Briefcase: Business Snippets from around South Australia
In this week’s briefcase, top UK businesses are encouraged to join the SA Club, a task force is assembled to increase VET completion rates and Maptek launches a new underground vision system. Plus upcoming business events in South Australia.
- Top UK businesses encouraged to join the SA Club
- Taskforce assembled to increase VET completion rates
- VALO announces rebranding
- UniSuper enters European market with $1 billion investment
- Hydrogen needs value add for home consumption
- Maptek launches new underground vision system
Top UK businesses encouraged to join the SA Club
A South Australian Club International event was hosted on 12 May 2023 in London to encourage investments from United Kingdom-based industry leaders.
The event highlighted the state’s economic priorities to some of the UK’s most influential business figures with a focus on renewable energy, food and wine, digital skills, space and defence.
“The United Kingdom is one of our most important trade partners and investment opportunities – particularly for South Australia – are fast expanding following the AUKUS deal,” said Minister for Trade and Investment Nick Champion.
“South Australia offers world-class strengths, skills, and capabilities and we will continue to pull every lever at our fingertips to demonstrate why more global businesses should invest in our State.”
The London chapter of the SA Club now has more than 150 members from business, politics, academia, media and the arts who SA ambassadors can access to help local companies break into the UK market.
Taskforce assembled to increase VET completion rates
As part of a $13.7 million response to South Australia’s vocational skills shortage, a new Expert Taskforce has been appointed to improve the completion rate of VET courses in the state.
The government announced in March that 190,000 people with vocational qualifications will be needed by 2032, yet current completion rates for VET qualifications sits at 45 per cent.
Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer said the Taskforce will consider how to improve completion rates and provide advice to inform the next National Skills Agreement.
“With skills shortages across so many industry sectors impacting everyday Australians we have a mandate to consider from every angle how to get more people who start training to finish,” said Boyer.
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“It’s critical that students continue their learning and gain their qualification to make a contribution to the workforce.”
Expert Taskforce members are: Madeline Richardson (Skills SA), Craig Robertson (Victorian Skills Authority), Joseph Mitchell (Australian Council of Trade Unions), Megan Lilly (Australian Industry Group), Natalie Heazlewood (Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Jenny Dodd (TAFE Directors Australia), Troy Williams (Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia), Maxine Sharkey (Australian Education Union), Peter Dawkins (Jobs and Skills Australia), Belinda Campbell (Department of Employment and Workplace Relations), Jeremy Kurucz (NSW Department of Education) and Ross Kelly (WA Department of Training and Workforce Development).
VALO has rebranded to VAILO. Photo: VAILO.
VALO announces rebranding
Adelaide-based advanced lighting technology company VALO has announced a rebranding and name change to VAILO as the company expands into the international market.
When in the United States to scope the company’s first export project, Chief Executive Aaron Hickmann found several products and services already associated with the name ‘Valo’.
“The name VALO, meaning ‘light’, was associated with several diverse products and services globally,” the InDaily 40 Under 40 alumnus and current judge said.
“It has been a success for us in Australia, however owning a single word in a unique spelling while retaining the pronunciation is important for our rapid expansion as we export product to stadia projects globally.
“We believe that our new name better reflects our vision and values as a company and will help us differentiate ourselves in this and other new markets as we expand our reach.”
The new name and branding officially came into use on 12 May 2023.
InDaily 40 Under 40 Awards will be held on Thursday 8 June at Adelaide Oval, tickets selling fast, be quick.
How to defuse the “Exploding Suitcase of Challenges”, AmCham lunch, Wednesday 17 May, 11:45-2pm, Sky City Adelaide, $179 members, $229 non-members.
The William Buck Adelaide 2023 CFO Summit will be held at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday 17 May from 8:30am to 4:30pm. $495 per ticket.
The AEDA Business Summit will be held at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday 24 May from 9am-3pm.
Celebrate Refugee Week with Community Corporate’s Feast for a Future dinner on Friday 23 June at the Grosvenor Hotel. $160 per ticket or at VIP Table for $2000
The Food SA 2023 Food & Beverage Summit will be held on Wednesday 21 June at the Adelaide Oval. $297 for members, $403 for early bird non-members, three for the price of two available.
Operation Flinders Breakfast with Tim Jarvis, Thursday 6 July, 7:30-9:30am, Hilton Adelaide, $79, with proceeds helping transform the lives of young people.
SA Budget and Economic Update, CEDA, Wednesday 5 July, 12-2pm, Adelaide Convention Centre, price upon registration.
UniSuper enters European market with $1 billion investment
Making their first direct unlisted infrastructure investment in Europe, UniSuper has secured a five per cent indirect stake in Vantage Towers – one of the continent’s leading mobile tower businesses.
UniSuper’s Head of Private Markets, Sandra Lee said the investment will complement UniSuper’s large infrastructure portfolio which includes Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane Airports.
“This is a high-quality defensive infrastructure investment with strong fundamentals and growth prospects,” said Lee.
“It adds to UniSuper’s approximately $15 billion private markets portfolio and is positioned to deliver excellent results for our members over the long term.”
Vantage Towers has a portfolio of over 83,000 sites across 10 markets including Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, with Vodafone acting as their major shareholder.
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Vodafone’s investment in Vantage Towers came about through a consortium with GIP and KKR infrastructure managers.
– Camillo Malacari
Hydrogen needs value add for home consumption
Former Australian chief scientist Alan Finkel has told a conference in Adelaide that Australia should consider using more hydrogen onshore to produce decarbonised products, taking a “use where you make it” approach.
He said Australia could harness its existing renewable energy resources and its ability to produce carbon cost-effectively to use hydrogen to help fuel iron production, to produce synthetic kerosene for jet fuel and to produce methanol for international shipping.
“The big shift in my thinking of late is to recognise the opportunity to use hydrogen onshore, to produce decarbonised products,” Dr Finkel told the Future Energy Exports Cooperative Research Centre’s annual gathering.
“The mantra becomes use it where you make it. Effectively, this is a different way to export energy.”
Above all else, Dr Finkel said the transition to a cleaner energy system should be seen as an opportunity, not an impost.
“An opportunity for Australia to establish our credentials as not only a low-cost energy exporter but one that produces those exports with the lowest by-product emissions,” he said.
“If Australia is smart, we can be part of the revolution.”
His call came as Premier Peter Malinauskas met with investors in Europe to spruik the state’s green hydrogen project at the World Hydrogen Summit in the Netherlands.
– AAP
Maptek launched the VisionV2X at the AustMine23 mining conference. Photo: Maptek
Maptek launches new underground vision system
South Australian technology company Maptek launched their new VisionV2X product at this week’s AustMine23 mining conference.
Using dynamic meshing Wi-Fi technology, Maptek’s new proximity awareness system is designed to detect light and heavy vehicles as well as personnel underground.
The company claims the product can be attached to any site or vehicle, with personnel being equipped with tracking tags.
Maptek CEO Eduardo Coloma said their new product is in line with the mining industry’s efforts to ensure safety.
“Our latest product is firmly in touch with the Austmine theme Transforming the Future and in line with our industry imperative to bring everyone home at the end of a shift underground,” Coloma said.
“The Maptek proximity awareness system has underground safety as the key objective.”
Along with increased safety, Maptek’s VisionV2X is designed to allow mine managers and supervisors the ability to achieve operational safety KPI’s.
– Liam McMahon
