Tag / shipbuilding

by brandsa2018

Thousands of jobs for SA as BAE Systems wins $35 billion Future Frigates contract

Thousands of South Australian jobs have been secured in coming decades with BAE Systems announced as the winning tenderer of the $35 billion Future Frigates program.

The UK defence giant beat fierce competition from Spanish and Italian rivals to design the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet of nine highly-advanced ‘Hunter class’ global combat ships.

The Future Frigates contract is Australia’s largest peace-time warship building program, with construction of the fleet set to begin by 2020 by ASC Shipbuilding.

The program will create about 4000 Australian jobs, including 1500 at ASC at the Osborne Shipyards in northern Adelaide.

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In addition to the 1500 local jobs, another 600 jobs will be created in the development of the Osborne South shipyards.

Five-hundred Australian businesses, including 100 SA businesses, will be in the Hunter class supply chain.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is in Adelaide today for the announcement, told ABC Radio Adelaide that the government-owned ASC Shipbuilding will become a subsidiary of BAE throughout the build.

“What this will mean is that the Commonwealth Government will retain its sovereign share in ASC at all times,” he said.

“BAE will take responsibility for ASC during the period of the program to go right through into the 2030s, then the Commonwealth will resume ownership of ASC.”

BAE System Australia’s head of industrial strategy Sharon Wilson and I Choose SA ambassador told Brand SA News in February that the Future Frigates program would be the “envy of the world”.

SA Premier Steven Marshall says the state is now “unquestionably” the centre of naval shipbuilding in Australia.

He says many local businesses in the supply chain will win a share in the historic investment.

“This $35 billion program will deliver unprecedented economic benefit to the SA economy, with over 100 businesses already pre-qualifying with BAE to be part of the project,” Mr Marshall says.

He says significant challenges exist in ensuring SA has the skilled workforce necessary to deliver the project.

“That’s why more than 20,000 additional work-based apprenticeships and traineeships will be created in SA over the next four years …” Mr Marshall says.

“Apprenticeships are vital to building a skilled supply of workers for industry and this has never been more important as we move to a more diversified economy and to capitalise on major, long-term national defence contracts awarded to SA.”

The SEA5000 ship will be considered one of the world’s most advanced warships, and will be able to be used in non-warfare roles such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The Hunter class will enter service in the late 2020, replacing the eight Anzac frigates which have been in service since 1996.

Aside from BAE’s Sharon Wilson, ASC’s Jessica Caston was also an I Choose SA ambassador for shipbuilding and defence. Watch her story below.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

SMEs to benefit from SA’s future shipbuilding boom

Born and bred South Australian Mark Koennecke is operations manager at a small company set for big benefits from the state’s involvement in the $89 billion naval shipbuilding program.

Managing operations at SA-based Mincham Aviation, Mark says the state’s 30-year shipbuilding future will help expose the business to “the cutting edge of manufacturing”.

“The Future Frigates, Future Submarines and Offshore Patrol Vessels are future projects, we’re talking about programs that are going to be built in the next five to 15 years and the Future Subs will still be going in 30 years’ time,” he says.

“What we’re doing is exposing ourselves to the future and the benefit for us is to constantly be there at the cutting-edge of manufacturing.”

Mincham Aviation established itself in SA in 1996 and over time built a reputation for supplying specialist parts to global aerospace and defence sectors.

Employing about 16 staff from its base at Parafield Airport, the company specialises in the manufacturing and repair of advanced composite and sheet metal components for civil and military aircraft.

Mincham Aviation employees are based at Parafield Airport.

It also has a strong research department which has developed aerospace, defence and aero-medical equipment.

“We have our own line of aero-medical products that are used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service such as stretchers and lifting systems,” Mark says.

“We manufacture components for the Collins Class submarines, the Air Warfare Destroyer program, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, Northrop Grumman’s Triton platform and the Tiger helicopters, there’s a lot that we work on.”

As of November 2017, Mincham Aviation became a participant in French software company Dassault Systèmes’ Virtual Shipyard Training Program at Regency TAFE SA.

Dassault is working with the Naval Group (which is designing the Future Submarines project) on building the country’s first digital shipyard in Adelaide.

A digital – or virtual – shipyard involves software that manages the lifecycle of the ship from its build to operation and maintenance.

Mincham Aviation along with seven other SMEs are participating in the Virtual Shipyard Training Program, as SA gears up for the $50 billion submarines build.

Through the program, participants will gain training and support in the development of digital capabilities, providing them with the opportunity to compete for work on a global scale.

Mark says the opportunity to be a part of it will expose Mincham Aviation to “a very high-end digital capability”.

“It’s giving us the opportunity for us to get our heads around how they (global companies) are going to expect local businesses to be operating and interacting with them in the future naval programs that will be happening here in SA,” he says.

“From our perspective it (the program) is covering off on areas that we do; project management, contract management, security management of data, then looking into the engineering side of things, product data management and machining capabilities.

“It’s a very big picture of how that’s going to be happening digitally in the future and how we can cross the bridge and start being digitally savvy in those areas right now.”

Despite its promising future, Mincham Aviation has hit some speedbumps over the years, including when the Global Financial Crisis hit and forced the business to lease out its second facility at Edinburgh Parks.

Now that SA is on the cusp of a shipbuilding jobs boom thanks to Australia’s $89 billion shipbuilding program, Mincham Aviation is considering a reboot of its Edinburgh Parks base.

“We have a medium-term plan to be re-establishing ourselves back at Edinburgh Park in the next five years and introduce a quantum leap in our capability level,” says Mark, who has worked in the defence industry for the past decade.

Mincham Aviation’s operations manager Mark Koennecke.

Prior to his role at Mincham Aviation he was the general manager of sheet metal fabrication enterprise J&H Williams in Port Adelaide.

Mark says over the years he’s noticed a significant shift in job security in the defence and shipbuilding industries.

“The landscape of the defence industry particularly here in SA has changed dramatically  from there being comfortable amounts of work to what they call the ‘valley of death’,” he says.

“Now it’s a 15-50-year outlook that is very positive.”

Mark says working in the defence industry is challenging yet rewarding but being based in SA means he can stick to an industry he loves while remaining in his homestate.

“Being operations general manager doesn’t mean that I go home at 5pm, but it’s a choice I made to be in this role and I don’t have to go interstate, commute or fly in and out,” he says.

“I need to be with my family on a daily basis and I’m lucky that the defence industry has given me that ability.”

I Choose SA for Shipbuilding and Defence Industries stories are made possible by City of Salisbury:

With the support of The University of Adelaide

Visit the I Choose SA for Industry website to learn more stories about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.

by brandsa2018

BAE’s Sharon Wilson on embracing the digital revolution in defence

Major defence and security company BAE Systems Australia’s Sharon Wilson is proud to play her part in South Australia’s high-tech jobs revolution.

Originally from the UK, Sharon and her husband chose SA to live and work in 30 years ago and was catapulted into the world of defence and shipbuilding almost from the get go.

She’s been with BAE Systems, one of the country’s largest defence contractors, since 1990 and is now the company’s head of industrial strategy.

“I think people will be surprised to know just how many women there are in our company,” Sharon says.

“We have some amazing women in senior roles, our management board is about 60/40 male to female which is very good by industry standards.”

BAE Systems’ new CEO, Gabby Costigan told a recent conference in Canberra that the company is using collaborative robots to build parts for the Joint Strike Fighter jets in Adelaide.

Gabby told the conference the use of such technology does not mean the removal of the human employee.

Sharon agrees and says it’s all a result of Industry 4.0, otherwise known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The trend in automation, that is already transforming modern manufacturing, is relevant to shipbuilding in various ways, she says.

“(It) can range from something very simple in terms of tracking a part in a factory to measuring the efficiency and capability of machines in your factory,” Sharon says.

“It can be a virtual integrated schedule, so you know where things are without looking across lots of spreadsheets, basically automate the process as much as you can.

“In terms of a shipyard, safety is paramount. So how can we apply technology robotics automation to minimise risks as much as we possibly can?

“(In the future) we will still be having people doing manual labour and robotic programming. So the kinds of jobs will be very different and they’re already different.”

BAE Systems Australia’s head of industrial strategy Sharon Wilson is an I Choose SA ambassador for the shipbuilding and defence industries.

With Industry 4.0 comes a new wave of high-tech jobs, many of them in SA.

With the state secured as the epicentre of the national defence sector, SA will be the home of the majority of work involved in the nation’s $89 billion shipbuilding plan.

Projects within BAE Systems’ reach have the potential to be “groundbreaking”.

One of them is the $35 billion SEA 5000 Future Frigates contract, of which BAE Systems is one of three contenders.

The successful bidder, expected to be announced mid-2018, will deliver a new generation of warships for the Australian Navy.

Sharon says if BAE is successful it will also include the build of Australia’s first high-tech digital shipyard.

The digital shipyard would create a paperless ship build, with each of the nine ships replicated to allow real time accessibility to all aspects during design, build and maintenance.

BAE would base the SEA 5000 design on its Type 26 Global Combat Ship which is being built for the UK Navy “in SA with an SA workforce”.

Sharon says the Future Frigates program will be the “envy of the world”, regardless of who wins the contract.

“I think it’s very exciting for shipbuilders, SEA 5000 is going to be groundbreaking and will be the envy of shipyards around the world,” she says.

BAE Systems employs more than 3500 people in Australia, including 1000 in SA.

The company has two sites in Adelaide –  one at Edinburgh Park, the other at Technology Park.

Sharon says BAE Systems is “absolutely” set for a job rise “in the thousands” across the nation.

BAE System’s Edinburgh Park base is home to a machine that manufactures titanium tail components for the Joint Strike Fighters. It’s the only machine of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Machining titanium for aerospace is a very tricky business and the kinds of parts we manufacture are what they call ‘fracture critical parts’,” Sharon says.

“The whole process is very much quality controlled to ensure we don’t have any issues.”

In her 30 years in SA, Sharon says she’s pleased with the efforts of Defence SA and “progressive” State Governments that have solidified SA as the defence epicentre of Australia.

She says the state’s burgeoning industry will have nation-wide benefits.

“It’s going to be important for SA to be able to deliver what it needs to deliver, that’s the reality,” she adds.

Sharon is an I Choose SA ambassador for the shipbuilding and defence industries.

I Choose SA for Shipbuilding and Defence Industries stories are made possible by City of Salisbury:

Visit the I Choose SA for Industry website to learn more about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.

 

by brandsa2018

Why a leading edge cyber security firm chose SA for growth

Cyber security company VeroGuard Systems was lured to South Australia by the position of the state’s defence precinct, its “world-class” universities and skilled workforce, says the company’s Iain Moore.

Last year the Melbourne-based company announced plans to establish a $57.5m advanced manufacturing and operations facility at the Edinburgh Park industry estate in Adelaide’s north.

The move will create almost 600 jobs in three years, with about 400 of them employees from Adelaide’s northern areas including former automotive workers.

In February 2017 it was announced the 600 jobs boost could grow by another 1500 following a partnership with Adelaide company LVX Group.

The new advanced manufacturing facility and Global Network Operations Centre, supported by a $6m State Government grant, will allow the company to produce cards and software enabling ‘hyper-secure’ online transactions.

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So what place does a cyber security company have in SA and what does it mean for the state’s burgeoning defence and shipbuilding industries?

“Cyber security underpins the ability for development and execution of sensitive material to be done in an effective manner,” says Iain, VeroGuard’s commercial general manager.

“Imagine if every time someone wanted to share some information it needed to be printed, put in a briefcase and physically taken to someone else.

“Although a USB stick can now play the part of the printer, much information cannot be simply downloaded and emailed to a colleague, as the security level is not high enough.

“VeroGuard enables that collaboration or interoperability.”

The spotlight was put on the importance of cyber security in the defence sector in 2017 when sensitive information about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was stolen from a small business.

VeroGuard, originally based in Melbourne, has developed the world’s first digital identity platform and cyber security network to prevent hacking and secure the internet for VeroGuard System users.

“Put simply it creates a secure environment in which users can create content online, transmit that content and store it without fear of hackers stealing their information,” Iain says.

“Cyber security is a key enabler in defence industries due to the highly sensitive nature of the data created, transmitted and stored by organisations in that industry,” Iain says.

“VeroGuard Systems has developed a solution that solves these risks at a level that can be accepted by defence and their contractors.”

Iain says VeroGuard intends to work with many of the contractors involved in the naval shipbuilding program, set to unfold in SA over coming decades and bring thousands of jobs.

Born and bred in SA, Iain worked in large technology companies before an opporunity at VeroGuard was too good to miss.

VeroGuard Systems commercial general manager Iain Moore.

He says a return to home soil is possible due to the company’s growth in SA.

For now, the jobs involved in the company’s advanced manufacturing side will be long-term and “brand new roles”, Iain says.

“Due to the nature and intellectual property, the assembly will need to be completed onshore in Australia,” he says.

“The chain of custody related to these processes mean that offshore assembly is not an option, so former auto workers out of Holden or other auto suppliers will be very well suited at the VeroGuard Systems facility.”

The company is also teaming up with the University of Adelaide to collaborate on research around cyber security and to create content for newly designed courses in the sector.

Iain says SA universities’ links to defence and STEM fields were a key drawcard in VeroGuard’s growth plans.

Other pulling factors included the skilled workforce from the car making industry as well as the Edinburgh Defence Precinct, he adds.

I Choose SA for Shipbuilding and Defence Industries stories are made possible by City of Salisbury:

Visit the I Choose SA for Industry website to learn more stories about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.

 

by brandsa2018

New local links in Future Frigate supply chain

The supply chain of the SEA 5000 Future Frigate Program has begun to firm up with a South Australian metalworking firm joining Raytheon Anschuetz.

Adelaide company Rowlands Metalworks has been appointed as an approved Raytheon supplier to work on the navigational bridge consoles for the Future Frigates program in South Australia.

The deal came about after Raytheon was introduced to South Australian electronics company REDARC through the BAE Systems Global Access Program.

REDARC then recommended Rowlands to construct the housing for the consoles.

Rowlands managing director Cameron Johnston says the rigorous vetting process and subsequent memorandum of understanding would allow his established company to bid for more work on other Raytheon projects, including non defence contracts.

“We’ve been in operation for more than 60 years now, supporting a broad range of industries and sectors and are delighted with the opportunity we can see to reach further into the defence industry with this deal,” Cameron says.

“There’s no doubt the South Australian defence industry is on the cusp of some very exciting times and we will now be well placed to make the most of the growth in the sector here in SA.”

Cameron says each of the nine navigation bridge consoles will cost more than $250,000, bringing the value of the contract to more than $2 million for Rowlands.

With a current team of 45 people, he says the company could potentially grow its staff number by at least 50% to service the new opportunity.

Construction is expected to start immediately after the contract is finalised in the coming months.

Header image: An artist impression of Raytheon’s navigational bridge console.

Visit the I Choose SA for Industry website to learn more about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.

 

by brandsa2018

Saab boss says shipbuilding jobs are here for the long run

Defence and shipbuilding in South Australia will not be a “boom and bust” industry, but will support secure long-term jobs and opportunities.

That’s according to Andy Keough, former Defence SA chief and current managing director of defence and security company Saab Australia.

Andy, a former submariner, played a key part in lobbying for Australia’s $50 billion Future Submarines to be built here in SA.

He says despite big sectors, such as the mining industry, usually experiencing a “boom and bust” pattern, there is a long-term commitment to continue shipbuilding in SA.

“We saw it with the upswing of the mining industry which took off with unimaginable riches that have come and gone,” Andy says.

“But here there is now a Federal Government commitment to continuous shipbuilding … and that’s a massive magnet that will continue to draw high quality workers from across Australia and the world.

“There aren’t many sectors in Australia that have the assurance that their industry will continue for many decades to come.”

Saab Australia managing director Andy Keough.

The Future Submarines Program includes the construction of a fleet of 12 new subs, constructed from 2022/23 at Adelaide’s Osborne shipyards, creating 2800 jobs.

The subs are one part of the nation’s $89 billion naval shipbuilding plan, which also features the construction of the Future Frigates and Offshore Patrol Vehicles.

While Saab has been selected to upgrade the control systems for navy’s current fleet of Collins Class submarines, it is also supporting Lockheed Martin to deliver the cutting edge combat system capability for the Future Submarines.

After two years in the top job at government agency, Defence SA, Andy joined the Mawson Lakes-based Saab as its managing director.

He brought with him 22 years of experience in the Australian Navy, including commanding two Collins Class submarines.

Andy retired from the navy in 2007, a year after receiving the Conspicuous Service Cross for his leadership while in command of HMAS Sheean.

Originally from Sydney, he came to SA nine years ago to work for ASC, starting in business improvement before graduating to being responsible for the in-service maintenance of the Collins Class fleet.

He says that typical views of the shipbuilding workforce were changing as people realised both skilled tradespeople and high-tech engineers are essential to operations.

“When I was with ASC there was a large trade workforce, but for every tradesman there were four or five highly skilled professionals including engineers, project managers, and supply chain and quality,” he says.

The skill level of the defence industry is evident in Saab’s own workforce, which includes a range of “hardware and software engineers undertaking advanced naval combat system work”.

Ships from Task Group 659.1 (including HMA Ships Canberra, Warramunga and Ballarat and HMNZS Te Kaha) joined by French Floreal class frigate FNS Prairial transit to Pearl Harbour, Hawaii to participate in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2016. The ships have Saab’s combat management system on board.

Andy says “business is expanding” at Saab Australia, with the company expecting to grow its workforce by at least 150 “in the next couple of years”.

Saab is also strengthening its ties to academia through a partnership with the University of South Australia (UniSA).

Saab will partner with UniSA students to collaborate on the design of a future combat system, following the formation of the Defence Technologies Institute in 2017.

The initial collaboration involved Saab hosting projects for students in STEM-related fields, helping to equip them for their careers in defence and shipbuilding industries.

“Saab is working closely with UniSA so that for generations to come, graduates from this partnership will build a skilled, technologically savvy workforce for defence capabilities,” Andy says.

“It’s essential for a company like Saab to have a close relationship with UniSA because they (students) are our talent pipeline.

“They will assist us to get the best individuals on board.”

 

This I Choose SA for Shipbuilding and Defence Industries story is made possible by City of Salisbury and the University of South Australia:

Visit the I Choose SA for Industry website to read more stories about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.

 

by brandsa2018

Lockheed Martin’s GM on SA’s shipbuilding jobs bonanza

Jack Mahoney, general manager of Lockheed Martin Australia, says South Australia’s burgeoning defence industry is luring “advanced and highly skilled” workers to carry out some of the biggest defence contracts in the country’s history.

The former US Navy combat systems technician has been in SA for more than a decade and says the high tech jobs needed for the future submarines and frigates programs are bringing world class innovation to the state.

“I think we’re definitely changing perceptions and people’s way of thinking that shipbuilding is only about banging metal,” Jack says.

“We employ very advanced, highly skilled tradespeople, all the way up to employees of a PhD level.”

“These are extremely high tech jobs.”

The nation’s $89 billion naval shipbuilding projects are providing high-tech jobs of the future within many companies, including Lockheed Martin Australia.

Lockheed Martin Australia’s SA facility is located in Mawson Lakes.

Rather than being involved in the physical build of Australia’s submarines, vessels and aircraft, Lockheed Martin Australia is a leader in the research, design, development, integration and maintenance of advanced technology systems.

Its latest announcement is yet another example of the economy-changing defence projects set to unfold (and already under way) in SA.

The company is partnering with French shipbuilder Naval Group to carry out a $700m contract to fit combat systems into Australia’s Future Submarines.

Jack says the project, set to deliver 200 jobs, the majority in SA, is already in the design phase.

Lockheed’s combat systems are the ‘brains’ of a submarine, consisting of sensors and radar technology that collects data which is then processed to control the submarine’s missiles and torpedoes.

The systems will be integrated into Australia’s fleet of 12 new submarines, constructed at Adelaide’s Osborne shipyards.

“The combat system controls all the aspects of what the ship does from a mission perspective,” Jack says.

“It can see other ships in the water and it can detect if the submarine is under potential attack.

“The project will unfold over many years (but) we are in the design phase of development and production.”

The $50 billion construction of the Future Submarines Program is one of the biggest defence contracts in Australia’s history.

It’s set to deliver more than 2800 direct and indirect jobs over the course of its lifetime, expected to run into the 2040–50s.

Aside from the future subs, Lockheed is also delivering missile defence systems for the $35 billion Future Frigates Program – a fleet of nine new vessels to replace the ANZAC class frigates.

The highly advanced Aegis Combat System can shoot down missiles from long and medium range, increasing Australia’s defence against rogue regimes.

The system will include technology by fellow defence company, Adelaide-based SAAB Australia.

Construction of the vessels is expected to take place in 2020.

Both projects, plus the construction of 12 offshore patrol vessels, come under the $89 billion National Shipbuilding Plan.

Lockheed is also providing the Royal Australian Navy with combat systems for the country’s most complex ship construction – the Air Warfare Destroyers Program.

The project, involving the build of “the world’s most capable multi-mission ships”, is being worked on by 2000 people in SA and is driving high-tech manufacturing jobs of the future.

Jack says SA’s defence industry jobs are starting to shake the misconception that its workers are only skilled in traditional trades.

He says Lockheed Martin South Australia employs 300 people, of which half are (bachelor’s) degree engineers.

“I think we have to do a better job of advertising the (high skilled nature) of the defence industry,” Jack says.

“STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and (advanced) mechanical development – all these things are going on in our state and we need to find better ways of (letting) our school kids know.

“We engage with high schools and encourage students to be involved in STEM.”

Lockheed Martin Australia general manager Jack Mahoney.

Jack, who also sits on the Defence Reserves Support Council of SA, was in the US Navy for 25 years before moving to Australia.

With SA setting itself up as the epicentre of the nation’s defence sector shortly after his arrival, it made sense for the father-of-two to call SA home.

He says the defence industry holds significant responsibility and one sole objective – to keep Australians safe.

“If you get it wrong there are severe ramifications,” Jack says.

“The number one objective is to keep people safe.

“I’ve been supporting the state for 12 plus years, I’m very proud of SA.”

I Choose SA for Shipbuilding and Defence Industries stories are made possible by City of Salisbury:

Visit the I Choose SA for Industry website to read more stories about key industry leaders, why they’ve chosen SA as a base and how the state is enabling them to succeed.