Australian Government to spend $8.9M on auto industry supply chain improvement program

By Matt Brogan | March 05th, 2010

The Australian Government has today announced it will spend $8.9 million in first-round grants on a coaching, mentoring and training program to improve the operational performance of our local automotive supply chain.

The key component of the capability development program is by way of a $4.75 million grant to the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Automotive Technology (AutoCRC).

“The AutoCRC will work with any supplier wishing to participate, drawing up a tailored improvement plan for specific processes and projects,” Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said.

“The AutoCRC will use its highly regarded Automotive Supplier Excellence Australia program and draw on its extensive benchmarking knowledge to ensure that improvement plans are world-class and embody best practice,

“By increasing their capabilities and competitiveness, automotive component suppliers will put themselves in a better position to serve the local market and integrate into highly competitive global supply chains.”

The Automotive Supply Chain Development Program (ASCDP) also granted:

$1 million to Ford Australia; $1 million to GM Holden; and $1.8 million to Toyota Australia to work collaboratively with their main suppliers; and
$76,000 to Frontline Australia; $100,000 to Futuris; $75,000 to Toyota Boshoku Australia; and $76,484 to ZF Lemforder to work with Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers.

“The Automotive Supply Chain Development Program is about boosting the productivity and job capacity of individual firms and the industry as a whole,” Senator Carr said.

The four-year, $20 million competitive grants program is funded by the Rudd Government’s $6.2 billion New Car Plan for a Greener Future. The next round of ASCDP funding will be open for applications from July 1, 2010.

For further information about the program, visit www.innovation.gov.au

HandOuts

NOT happy about this, why do we support the Auto industry with OUT taxes and nothing for other industries.

Its totally WRONG!

ba g220

The auto industry happens to be one of the larger industries in this country, it also happens to employ a hell of a lot of people including, suppliers, transport/logistics, management, assembly line, advertising etc.

I for one am happy to continue to support my fellow australians. If some people realised how good some of these cars are we wouldn’t be in a position of needing government assistance. Everyone’s happy to get upset when job lay offs are announced in any industry but no one is willing to support australian by buying australian even though it might cost a little extra.
Jester

Waste of time – two reasons why Oz auto indursty is not effective is HIGH SALARIES, and LOW VOLUMES. None of those two reasons will be fixed by throwing taxpayers money on that dead horse.

Stevo the Devo

Maybe you’re on to something here Jester. You know the Govt. could save heaps on health care by sending sick Aussies over to Thailand or the Philippines to get a cheap operation instead of spending thousands of dollars to do the same thing over here. The Govt. should close down all Australian hospitals because the doctors and nurses have HIGH SALARIES. And as for paying specialists, it’s uneconomical due to the LOW VOLUMES.
Andrew M

Yes high salaries is one reason, lowering the tariffs doesnt help either.

Surely you would think if we all get high salaries we wouldnt have to be so tight and buy Korean and Chinese cars which at the moment are bought with price as a main reason

PG

Maybe someone should give some funding to Venture plastics so I can get some damn bumper bars etc into stock! The level of supply from them is a joke!
Andrew M

The Gov spends 8.9m to secure industry jobs and people whinge, yet they forget the insulation industry got handed $50mill after they were they ones that caused their own sudden collapse. Surely the overcharging that was going on should have been enough for them to keep their staff without work….

If you put a $ per auto industry worker figure on the grants im sure it would be a smaller investement in peoples futures than grants given to other industries/businesses
a

Why the F**k is the governement giving money to suppliers that return good profits and pay dividends back to parent company and not give their employees a pay rise for the last 2 years?
The Realist

Another useless CRC.

I’d love to see studies on productivity before and after implementaton – but we’ll never see that will we…
noj

I can`t understand why you would give money to Ford considering they are ending manufacturing here.
ba g220

I don’t know where you get your information from mate i’d be getting a different source.

Ford will NOT be stopping production in this country for some time to come.
Ford Aus returned to profitability for the last quarter of 2009.
Ford are investing heavily in new technologies including $230,000,000 in new engine technologies.
Ford Aus are the engineering centre for the asia pacific region, including the next generation ranger.

Fact of the matter is no longer how many times poorly researched articles or news segments are presented to the australian people ford are here for the long term.

noj

Haha, your joking right?

Andrew M

Thats funny,
I thought you must have been joking. Perhaps you really are that ill informed

noj

RIP FORD Australia. I guess I will see you at the wake Andy.Btw I am only going to make sure they really are dead LOL.

ba g220

How can an “australian” support massive job losses. If one of these companies stops manufacturing in this country you can bet the other 2 will follow quickly. Again it’s not only the direct employees of these companies that will suffer. We’re talking many thousands of jobs in at least 2 major cities.

We should be doing everything we can to support all australian jobs not only in the automotive industry.

Anyone else who believes this crap try something called research.
noj

For starters they are an American Company, secondly they don`t employ the numbers they once did and thirdly we are wasting tax payers money on them. If they aren`t profitable on their own why should I support them with my taxes. Honestly there are more important things that need that money in this country.So how unaustralian is it to waste money on the American FORD Motor Company? It would best for you to get use to Ford being an importer of cars, it will save you a hell of alot of heart ache.
Shak

To Noj:

First of all you dont know where your tax money goes. It could be going to fund the Public transport system which is much less efficient. Secondly, most businesses dont employ the same numbers courtesy of something called the GFC, ever heard of it. Thirdly could you indicate to me what is more important than our second largest export sector?
noj

My Taxes could go elsewhere but they could very well go to the car industry, secondly most businesses don`t receive the financial support our car industry does and thirdly when was the last time Ford Australia exported a car. Sure Holden does but in very small numbers to the Middle East,whoopti do.
Shak

If you knew a bit more about the Holden export program you would know they export to every continent(except Antarctica). And quiet a few business throughout Australia do recieve the same amount or more funding. The gov has been funding quirt a bit of mining and agricultural projects of late, to the tune of about 3 billion in Taxpayers money.
noj

Enlighten me with some numbers.

ba g220

please tell me noj where did i say ford were australian? i questioned how you a supposed australian could support thousands of other australians losing their jobs.

noj

Tell me where I said that you said Ford was Australian. I`m just merely pointing out that they are an American Company, the same as GM Holden. What about when I buy my German cars, Isn`t the guy who sells my car and the guys who service my car Australian? I`m pretty sure I`m supporting Australian jobs, just ones that aren`t wasting tax payers funding. Ah well the end is near, 2015 isn`t it?

Sumodog

When you are buying your german car you are supporting 200 australian jobs and when you buy an aussie built car you are supporting 200 000 australian jobs.
Tax payers money is not “wasted” on australian based manuafacturing industry – if you lose those jobs you lose a lot of tax revenue – it is called investment and looking after countries technological capabilities.

Rachel Polsen

I think that we should be using this money to help out with the poverty that is going on in the world. We could do so much for those people but yet many do nothing?! Why?! We can make a difference and we can change lives!