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@AuManufacturing Conversations
@AuManufacturing Conversations is a regular interview program hosted by Brent Balinski (with other hosts occasionally) bringing you discussions with the folks who are contributing to a critical part of Australia's economy.
We hope to capture something of the variety of manufacturing, its place in the nation, its changing nature, and some of the personalities within it.
From the boutique to the billion dollar, if it's manufacturing and it's Australian, then it likely matters to us. This podcast is an extension of the @AuManufacturing news and analysis website and the community around it, and complements what's written online at www.aumanufacturing.com.au.
Interested in advertising? Get in touch via editor@aumanufacturing.com.au
@AuManufacturing Conversations
Episode 125 -- “It can happen here” with Martin Ripple from ANCA, Simon Crane from Lovells Group, Jon Bulman from Finisar, and David Martin from the Australian Industry Group
This episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations is the “It can happen here” session recorded at our June 25 Spotlight on Scaling Up seminar.
The panel features leaders from three established manufacturing companies that have grown handsomely through international leadership within their respective niches. How have they changed their industry? How do they continue to stay relevant? And how do they address the challenges of doing this from Australia? The moderator is David Martin, the Australian Industry Group's Director of Emerging Industries and Innovation.
The panel guests are:
- Martin Ripple, CEO, ANCA;
- Jon Bulman, Senior Director of Manufacturing, Finisar; and
- Simon Crane, CEO, Lovells Group
Spotlight on Scaling Up was hosted by @AuManufacturing in partnership with AMGC, BDO, and the Australian Business Growth Fund.
Episode guide
0:50 – An introduction to the panel
2:00 – Panellists introduce themselves
5:56 – The one government grant that Lovells won, the horrors attached to it, and the lessons from it.
7:35 – ““That was a great example of focussing on the grant, not on whether this is a good idea at all.”
7:50 – A lesson learned at Finisar from a difficult project after “a period of pain”.
9:22 – It’s very easy to pick to wrong country before trying to export, and some lessons from ANCA on this.
11:10 – Why Lovells is attached to making it here. “I come from employing a lot of Australians. I really like it and I’m just not interested in building factories overseas.”
12:29 – Finisar’s approach to production and its supply chain. “A good balance” has been established across South Korea, China and Australia.
15:30 – The “Australian government should” issue and why companies should maybe ignore it and be masters of their own destiny.
17:35 – Issues of scale versus the United States market. “It’s not one order of magnitude…difference.”
18:45 – Ripple’s libertarian point of view when it comes to the government’s role.
19:44 – Government has a role, but it cannot supply the key ingredient of passion that startups need.
20:52 – Creating a culture of believing we could do it.
22:05 – The mentality of looking to Asian factories first among startups.
23:18 – A case for propaganda to convince Australians that we can manufacture.
24:10 – A question on access to finance from an audience member to the “landed gentry”.
26:40 – A question for ANCA about customer service, and an EOFY sales offer.
27:50 – Succession difficulties.
29:30 – Increases in the cost of doing business in Australia.
30:35 – “You can turn red tape into a profit.”
32:02 – Australian biotech and why it so often ends up overseas.
33:12 – The peculiar situation of being US-owned and owning a Chinese factory.
