Advanced Fibre Cluster members are being encouraged to provide input and Expressions of Interest for a new Industry Capability Development (ICD) activity proposed by DMTC Ltd.
ICD Program Leader for DMTC, Charlotte Morris, gave a briefing to members as part of a recent workshop, The Composites Advantage, co-hosted by the AFCG, DMTC and the Geelong Manufacturing Council.
She said DMTC was keen to hear from potential participants in a new composites-focused ICD, and interested in hearing views on the structure and emphasis of the benchmarking project.
Australia’s Defence Capability Acquisition & Sustainment Group (CASG) was among high level speakers at The Composites Advantage webinar early this month.
Brigadier Shaun Hoffman, Director General of Land Manoeuvre Systems, defined Defence’s concept of “sovereign capability” and emphasised CASG’s commitment to help Australian small and medium size enterprises crack into the defence market.
The workshop was developed out of a 2021 report commissioned by DMTC, and supported by the AFCG, that identified significant capabilities in carbon fibre and composite manufacturing across Australian industry and academia.
Professor Martin Veidt of DMTC and the University of Queensland highlighted the key comparative advantages of composites in defence applications, as well as options for hybridisation to improve cost-effectiveness and other characteristics.
David Doral, CTO & Head of Engineering at Quickstep shared opportunities and challenges in defence and commercial aerospace supply chain. He said new markets such as urban air mobility, electric vehicles and space were showing promise for composite companies. Quickstep is the largest composites solutions provider in Australia.
The DMTC study, completed by Bremer and Co and the AFCG, found several challenges for Australian industry, in particular issues related to the lack of scale of SMEs involved in the defence supply chain.
Please contact Charlotte Morris for further information:
Charlotte Morris
Program Leader – Industry Capability Development, DMTC Ltd
T: 03 9214 4447 M: 0403 250 371
E: charlotte.morris@dmtc.com.au
Level 2, 24 Wakefield St. Hawthorn VIC 3122
General Enquiries: +61 3 9214 4447
Nov 2021