The government says it will help Australian automotive manufacturing companies enter North American supply chains through a $0.5 million fund being donated to boost local productivity, which if it works could help our industry in hard times.
The project is one of five announced by the Rudd Government last week to help local supply chains stay afloat through hard economic times, as part of a $1.4 million fund called the Supplier Access to Major Projects (SAMP) Program.
The minister for innovation, industry, science and research, senator Kim Carr, said the $468,038 grant was awarded to Team Australia Automotive (TAA) — a consortium of government and industry coordinated by the Industry Capability Network.
“This project is about linking Australia’s world class automotive component manufacturers with automotive supply chains in the US,” he said.
“By linking these global opportunities to our local capabilities we create crucial links that boost Australian productivity, export capacity and most importantly, jobs.
“With the challenges being faced by the global automotive industry, tapping into these markets is no easy task. But with the support offered by this project, Australian component manufacturers can continue to face this challenge head on.”
The project is a bid by the government to assist manufacturers, and will impact process, control and automation providers who prepare technology for supply chains.
The oil and gas industry will also receive a portion of the fund — $250, 382 will be used to help connect capable and competitive Australian suppliers to opportunities with major Asian oil and gas module contractors.