Economy Grants

Global Competitiveness Grant Program gives $1.3 million to businesses

Editors Publicspectrum Mar 26, 2021

2 min read

The Defence Global Competitiveness Grant Program recently granted six small businesses $1.3 million to boost their export potential overseas.

Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said the Morrison Government is using this program to help Australian businesses in upgrading their manufacturing processes and equipment to increase access in international markets and overseas revenue streams.

One of the businesses under the program is New South Wales business Blueprint Lab. Blueprint Lab, with support from the Australian Defence Export Office, grew from a robotics hardware start-up to a company exporting to more than eleven countries.

The grant will support Blueprint Lab in commissioning a new deployable test vehicle which will be used to certify equipment to international standards. This will allow the company to open up further export opportunities.

Blueprint Lab’s robotics products are exported for use by many customers like marine science institutes, oil and gas companies and nuclear plant operators.

Another business benefitting from the program is Queensland-based company Crystalaid Manufacture. The company began supporting medical solutions to combat hearing loss through the use of innovative technologies but they transitioned to the defence sector more than five years ago.

It has currently established itself as a complex and bespoke electronics manufacturer for defence, aerospace and avionics industries. Crystalaid Manufacture will purchase an automated optical inspection machine to increase the quality and export capacity of its surface-mounted technology boards.

Meanwhile, Queensland business Frontline Manufacturing, which specialises in manufacturing metal structures and components and supplying them to defence primes, plans to leverage its domestic success and become a mid-tier defence company by upgrading its equipment.

WA business Orbital Corporation Limited will purchase testing equipment to increase the quality control and production capacity of its propulsion systems and flight critical components in order to meet increasing unmanned aerial vehicle export market demand.

Another Queensland business, Ryan Aerospace, will use its grant to increase its production capacity of helicopter controls for simulators, opening up additional export opportunities to the United States.

Victorian business Defendtex is working to obtain, install and commission an injection moulding line to manufacture moulded parts for defence applications in-house.

Defence Global Competitiveness Grant Program is available to help Australian small and medium businesses invest in projects that help to build their export capacity.

Editors Publicspectrum

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