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news

1 Dec 2009
Aersoapce industry flying above GFC - Inside Business ABC

Peter Nicholls talks to Melissa Brown from Inside Business... more >

2 May 2009
Big spending slated from recent Defence White Paper

The Australian Government’s Department of Defence released... more >

22 Apr 2009
Australian Aerospace Builds Local Industry Capability

Production Parts supplies machined components to Eurocopter... more >

current news

Aersoapce industry flying above GFC - Inside Business ABC

1st December, 2009 - Aersoapce industry flying above GFC - Inside Business ABC

While manufacturing has taken a hit during the global financial crisis, one sector that may prove to be the ultimate defensive play continues to land contracts worth tens of millions of dollars. Peter Nicholls talks to Inside Business reporter Melissa Brown.   To watch this video click here.

 

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Big spending slated from recent Defence White Paper

2nd May, 2009 - Big spending slated from recent Defence White Paper

Australia's Defence and Aerospace sector is a vibrant and growing Industry.

In May this year, the Australian Government Department of Defence released its White Paper; a strategic document outlining Australia's commitment to defence spending over the next 20 years. 

This new Defence White Paper explains how the Government plans to strengthen the foundations of Australia's defence. It sets out the Government's plans for Defence for the next few years, and how it will achieve those plans. Most importantly, it provides an indication of the level of resources that the Government is planning to invest in Defence over coming years. Within the next ten years alone, the Government has committed $110 billion in new defence spending.  Production Parts is currently supplying into many of the programs that have been identified by the 2009 White Paper.

You can view the full white paper here

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Australian Aerospace Builds Local Industry Capability

22nd April, 2009 - Australian Aerospace Builds Local Industry Capability

Australian Aerospace is continuing its commitment to bolstering Australian industry capabilities by working with Production Parts who supplies machined components to Australia Aerospace's parent company, Eurocopter, as part of the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and Multi-Roll Helicopter (MRH-90), Australian Industry Involvement Plan and Australian Industry Capability Plan.


James Baker, the Production Parts' Sales Manager, visited Eurocopter's Marignane facility on 22 April to oversee the company's first shipment of parts and meet with the Quality and Engineering teams. Mr Baker commented "being a part of a global Eurocopter supply chain is a significant milestone for Production Parts. Our involvement highlights another great example of Australian capability accessing the international supply chain and we are very enthusiastic about the potential for future work it creates between Production Parts, Eurocopter and Australian Aerospace."

Congratulating Production Parts on their significant milestone, Dr Jens Goennemann, CEO Australian Aerospace, said "Australian Aerospace and Production Parts have worked together for several years to achieve this result. Australian Aerospace is proud to support local companies in their evolution and to build industrial capacity and strength in the local economy."
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Peter Nicholls gives his view on "The Future of Australian Manufacturing - Is Innovation Enough?"

Peter Nicholls, Managing Director of Production Parts, yesterday spoke at the RACV Club in Melbourne, Australia about "The Future of Australian Manufacturing - Is Innovation Enough?". Mr Nicholls took the opportunity to emphasise the importance of government infrastructure and the business environment to support industry whilst highlighting the elements of manufacturing success.


Government policy and its influence on open markets; the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme; anti-dumping laws; clarity around procurement policies and access to capital were each explored. Mr Nicholls stated "in unpredictable and difficult economic times, the key to sustainability is to increase certainty wherever possible. All industry players, but especially SMEs, need certainty to enable to plan and to invest in innovation, equipment and skills development." For the defence sector, the new Defence White Paper will provide certainty on the Federal Government's future plans for the future defence needs of Australia.

Aside from government policy, Mr Nicholls recognised that winning new work is absolutely critical to all manufacturers along with filling skill-shortages and creating a capacity to manufacture on-shore. A true optimist, Mr Nicholls concluded that "as per every economic crisis, there is an end and the end for this monster maybe closer than we think."
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Production Parts signs major up-skilling agreement

7th April, 2009 - Production Parts signs major up-skilling agreement

Production Parts has been awarded by the Department of Defence SADI (Skilling Australia's Defence Industry) Program, a new major agreement to up-skill current staff and secure future jobs within the defence industry.


This agreement, in collaboration with the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Ltd (AMTIL) and Swinburne TAFE, aims to train 30 current employees and by 2010, an estimated 60 employees under the Diploma of Engineering course held in-house at the Production Parts' Airport West facility.

Production Parts' HR Director, Kate Nicholls, explained "it was difficult to find the right training program that would be fully suited and relevant to our business. With the guidance of AMTIL and the flexible approach from Swinburne, we were able to develop a fully tailored and accredited course that has been designed specifically for our company. The Department of Defence and the SADI Program has supported this approach in the way we were able to develop an open dialogue with the training providers to create this valuable course for the defence manufacturing industry."

Benefits of this agreement include increasing staff skills in shortage areas, increasing staff retention, improving the quality of training and ensuring Australia stays at the forefront of international defence and aerospace manufacturing.
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Peter Nicholls on "Flattening the Cyclical Defence Industry Workload" at the ADM Conference

Peter Nicholls, Managing Director of Production Parts, yesterday spoke at the ADM Conference on "Flattening the Cyclical Defence Industry Workload" and addressed some of the main concerns faced by small business in the defence and aerospace sector.


Mr Nicholls recognised the enormous opportunities offered by the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Australia's aerospace industry but also highlighted the substantial challenges which need some resolution. Issues like the ITAR, schedule slip; procurement practices; material acqusition problems; language and communication problems and the global financial crisis are all being fought by SME's who have very limited personnel and financial resources. It provided some comfort that the Hon. Greg Combet AM MP, former Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement acknowledged that "until (the DMO) get real cultural change throughout the whole DMO and until we see the DMO run more like a business and less like a bureaucracy these frustrations will continue."

Other issues Mr Nicholls highlighted included Australia's skill shortage; the uncertain state of defence industry policy and the much anticipated Defence White Paper. Mr Nicholls stated "we need the industry policy certainty and the local industry involvement not just said, but clearly enunciated and delivered...I'm absolutely unconvinced that the defence industry policy advisors in this city properly understand what Australian defence industry is capable of achieving... (and) should be held to account for their advice, which has lacked commercial nous, costing Australian businesses dearly."

Mr Nicholls concluded stated that "the future of Australian defence industry is very promising provided the sorts of measures, which (have been) identified are addressed. And for all of us, all we want is a fair go."
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New Victorian Skilling program launched by the Hon. Jacinta Allan and the Hon. Joe Helper

9th December, 2008 - New Victorian Skilling program launched by the Hon. Jacinta Allan and the Hon. Joe Helper

Production Parts was pleased to host the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP, Minister for Skills and Workforce Participation, and the Hon. Joe Helper MP, Minister for Small Business, to launch the Victorian Government's latest skills and training package: Skills for Growth, the Workforce Development Program worth $52 million.

The launch was welcomed by Minister Allan who commented "Victoria's small and medium business sector employs many people in more than 190,000 small to medium sized businesses across a range of industries. The Skills for Growth program will assist Victorian small and medium businesses in developing job-ready people, to attract and retain workers who are able to take on new challenges and apply these learnt skills to their work."

This intiative seeks to connect small businesses with independent specialists to identify business priorities, current workforce planning needs, and skill development needs. Minister Helper stated "by helping businesses manage and invest in training, we're encouraging small to medium enterprises to step up to the next level of capacity and expertise."
 
Production Parts' HR Director, Kate Nicholls, added "our company continues to grow strongly and we are investing in our people to ensure we maintain our competitive advantage on a global scale. For those that remain skeptical, let me assure you, there is a place for manufacturing in this country. This includes niche, high technology and high value add sectors for industries such as defence and aerospace."
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Production Parts picks up AMTIL Advanced Manfacturing Exporter of the Year Award

Production Parts was last night recognised by AMTIL (the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Ltd), as Australia's Advanced Manufacturing Exporter of the Year.


These coveted annual awards draw entries from across the country and are aimed at highlighting Australian manufacturing innovation and excellence.

Production Parts' Managing Director, Peter Nicholls, commented "we are pleased to have been recognised for this prestigious award. The Australian manufacturing industry is alive and well and we appreciate the recognition and support in the machine tool and ancillary equipment sector."
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Hon. Greg Combet Launches New Machining Centre

8th October, 2008 - Hon. Greg Combet Launches New Machining Centre

During a recent visit by the Hon. Greg Combet AM MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, Production Parts officially unveiled its newest machining centre investment worth approximately $1.5 million. The newly installed Okuma Macturn 550 is one of few such machines in Australia and was purchased by the company to specifically undertake work on a new multi-million dollar Torpedo contract recently awarded to Production Parts by Thales Australia.


The ribbon cutting ceremony was welcomed by Mr. Combet who stated "this is a great example of an Australian SME investing in cutting edge technology to support the ADF." Production Parts' Managing Director, Peter Nicholls, added "this large scale manufacturing project has facilitated the procurement of some very sophisticated equipment, manufacturing software, new employment and skills enhancement. We're very excited to be a part of this milestone program."
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