executive chairman, Frank Seeley, said the enhanced small cell design of the “revolutionary mini cell structure” – known as Chillcel – was the culmination of years of development and rigorous testing, achieving 21 percent greater cooling capacity than previous evaporative air conditioner models. 

Seeley is using the Chillcel pad technology, for which it has a patent pending, across its entire Breezair range of ducted air conditioners, making it the only manufacturer able to offer evaporative cooling pads fully manufactured in Australia and specifically designed to maximise cooling in the harsh local climate.

“Australia experiences some of the harshest weather extremes found anywhere in the world, so it has been important for Seeley International to design and develop evaporative cooling pads that deliver the best performance outcomes from some of the worst conditions in the world,” Mr Seeley said.

“The new pads, which are manufactured at Seeley International’s Lonsdale-based factory in Adelaide, offer 25 percent  more surface area and a new 4mm flute to dramatically improve cooling efficiency.

“Sourcing only the best quality paper and then manufacturing the pads locally means we have complete quality control over the saturation efficiencies of our coolers – and we can accurately assess the performance of this and other innovative breakthroughs at our onsite NATA-accredited testing facility.”

Mr Seeley said that another new feature introduced across the Breezair range was the external air sensor, which conveniently displays the outside temperature on an intuitive touch screen wall controller.

“Not only does this technology intuitively optimise water and energy use based on outside surrounding conditions, the life of the air conditioner will be extended because it also automatically drains the water tank when temperatures are near freezing point,” Mr Seeley said.

“These new features ensure Breezair customers are provided with market-leading products made from the best quality materials. Our customers can buy with confidence and know that they are supporting the creation and sustainment of Australian jobs and our local, but world-leading, manufacturing industry.”

To coincide with Seeley International’s newly-launched Breezair product features, the company has also unveiled a new-look Breezair website, reflecting feedback received from in-depth consumer market research.

The new easy-to-navigate website helps consumers to better understand the advantages of choosing a Breezair evaporative air conditioner and includes a video showing how the touch screen MagIQtouch wall controller works.

In addition to an animated description of how an evaporative air conditioner works, the website also contains a handy visual energy efficiency tool to help consumers compare the running costs of a Breezair evaporative air conditioner to reverse cycle air conditioning.

“One of the stand-out features of the updated Breezair website is the ‘help me choose’ feature. This helpful tool assists the consumer in choosing a Breezair model that is right for them,” Mr Seeley said.

http://www.breezair.com.au

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DEAKIN University has launched a research hub to work with industry on the future of high-performance and high-value fibre products, including carbon- and nano-fibres.

The Australian Research Council (ARC) Research Hub for a World-class Future Fibre Industry will undertake research into developing novel fibre technologies for more sustainable, advanced manufacturing of fibre materials and products, according to acting ARC chief executive officer, Leanne Harvey. 

Researchers based at Deakin University will work with business partners including HEIQ Australia Pty Ltd, Carbon Revolution, Quickstep Automotive, Ear Science Institute Australia Inc, and Draggin Jeans.

Other organisations utilising the hub include Swinburne University of Technology, CSIRO, Tufts University USA, University of Oxford UK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,  University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Ms Harvey said the ARC Research Hub for a World-class Future Fibre Industry would capitalise on the research team’s combined strength in fibre science and technology to come up with new innovative materials and techniques.

“Working directly with small and medium enterprises and international research leaders, this Hub will work to develop advanced carbon fibres, nanofibres and high-performance novel fibres, as well as value-added applications of fibre materials,” she said.

“Development of these new materials will be able help to reduce energy costs, minimise the environmental footprint of manufacturing processes, and improve public health and safety in the fibre industry, as well as also train the next generation of industry-savvy fibre research leaders.”

The ARC Research Hub Research Hub for a World-class Future Fibre Industry is receiving $4.7 million over five years through the Industrial Transformation Research Hubs scheme, a key component of the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Programme (ITRP).

www.arc.gov.au

www.futurefibreshub.com.au

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THE PRINTING Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) has joined the battle to protect the local book manufacturing industry, said to be threatened by the proposed removal of parallel import restrictions (PIRs) on overseas book editions.

The Federal Government is considering the removal of PIRs in the sector on the advice of the Harper Review and the Productivity Commission – an organisation that is the most recent iteration of what was once called the Australian Tariff Board and before that the Industries Assistance Commission. 

But there has been a public outcry from Australian publishers and authors who believe the move will overrun Australian intellectual property rights which protect authors and publishers from overseas imports – often of their own works. The Harper Review described the benefits of the move as providing cheaper books for Australians, but the publishing industry believes it would see Australian industry overrun and financially unsustainable.

Industry news source ProPrint reported the PIAA warned that Australia's authors – whose creative earnings are estimated at an average of less than $13,000 per year – would  lose the support of a currently healthy Australian publishing industry, as well as see declines in royalties and career-supporting income from overseas rights sales.

PIAA has combined with the Australian Publishers Association, the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and the Australian Society of Authors – with prominent authors Peter Carey and Thomas Keneally and deputy Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese in support – in a lobbying push to help protect the Aussie book industry.

www.piaa.org.au

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