Industry News
MEA Federal Budget response
Master Electricians Australia (MEA) has released a Federal Budget response, claiming the announcement of welfare packages is an “election sweetener” that will adversely impact business growth and therefore jobs. [ + ]
Brisbane Airport Link should open by August, Leighton says
Brisbane’s Airport Link should be open by late July, according to Leighton Holdings. The company issued a media release stating that its Thiess John Holland (TJH) joint venture completed a review of the integrated commissioning activities and productivities to date on the Airport Link Project, which indicates that the project will be open by 20 August 2012 at the latest. [ + ]
Mining Electrical Safety Conference 2012
The Mine Electrical Safety Association (MESA) will be holding its 23rd annual conference at the Sebel King George Square hotel, Brisbane from 4-6 July 2012. [ + ]
Solar system seller fined and prosecuted by Fair Trading
The director and general manager of Solar and Bamboo Direct and Solar Installations, Jan Pieter McHeyzer, has been prosecuted and fined for selling unmarked and potentially unsafe hot water storage tanks and making false and misleading claims about the tanks. [ + ]
Agilent appoints RS Components as distributor for South-East Asia
Agilent Technologies has appointed RS Components as authorised distributor of its InfiniiVision 2000 and 3000 X-Series oscilloscopes and handheld digital multimeters in South-East Asia. [ + ]
Contracting Innovation and Performance Workshop
The workshop is designed to provide the tools and strategies to secure effective project execution and asset reliability through collaborative contracting practices. [ + ]
Emerson appoints new senior director of sales productivity
Emerson Network Power recently announced the promotion of Chris Mandahl to the position of senior director for sales productivity. Reporting directly to vice president and general manager for sales Gene Hayden, Mr Mandahl’s position will cover Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Japan, South Korea and Pakistan. [ + ]
Solco announces new CEO and Board reshuffle
Solco has announced several changes in its executive staff. The company has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer, while its Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer have both tendered their resignations. [ + ]
Owner-managed companies failing to prepare for the worst
Most business owners don’t have a business succession plan in place to cover them in the event of death or disability, a recent MSI Global Alliance survey has found. Only 24% of owner-managed businesses have a formal business succession plan in place, while 36% don’t have key person insurance to cover an orderly business succession in the event of the death or disability of an owner-manager. [ + ]
Submarine communications cable connects vital infrastructure across the Narrows
Madison Technologies has been commissioned by MC (QCLNG) JV to provide the backbone communications cable network and associated passive equipment for communications infrastructure, which will run the length of the Narrows Crossing that consists of a 42″ gas pipeline and fibre-optic cable crossing of the marine channel, mangrove creeks and intertidal mudflats between the export header pipeline and the main gas plants on Curtis Island. [ + ]
Seminars to help improve energy performance of Australian buildings
Australian Building Sciences (ABS) will be holding series of national seminars, in May and June, aimed at improving the energy performance of Australian buildings. [ + ]
National licensing delayed - electrical, plumbing, gasfitting, refrigeration and property occupations first affected
The introduction of national licensing will now start in 2013. This first wave of licences to be affected includes electrical, plumbing and gasfitting, refrigeration and air conditioning, and property occupations. [ + ]
“Turbo for solar cells” gives 40% efficiency
Researchers at the University of Sydney have developed what they call a “turbo for solar cells” that could enable low-cost solar cells to reach 40% efficiency. [ + ]
Spirent to acquire Mu Dynamics
Spirent Communications has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Mu Dynamics, based in Sunnyvale, California, for a cash consideration of $40m. [ + ]
Turnbull’s NBN plan “technologically illiterate”, claims CEPU
The Communications Electrical Plumbing Union (CEPU) has criticised Malcolm Turnbull’s plans to cut back the National Broadband Network (NBN) from fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) to fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) should the Coalition win government in 2013, calling the plans “technologically illiterate”. [ + ]