Premium advanced manufacturing machine supplier and servicer Innovync is bringing its expertise in composites and carbon fibre to the AFCG, helping fellow members become more efficient, productive and innovative.
Servicing machinery used by leading aerospace, automotive and renewables producers, Innovync says it is bridging the gap between Australia’s advanced manufacturers and the offshore makers of state-of-the-art equipment.
The company sources premier CNC machines from the world’s best European manufacturers and provides expert installation, maintenance, repairs and fast spare parts replacements. It maintains machines within the advanced materials, plastics, stone and glass sectors across Australia and New Zealand.
“As an agent in Australia, we provide the missing link between manufacturers in Europe – that have vast experience and knowledge right across all the different manufacturing industries – and the manufacturers in Australia. That’s where we see ourselves, bridging that gap,” Managing Director Pierre Sullivan tells the Cluster.
An electrical engineer, Mr Sullivan grew up on a small farm in Ireland’s County Cavan “fixing and adjusting things” before arriving in Australia in 2005.
“I would always fix my own bikes and help dad to build things,” he says. “I had an interest in working with my hands.”
Innovync, which counts leading Superyacht Tender manufacturer VIKAL among its customers, just had its most successful year yet, with surging interest in Victoria and Queensland in particular. It supplies CMS (customised machine solutions) machines, designed to take information from a customer and re-engineer to provide solutions depending on specific requirements.
Joining the AFCG provides Innovync an opportunity “get a feel for what is actually required in a practical sense” in the local advanced materials community.
Pierre Sullivan | Managing Director, Innovync
“I really like what the Cluster is all about. We did some research and like the approach to the universities and collaboration with companies,” Mr Sullivan says.
“It is an opportunity for us to gain knowledge specifically in the carbon fibre space and then provide that feedback to the manufacturer as to what is required and potentially develop machines that are the solution.”
There can be a divide between university graduates with “all the brains and knowledge” and companies with the practical experience, he says.
“The Cluster brings those two together, with industry knowledge and companies that are out there in the field experiencing the need for innovation and development.”
Marine diesel mechanic and technical consultant Ryan Slater, who spent five years in Germany, recently came aboard as Innovync’s Business Development Manager for advanced materials and plastics after CMS endorsed and encouraged the business taking on its advanced materials range.
The key differentiator for Innovync is its high quality after sales service, delivered by highly experienced technicians. CMS technician, Marco Usellini, for example, has joined Innovync in Australia, directly from the equipment manufacturer.
Mr Sullivan says having extensive knowledge on the ground in “real time” rather than trapped in Europe is invaluable.
“The benefit of that is we can get that knowledge back to the customer to get the machine fixed in real time,” he says. “Marco can also train other staff so they have that knowledge as well.”
The team is excited to see activity in the manufacturing sector gain momentum and is confident there is a big impact to be made in the field, especially through advanced manufacturing.
“People just think that because there is no big car companies, manufacturing is dead. That is certainly not true,” Mr Sullivan says. “There is a misperception in Australia that manufacturing is not viable, whereas the reality is far from that.”
Jul 2021