MINING equipment manufacturer, Hydramatic Engineering, was named Manufacturer of the Year, at the inaugural Manufacturers' Monthly Endeavour Awards held in Sydney last week.Winners, Highly Commended, and Finalists, were presented with their awards at a special breakfast held at the NSW Department of State and Regional Development offices in Sydney. The presentation was attended by almost 100 key representatives of Australia's manufacturing industry.As well as taking out the prestigious Manufacturer of the Year award, Newcastle-based Hydramatic also picked up the Innovative Australian Product award for its ARO Longwall Face Bolter, and the Exporter of the Year award for its roof bolting and drilling equipment. Highly Commended for the two categories were Jenkin Bros Engineering for its Jengrip air-over-hydraulic vice, and Tapex for its sports yarns, respectively.In the Technology Application category, Queensland-based Fulcrum Suspensions took out the award for its use of RFID technology in the production of its automotive suspension components, with NVP Tooling awarded Highly Commended for its use of Maxigas nitrogen generators.Winner of the Import Replacement Product award was Chess Engineering for its gangway assemblies for Tangara trains, with Corbett Robotics winning Highly Commended for its X-Tactor Gene.In the Environmental Solution award, Focus Press took out the award for its environment management system, while Licotec picked up the Highly Commended award for its micro-fibre liquid composite technology.Winner of the Safety Scheme of the Year award was Amcor Fibre Packaging for its wet lap baling safety guarding system, with BlueScope Steel winning the Highly Commended award for its No.4 metallic coating radiant tube burner project.Speaking at the awards, Australian Industry Group CEO Heather Ridout, who was one of the awards' judges, described the Endeavour Awards as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of local manufacturing companies."I want to thank Manufacturers' Monthly and congratulate them on these awards because I think they really do highlight the sophistication, the complexity, the modern and contemporary nature of Australian manufacturing and its capability of taking on the world," Mrs Ridout said."I must say, in reading the stories of the companies and the ideas they have put into new products and related services, it really is a tribute to their capability and I think it is a great counter argument to those who say that Australia's manufacturing industry doesn't have a future in Australia, because it certainly does."Nominations for the awards were also judged by Bill Ferme, president of the Manufacturing Society of Australia; Derek Lark, executive director of Industry Capability Network; Laszlo Nemes, science director of CSIRO Complex System Integration; and Alan Johnson, editor of Manufacturers' Monthly magazine.Manufacturers' Monthly Endeavour Awards recognise excellence in Australian industry, and are open to all Australian manufacturers, regardless of size. Entries to the Endeavour Awards for 2005 will open in February 2005.
