Feb 23, 2018   -  Leading global battery and solar energy company sonnen will move its Australian headquarters from Sydney to Adelaide where it will also establish a manufacturing hub.

The announcement further cements South Australia as a world leader in renewable energy and storage.

The German company, the world’s largest producer of household battery and solar energy storage solutions, will use Adelaide as its central shipping facility for Australia and the Asia and South Pacific region.

It will also establish a technical training facility in the South Australian capital, which will cover Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific markets.

Sonnen is the world’s largest producer of household battery and solar energy storage solutions. It currently manufactures in Germany and the United States.

Sonnen Australia Australia/New Zealand Managing Director Chris Parratt said the company’s partnership highlighted South Australia’s reputation as a powerhouse in the clean technology sector globally.

“We are very excited by the prospect of manufacturing in South Australia for the Australian export markets, and realising our expectation that Australia will become the world’s number one market for energy storage systems,” he said.

Today’s announcement is the latest in a string of clean energy projects underway in South Australia, which is driving investment through its $150 million Renewable Technology Fund.

In November, Tesla commissioned the world’s largest lithium-ion battery (100MW/129MWh) at Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm in South Australia’s Mid-North.

SolarReserve has also announced it will build a 150MW/1100MWh solar thermal power plant near Port Augusta.

South Australia leads the nation in the uptake of wind energy and rooftop solar with renewable sources accounting for almost 50 per cent of the electricity generated in the state.

Sonnen will manufacture 50,000 energy storage systems in Adelaide over five years to create a ‘virtual power plant’ under a five-year deal with the South Australian Government.

The move will create more than 430 jobs across Sonnen’s battery factory operations and installation division within six months of the centre opening.

Sonnen claims its battery system, combiuned with rooftop solar, will save up to 80 per cent off a household’s electricity bill.

The company also plans to offer household energy packages such as sonnenFlat, which charges customers a flat monthly fee of AU$40-$60 to allow them to better manage bills.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said the German manufacturer would bring added value to the state’s energy market and reduce power costs for customers.

“By also establishing itself as a retailer, Sonnen will bring further competition to the market, providing more choice for consumers and helping drive down energy prices,” he said.

| A manufacturers'Monthly release  ||  February 23, 2018   |||

Feb 23, 2018  - Following on from the successful opening of Brook Food Asia Pacific based in Melbourne in July 2012, Brook Food are to widen their reach by opening up a new branch office in New Zealand. Based in Washdyke, New Zealand and part of the Brook Food Group, we look forward to welcoming our customers, both new and existing, to take full advantage of our expertise and knowledge within the baking industry.

Feb 23, 2018  -  New Zealand’s Southpac Trucks has been awarded ‘Kenworth Dealer of the Year 2017’ for exceptional sales, service and support.  Open to Kenworth dealers across Australia, New Zealand and Papa New Guinea, the award reportedly acknowledges excellence in, and is judged on, a points system across five main areas – overall dealer performance, truck sales, parts sales, finance and customer support.

Feb 23, 2018  -  The near-sonic speeds of the hyperloop can totally disrupt the supply chain, and two separate routes through Ohio are racing to beat the other. But which one is better for America?

Feb 21, 2018  -  An auction of heavy machinery at Dubbo has pulled in strong interest and contributed to the local economy, organisers say. Prospective buyers from as far away as Western Australia and New Zealand swelled onsite registrations at the Ritchie Bros. Ag Week auction on Tuesday to 399 people.

Feb 21, 2018 — TracPlus Global and AgriTrack announced today an agreement to deliver time-critical fire information from AgriTrack’s FireTrack into TracPlus’ global tracking and messaging service.  Last year, Australia experienced their warmest winter on record, contributing further to the threat of uncontrolled Wildfires and further necessitating the urgency for more detailed and comprehensive real time data delivery.

Feb 20, 2018  -  The appointment of a chief technology officer for New Zealand is critical for the future of the country if we hope to be a thriving digital nation by 2030, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says.  He was speaking at the international Digital Nations Summit in Auckland today and reiterated that technology is going to drive the New Zealand economy in the future.

Vogueish status means Facebook remains unchallenged Guide Book for scam artists.

Scam artists are researching the backgrounds of their targets especially where they sit in corporate structures.  In one such recent example an employee of Spark, the telecoms provider, was led to believe that their caller, a fraudster, was part of their own hierarchy, a superior.

Feb 15, 2018  -Boat handling technology from Vestdavit is playing a central role in The Royal New Zealand Navy’s drive to operate Realistic Working Environments (RWE) at its new Devonport Naval Base training facility, Auckland, which is set to open in March. 

Feb 14, 2018  -  When is a skip-loader of no use? The answer? When you need a hooklift truck instead. Now skiptruck and hookloader manufacturer Harsh has an answer – a demountable skiploader!


The demountable skiploader unit developed by Harsh based on the requirements of specific customer demand, is designed to fit onto a chassis fitted with a conventional hook- lift system (Ro-Ro/hookloader), which in effect doubles its capability, enabling one single truck to load and transport containers from these two popular, but otherwise incompatible systems.

“We can run a single vehicle as a standard hookloader for one journey, then quickly change it to a skiploader for the next job,” explains Freddy McAlister, fleet engineer at Malcolm Construction, the operator of this interesting new innovation.

“In the past, we’ve had
to operate both types of truck
– sometimes on the same con- tract. Now we only need one to handle both types of container. It’s given us a real productivity boost and increased our fleet flexibility,” he adds.


Designed to work at 26 tonnes gross weight, the new
Harsh ‘HS14T Demountable Skiploader’ provides a 14 tonnes lift capacity (or 10 tonnes at 4250 mm maximum reach with telescopic arms extended) and is able to handle skips of all sizes up to 10 tonnes capacity.

Harsh director Adam Hargreaves is also upbeat about the wider sales potential for this new addi- tion to the Harsh product range.

“This is a great example not
just of joint teamwork between customer and supplier, but is also a demonstration of how we at Harsh are able to design and develop imaginative solutions to meet our customers’ require- ments,” he comments.

Source:  WasteManagementWorld ||  February 14, 2018   |||