New grant opportunity for advanced manufacturers in Victoria and South Australia
Small and medium sized manufacturing firms in Victoria and South Australia are now able to apply for the second round of Advanced Manufacturing Growth Fund grants.
The acting Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Michaelia Cash, has announced that $16.4 million has been released for eligible to co-invest in capital projects to enhance their advanced manufacturing capabilities.
“I encourage Victorian and South Australian businesses looking to transition and expand into advanced manufacturing to apply for these grants,” Minister Cash said in a statement opening the latest tranche. “This provides a real incentive for businesses to invest in a step change to advanced manufacturing, improving their productivity and domestic and international competitiveness.”
The Advanced Manufacturing Fund
The grants form part of the $100 million Advanced Manufacturing Fund announced in the 2017–18 Federal Budget. The fund offers Victorian and South Australian firms with fewer than 200 full time equivalent employees grants between $500,000 to $2.5 million to cover up to a third of the cost of capital projects that establish or expand advanced manufacturing activities.
The program looks to encourage further investment in advanced manufacturing activities in these states and smooth the transition of the manufacturing sector from car making and other traditional, heavy industrial processes to the knowledge-based manufacturing of higher value products.
The fund supports capital projects which use advanced technologies, promote design and engineering excellence or empower innovative business processes. Projects must include the buying, constructing, installing or commissioning of manufacturing capital equipment and result in commercial production ready manufacturing.
Funded projects must be completed by 30 June 2020 and as grants will only cover one third of eligible costs, the minimum total project amount is $1.5 million.
Eligible companies are invited to view the applicability documentation in more detail and should lodge their applications before the end of February next year.
First round successes
Under the first round of grants, announced on October 17 this year, 20 companies shared almost $30 million in financial assistance towards projects worth a total of $119 million.
Firms which benefitted included Victoria’s 3DMEDiTech, Boundary Bend Olives, Air-Radiators, C.N.C. Design, Calix, Carbon Revolution Operations, Cylite, DorsaVi, Flat Glass Industries, FMP Group, LeMond Composites, Mercedes Packaging, MiniFAB, Nissan Casting and Sypharma.
South Australian firms to receive funding included ATi Implants, Codan, Levett Engineering, REDARC Electronics and the Somark Group.
