Manufacturing Industries

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:08): My question is to the Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation. How will the landmark agreement between Trajan Scientific and Medical and the University of Adelaide create advanced research development and manufacturing opportunities in Adelaide?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:08): I thank the honourable member for his fantastic question and, as coincidence would have it, I know a little bit about this area.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: I doubt that.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: I do.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister has the floor. The minister.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: He's tearing his hair out, this minister; you can tell.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER: The Hon. David Ridgway very bravely ventures into the area of missing hair, but I think we will leave that there. Today, I had the opportunity to jointly announce, with representatives from the University of Adelaide and Trajan Scientific and Medical, a new research development and manufacturing hub based on a new generation of specialty glass products. Trajan is a world leader in the manufacture of scientific and medical analysis systems and supplies many major global medical technology manufacturers. The company, based in Melbourne, currently employs around 300 staff in more than 100 countries and boasts an annual turnover of approximately $55 million.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet with Trajan's global leadership group at their annual general meeting in Adelaide to discuss the company's future growth plans and the real opportunity that Adelaide presented in this area. Through the support of the South Australian government's Photonics Catalyst Program, Trajan has been working with the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing at Adelaide University to fabricate novel ion transfer tubes for mass spectronomy that are then used to undertake chemical analysis in the medical industry.

As a result, Trajan has committed to entering into a strategic alliance with the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing at Adelaide Uni that will initially result in the establishment of a new office within the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing and a number of new staff. I understand that they are also investigating the possibility of undertaking larger scale operations in South Australia, which may include a transfer of some of their operations that are currently undertaken elsewhere.

The strategic alliance between the institute and Trajan will assist scientists to commercialise their research into marketable products that will benefit the health and wellbeing not just of people in South Australia but of people across the world. I understand that this collaboration may lead to the establishment of other opportunities, such as spin-off companies to commercialise particular technologies, and the genuine opportunity to accelerate the development of a sizeable cluster of photonics companies in South Australia. Trajan's goal is for Adelaide to become its global centre for excellence for advanced photonics technologies, which aligns with the government's agenda to establish Adelaide as a hub of excellence for photonics.

The state government has provided almost $350,000 in support to establish the new facility which will see Trajan Scientific Australia enter into a strategic alliance agreement with the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing. Photonics continues to be a key enabling technology, the uptake of which is growing, through the efforts of our manufacturing work strategy. Local manufacturers are being encouraged to adopt technologies, which is leading to improved competitiveness. Technologies like photonics present a significant opportunity to firms to enhance their capacity to innovate with their products, manufacturing processes, capital equipment and engineering systems.

South Australia is well poised to take advantage of significant opportunities through innovation in the emerging health and medical devices sector. This morning, I also had the opportunity to open the US Ambassador's Innovation Roundtable event held at Tonsley. This event focused on opportunities in health technology innovation in particular, highlighting the successful Australian-US collaborations in this space, and it will provide great opportunities for students of all levels to learn more about pathways into careers related to health technology innovation.

The announcement today at Adelaide Uni was a very exciting announcement, and the significant contribution Trajan will make to achieving the goal of developing South Australia as a global centre of excellence for advanced photonic technologies is very welcome. We welcome the investment Trajan has made in this state, an investment that is sure to stimulate significant economic growth for the future. I wish Trajan and the university every success as they embark on this new phase of developing and commercialising their emerging technology in this state.