A message from Jens Goennemann

AMGC’s role is to stand behind all aspiring manufacturers across the nation. This means speaking on behalf of our network of 8,000 and broader industry in forums that will deliver cut-through for small-to-medium-sized (SME) manufacturers – representing the large majority of Australian manufacturers.

Lately, this has taken us to numerous Government-led Economic Reform Roundtable-related events, with productivity reform being the flavour of the month.

Our Executive Chairman, Paul Cooper, attended and contributed to Federal Minister Anne Aly’s Small Business Economic Reform Roundtable. I joined Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres’s Technology and Innovation Roundtable in the lead-up to the Treasurer’s Economic Roundtable and then in another setting used the opportunity to hear from all but one minister or shadow minister participating in said Economic Roundtable.

Later, Paul joined the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation’s AGM to advocate for SME manufacturers, even though smaller companies are mostly outside of the NRF’s focus. And, as this newsletter lands, our HQ team will be meeting with the folks at the New South Wales Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility in Western Sydney.

Behind-the-scenes, we have been putting Australian manufacturers’ cases to the Queensland Government, the Victorian Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing and his team, and policymakers and their advisers in NSW.

In the public domain, I attended the recent Industrial Transformation Australia and Weld Australia’s National Manufacturing Summit as a speaker and panellist – where AMGC advocated for you, the small, highly innovative manufacturers that are eager to grow. Meanwhile, Paul joined Sky Business News’ Ross Greenwood and other panellists to talk about what industry needed to grow and realise its potential onshore – you can see it here.

In all instances, we relayed the challenges you face daily, from high energy costs to lack of available capital and flip-flop policy. But the single largest message delivered at all forums was the frustration around inaction and the impact this is having on the industry.

The slow pace of industry programs and the ever-increasing pressures on business are having a noticeable impact today. Difficult business conditions play out in the loss of names such as Oceania Glass, and the Peanut Company – not to mention several metal processors – all of whom have taken the hard decision to wind down operations.

Then, just a fortnight ago, a promising lithium battery maker at Tomago, which AMGC backed early on in its journey – went into voluntary administration for its manufacturing operation after an investor withdrew funding. You can probably name a few more yourself, promising companies that have given up recently or have been made to give up.

Manufacturers are asking where are the responses to what remains a difficult operating environment?

We know one thing for certain: inaction isn’t working. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data paints a bleak picture. In the 12 months to June 2025, Australia’s manufacturing base grew by just 0.2 per cent – the second lowest growth of any industry. A future made in Australia continues to slip away.

As I shared recently with the Weld Australia’s audience, there are three things we can do to lift our performance immediately.

The first is to get support to those promising manufacturers on the cusp of greatness – not in a year, not in months, but now.

Second, manufacturing must be recognised by our political class as more than just a backdrop for photo opportunities. The final and third piece is an industry-led plan – grounded in insight and action – one proven to work in the real world, as demonstrated by Germany’s Fraunhofer, the UK’s Catapult, and Japan’s MITI programs, all of which inspired AMGC’s highly successful earlier Federal initiatives.

What we do not need is another blueprint, innovation summit, strategy paper, policy working group, or roundtable. We also do not need public servants trying to do industry’s job. We need an industry-led approach – not more high-vis kabuki or suits pretending to understand what manufacturing is. And once that plan is in place, we must stick to it.

Australia’s manufacturing industry holds immense potential. We know how to turn R&D into GDP, we know what our global customers want, and we know what it takes to build a future in Australia. AMGC will unapologetically advocate for it.