SPEAKERS
MEET THE HON. KAREN ANDREWS MP
After a career as an engineer and running her own industrial relations business, Karen Andrews was elected to parliament in 2010 as the Federal Member for McPherson on the Gold Coast.
Following the 2013 election, she took on a leadership position as Chair of the House of Representatives Joint Standing Committee on Public Works – one of the oldest investigatory Committees of the Parliament, and a “watchdog” on Government building and works programs.
She’s also served as the Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills and Assistant Minister for Science. In this role, Minister Andrews was one of the architects of the $1.1 billion National Innovation and Science Agenda.
It’s this experience which saw her sworn in as Minister for Industry, Science and Technology in the Morrison Government Cabinet in August 2018. In doing so, she became the first ever female cabinet minister from Queensland.
Since then, Minister Andrews has done significant work to help Australian industry to flourish, with commitments including the $160 million Manufacturing Modernisation Fund.
She has been a key driver of Women in STEM initiatives and has guided the Australian Space Agency through its highly successful first year, as it works to a goal of tripling the size of the sector to $12 billion and creating 20,000 new jobs by 2030.
Sworn back in after the Morrison Government’s election victory in 2019, Minister Andrews is positioning Australian industry to thrive, in turn growing the economy and creating new jobs. She’s also leading discussion around technology, so Australia can embrace the economic potential of things like artificial intelligence and cyber security.
MEET TIM BRIDGES
Tim Bridges is a Senior Manager at B&R Enclosures, an Australian-headquartered company with offices across Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and China. The organisation manufacturers and supplies a range of products, designed to protect people and equipment in a range of residential, commercial, industrial, mining, data, Telco and hazardous area applications.
The organisation has been operating since 1955 and employs more than 400 people word-wide. As a family member in the family owned and operated business, Tim's commitment and responsibilities are deeply etched. He has fulfilled a range of roles within the organisation in order to take a 'whole of business' approach. His responsibilities with B&R Enclosures at head office have included roles in project management, customer service and marketing, as well as his current role in distribution.
Tim has a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Finance from the University of Adelaide, as well as a range of other finance and business qualifications including an MBA and the AICD Company Directors Course. He spent time early on in his career in Adelaide working in accounting and business advisory.
The organisation prides itself on its traditional family values and product quality as well as the focus on innovation and digital transformation. As a Director and Manager, Tim is an important part of B&R Enclosures' Industry 4.0 journey as a key business strategy, driving growth, locally in Australia and in their international markets.
MEET NICK BIRBILIS
Professor Nick Birbilis is the Deputy Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the Australian National University. His research has sought an understanding between corrosion and microstructure, and as a consequence, characterisation across all length scales remains a research focus. Nick's research is presently focused on metallurgical engineering, additively manufactured alloys, and compositionally complex alloys.
Nick is a Fellow of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE, USA) and a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society (ECS, USA). Nick earned his PhD from Monash University and was a postdoctoral fellow at The Ohio State University. He then commenced his academic career at Monash University where he was the inaugural Woodside Innovation Chair, and also served as the Head of Department (Materials Science and Engineering) from 2013-2018.
Nick has authored over 350 publications and serves as a long-standing Editor for the journal Electrochimica Acta; he is also the Editor-in-Chief of npj Materials Degradation a new journal in the Nature partner journal family, released in 2017.
MEET KEITH ABRAHAM
Keith is the global authority on goal achievement and the creator of the GoalDriverTM Formula. A formula designed to accurately determine what energises and engages each individual, driving them to achieve their personal and professional goals with greater ease.
For the past 22 years this multi-award winning keynote speaker and best-selling author of five books, has spoken in 29 countries to more than 1.6 million people on how they can achieve what seems like the unimaginable, unreachable and the unattainable in their personal and professional life.
To find out more, visit KEITHABRAHAM.COM.
MEET PETER MUNCKTON
Peter is the Chief Economist and Head of Market Strategy at the Bank of Queensland (BOQ). He has worked at the Federal Treasury in Canberra, as well as senior economics roles at the Bankers Trust and the CBA. He has co-authored reports on the Australian and Chinese financial systems that gained significant domestic and international media attention.
MEET CHRIS
BRIDGES-TAYLOR
Chris Bridges-Taylor is a Director and the General Manager at B&R Enclosures, manufacturer of an extensive range of standard and custom built enclosures, data racks and cabinets for residential, industrial, mining, data, Telco and hazardous area applications.
B&R is a family owned and operated organisation started by Chris's father over 60 years ago. Today, Chris runs B&R with her brother, employing over 400 people across four countries. They are lucky enough to have members of the third generation in leadership positions, and one from the fourth generation on an apprenticeship. For B&R, Industry 4.0 is a key business strategy, driving growth, locally in Australia and in their international markets.
Chris has extensive experience in managing manufacturing entities and holds a Bachelor of Engineering Electrical (1st Class Honours) and a Masters of Business Administration.
In her home state of Queensland, Chris sits on the Manufacturing Ministerial Committee, advising the State Government on issues to help the manufacturing sector grow and be globally competitive.
Chris is Chairman of QMI Solutions Ltd, an industry-lead not-for-profit organisation that works with Government to assist local SME manufacturing companies with ideas and business tools to compete for tomorrow. QMI delivers the Industry Capability Network service in Queensland and runs OPS, an Online Procurement System, which is a procurement to pay e-service platform.
Ms Bridges-Taylor has completed the Owners/Presidents Management Executive education course at Harvard Business School, Boston MA, USA, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
MEET ERWAN SIEWERT
Dr Erwan Siewert is a Senior Development Expert/Coordinator Development Centre Arc-Technologies for Linde AG, Germany.
Technological strengths:
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Welding, cutting, WAAM, cladding
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Experimental plasma diagnostics
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Process optimisation
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Process and torch development
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Emission in welding
Education:
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Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Technical University Dresden, Germany
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International Welding Engineer, SLV Halle, Germany
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Ph.D. in Plasma Science "Experimental analysis of the material transfer in pulsed gas metal arc welding", University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich, Germany
Professional experience:
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12 years of experience in the field of arc technologies
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5 years of fundamental research on arc technologies (cutting, spraying, welding) as a research assistant at the professorship for Plasma Technology and Electrical Engineering at the University of Armed Forces Munich
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6 years if industrial experience:
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Development: Development of new arc technologies and coordination of public funded projects
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Project management: Product development from idea to product and industrialisation
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Responsible for Global Arc Technologies Development
Center: Coordination, collaboration with partners and institutes, strategy development.
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MEET BENJAMIN YOUNG
frank green founder and CEO, Benjamin Young, is no stranger to manufacturing and innovation. After a successful career in mergers and acquisitions in the waste management sector, Young saw the economics of recycling didn’t add up, and identified a need to change consumer behaviour. Following a four-year design process full of many iterations and a long, arduous manufacturing journey, Young went to market with his first iteration of the insanely popular, frank green reusable cups and bottles. Since then, he has tweaked and updated the original design and manufacturing process to expand frank green’s product offering to over 20 different items – including a brand new lifestyle line featuring reusables bags and stainless steel straws. Based in South Melbourne, frank green now ships to 50 countries including the US, UK, New Zealand, and parts of Asia, and employs over 80 people worldwide.
MEET JUSTIN ANDERSON
Justin Anderson founded the TFG Group in 1995 and has been active on each level within the business, from a highly skilled tradesman specialising in stainless steel fabrication and installation, to a Project Manager, through to Business Development and Managing Director.
Justin's entrepreneurial spirit has enabled TFG to grow into a multinational company operating successfully and delivering superior efficiencies in metal fabrication and mechanical installation services within the resources, water, commercial, brewing, food, and beverage sectors.
Justin's leadership skills has enabled TFG to forge solid relationships with clients, while motivating and managing the overall operations at TFG. Justin has exceptional aptitude for implementing innovative practices and increasing company resources through professional business mentoring, with this being a vital component in the success of TFG throughout Australia and internationally.
Justin's purpose is to create vision, allocate resources and bring accountability to the corporate culture within the TFG Group. This energy is pivotal with each mechanical project or business venture undertaken.
MEET TOM MOULTRIE
Tom Moultrie operated a successful stainless fabrication venture in Jersey Channel Islands and emigrated to Australia in 2004. Tom began his brewing journey in 2005 with TFG and his skills include establishing TFG's multinational operations in both fabrication and installation services.
Tom has over 15 years' extensive experience in the brewing sector and possesses a wealth of knowledge in mechanical installation in the food and beverage industries, whilst proficiently managing multiple projects.
Tom is pivotal in TFG's position as a market leader in the installation of projects, both greenfield and brownfield, specialising in breweries, dairy, soft drink and pharmaceutical factories. Tom's achievements include the successful implementation of Espro tendering and Simpro operating systems at TFG Group, as well as the implementation and maintenance of the Integrated Management System (IMS) resulting in ISO 9001 Accreditation.
Tom maintains and directs a team of highly qualified, passionate and experienced Business Development personnel and Project Engineers/Estimators while consistently communicating effectively with clients to provide optimal TFG Group team performance.
MEET JIM LENNON
Jim Lennon has 37 years' experience in researching the international metals and mining industry.
Jim worked at Macquarie Bank from 1994 to 2013. He left Macquarie in June 2013 and set up his own consulting company, Red Door Research Ltd. The consulting company specialises in the economic analysis of hard commodity markets. Jim remains a consultant to Macquarie, still responsible for all of Macquarie's nickel and stainless steel analysis.
Until June 2013, he was Chairman of Commodities at Macquarie, having worked for Macquarie for 19 years. He founded and headed up a 10-person research team in London, Singapore and Shanghai, which served the equity, LME trading and corporate advisory divisions of the bank with steel, coal, metals and minerals research and market intelligence.
Jim and his team at Macquarie were regularly ranked number one in the various surveys of commodities research among equity investors for over a decade.
Prior to Macquarie, Jim worked for 10 years at CRU International, where he headed up a team specialising in special steels (including stainless steel) and steelmaking alloys (mainly manganese, silicon, chrome, nickel and molybdenum). While at CRU, Jim also undertook major studies on metallurgical coal and iron ore.
Jim's current major specialisations are the main base metals and steel industries and their raw materials including nickel, chrome, molybdenum, iron ore and coking coal.
Before joining CRU, Jim worked as a market analyst at New Zealand Steel. He also worked as an Associate Director of Metals and Mining Research at Sheraton Lehman Hutton Securities.
Jim has a Masters degree in economics from the University of Aucklands, New Zealand.