Businesses in Ipswich are now on a trajectory to grow the defence industry following a successful delegation to the 2019 Australian International Airshow held in Geelong held from 26 February to 1 March 2019.
Ipswich City Council continues to work proactively and undertake strategy led initiatives with all levels of government, industry and academia to champion RAAF Base Amberley, land platforms and defence contractors.
The defence industry is front and centre of the Ipswich regional economy and a significant employment sector in the region.
Defence and defence related industries were vital to the future growth of Ipswich. This was highlighted in the Defence Ipswich Action Plan 2018 – 2023 which outlined the vision of Ipswich City Council to increase the defence footprint in this region.
Council’s economic development manager Paul Massingham said it was the role of council add value and enhance project facilitation with contractors and to enable capability development of Ipswich based SMEs to access defence supply chains.
“We help facilitate capability development for Ipswich’s defence and manufacturing industry to build resilience.
“At Avalon 2019 the Defence Industry Action Plan was distributed to more than 400 delegates.
>> Ipswich businesses on a mission to secure new jobs
>> Strategic targets for defence in the City of Ipswich
“The incoming Senior Australian Defence Force Officer of RAAF Base Amberley Air Commodore Veronica Tyler visited the City of Ipswich exhibit and commended the action plan, and expressed her commitment to work with council on the implementation of the plan.
“From our staging point in the trade exhibition we provided business introductions and raised the profile of the Ipswich business delegation by arranging meetings with representatives from manufacturing, property, chambers and USQ.
“Council successfully enabled introductions to open up opportunities for local Ipswich business to access the global defence supply chain.
“Future business attraction to Ipswich is also on the radar,” he said.
The delegation of business leaders from Ipswich also met with leaders of industry associations, state and federal governments and representatives from the UK, USA, India and European delegations.
Frontline Engineering general manager Matthew Ellis said the company had received a fantastic response since the trip.
“We’ve connected with CSIRO, Thales, BAE and Rheinmetall just to name a few.
“I believe council made an outstanding decision to take part at Avalon. We employ 20 staff who live in Ipswich and attend Bremer TAFE.”
Capral Limited marketing manager Mark Murray said the networking and introductions provided through participation in the Ipswich stand would open doors to future businesses opportunities.
“Capral employs over 300 staff full time at our Bundamba manufacturing facility plus many casual staff.
“Avalon allowed the company to reconnect with long standing and new defence industry contractors.
“We also had the opportunity to meet delegates from the USA and Southeast Asia.”
Avalon 2019 was held from 26 February to 3 March 2019 at Avalon International Airport. It was supported by the Government of Victoria, AirServices Australia and the Australian Defence Force, in particular the Royal Australian Air Force, Defence Science & Technology and the Department of Defence’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG).
To be connected with Defence Ipswich visit the website: www.defenceipswich.com.au