Looking for a silver lining from the COVID-19 pandemic? After years of disruptions and strict border policies, there has never been a better time to manufacture in Australia. There is growing support for local manufacturing, with less reliance on overseas suppliers and manufacturers
The pandemic highlighted the vulnerability of our supply chain, the risk to our health system, and the need for a shift in policies to better support our manufacturing industry.
After decades of manufacturing in China and overseas, Australian manufacturers are starting to think about bringing their services back home.
Thinking about manufacturing your product? Here are some reasons why we think it’s better to manufacture in Australia.
Rapid Prototyping
When you manufacture locally, you can generate prototypes significantly faster than with overseas manufacturing. Designers can quickly evaluate prototype designs and gain valuable feedback on the manufacturability of the design. This also helps to reduce the overall project timeline and to minimise design flaws.
Delivery Speed and Reliability
If you’re looking to manufacture your product quickly, then manufacturing in Australia is clearly the best option. This reduces your need for shipping and the chance of delays. For example, international shipments can easily get delayed due to incorrect paperwork, weather disruptions, customs regulations, and busy holiday periods. Manufacturing locally makes it easier to stick to your production schedule.
Communication
Building relationships and communicating clearly with your manufacturing partners is crucial. This is much easier if they are local. If you’re working with overseas manufacturers, it can be difficult to communicate effectively. Miscommunication due to language and cultural barriers can have costly consequences.
Quality Control
Maintaining quality control of your products is easier if you manufacture in Australia rather than overseas. Although quality control is mandatory for most manufacturing companies regardless of their country, it’s easy to see the benefits of Australian quality standards. Australian manufacturers have sophisticated computer systems for traceability, auditing and quality control that are hard to beat.
Competitive and Reliable Pricing
It is a common misconception that producing plastic parts is cheaper in China or other Asian countries. You may be surprised to learn that most of the time it is actually cheaper to injection mould here in Australia. This is because injection moulding is an automatic process with little post-process labour.
Manufacturing in Australia also helps to bring certainty to pricing. You won’t be subject to foreign currency fluctuations which can influence pricing.
Intellectual Property Protection
Manufacturing in Australia also helps to protect your intellectual property. If you manufacture in Asia, you may find your design copied by a competitor. Asian countries typically don’t have strict laws on copyright, so it can be difficult to prove that they copied your idea. Australian manufacturers are subject to high standards of intellectual property law and can be relied on to handle your information confidentially.
Looking to get your Product Manufactured?
At Dienamics, we have over 30 years of experience in industrial design, tool making and manufacturing in Brisbane. We offer specialised manufacturing services to help you take your concept from an idea to a reality.
If you need help manufacturing your product, then give us a call. Talk to our expert team today.
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