Do you ever receive memes, or even lengthy bush poems (not always elegantly written either), whinging about "Australia isn't making anything anymore"?
Got news for you: last Wednesday we were invited to visit Craig International Ballistic, a local manufacturer of military-grade protection equipment. "No photos inside", "Please don't touch anything; these are classified as weapons" were the clear instructions. The company, a family business going back for two generations, manufactures these devices not just for the local defense and police forces but is exporting them to places like Singapore and Thailand. Craig develops their own designs for equipment which include a unique lightweight design of body armour as well as 'transparent shields' which can withstand a bullet from an AK47. The equipment to enable the manufacture of these devices doesn't come cheap: in addition to the "about $8 Million" of machinery they have on the floor at present, they are awaiting the arrival of a new machine with a price tag of another $8 Million... Serious investment for a family business indeed!
A big 'Thank You!' to Mark Twyford for arranging this meeting. (Apologies: in last week's bulletin, I wrote that Craig International Ballistics is one of Mark's clients. They are not - Mark knows the owner privately.)