In a first for the Territory, an East Arm business will design, manufacture and commercialise insulated, cyclone-certified roof panels for Northern Australia, creating dozens of local jobs.
Arctic Installations has received a $500,000 investment through the Northern Territory's Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Fund (AMEF), with the project value totalling $2.9 million.
The business is collaborating with MDI Systems, Rapid Engineering NT and James Cook University to commercialise the insulated panels. These panels are designed to maximise the thermal and structural building characteristics of Northern Australia buildings and ensure humidity and cyclonic conditions are effectively managed.
The bespoke roof panels will be launched by the end of 2023, the first of their kind to be manufactured in the Territory. Businesses currently having to source these bespoke roof panels from interstate or international suppliers.
Bringing this manufacturing capability to the Territory will also establish a local supply chain for ancillary products such as flashing and other related roofing products.
The first stage of the project will be automating the manufacturing process at Artic Installations facility in East Arm, before durability testing. The secondary stage will involve commercialising the product for mass manufacture and export.
As a result of the co-investment, Arctic Installations expects to cultivate 25 local jobs in the Territory, to grow a new export industry and create further supply chain opportunities for other Territory businesses.
Investing in advanced manufacturing capability across our local businesses increases their competitiveness, grows local jobs and adds value to the Territory economy.
Accelerating the adoption of advanced manufacturing is a key driver in the Northern Territory Government's strategy to create more jobs and a sustainable and diverse $40 billion economy by 2030.
The AMEF is part of a five-year $8.75 million partnership with the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) and provides grants to industry-leading advanced manufacturing projects in the Northern Territory.
Quotes attributed to Minister for Advanced Manufacturing, Nicole Manison:
"Advanced manufacturing is the way of the future, creating more local jobs and flow on effects for the Northern Territory economy.
AMEF is accelerating the Territory's advanced manufacturing capabilities and capacity, and we are seeing projects and industries coming alive right across the Territory from the Red Centre to the Top End.
Arctic Solutions will be manufacturing and commercialising bespoke roofing panels which would have otherwise been sourced from interstate, establishing a local supply chain, supporting Territory businesses and creating local jobs."
Quotes attributed to Major Projects Commissioner, Jason Schoolmeester:
"With this announcement of co-investment into Artic Installations, the AMEF has now invested more than $1.3M to support projects worth more than $8.1 M in the Territory.
"This investment is supporting collaboration between local and interstate businesses to bring new capability and technology to the Territory and growing jobs and business opportunities in the new supply chains being developed."
Quotes attributed to Arctic Installations Managing Director, Gary Burns:
"This co-investment will not only assist us in displacing imported products from overseas and hauling from southern states, but it will also lead to the generation of local jobs and boost local capability, thus bringing the lead time down from months to days,
It's deeply satisfying to bring together a number of Northern Territory entities to solve a market need and develop a superior product that has applications far beyond our shores.
In fact, we have just secured our first export deal with ETO energy in Dili which is a great endorsement of what we can do. Going off-shore opens up various opportunities within our region north of Australia and with further research and marketing we would like to aim further afield."
Quotes attributed to AMGC NT Director, Charmaine Phillips:
"In just over 12 months, the AMEF program has proven that there are world-leading manufacturing ideas in the Territory and with the right support and funding we can turn these ideas into commercial outcomes,
Arctic Installations demonstrates that we can and should be leveraging our unique climatic and weather conditions to develop better solutions for our region and beyond our shores. This project adds to the list of Australian innovators seeing that imported products sometimes don't meet our tough local conditions, then coming up with something better."
Northern Territory Government
