Manufacturing Tech Australia
Manufacturing Tech Australia Podcast with Shane Williams and Paul Mason – your go-to resource for the latest in manufacturing and technology trends, tailor-made for Aussie businesses. Join us as we delve into key insights, tools, and strategies to drive innovation, productivity, and resilience, helping you stay ahead in the competitive world of manufacturing.
Episodes
How do you turn a research project into a global technology company with customers in more than 50 countries?
In this episode of Manufacturing Tech Australia, Shane Williams and Paul Mason sit down with Dr Stefan Hrabar, Co-founder of Emesent, to explore the journey from CSIRO robotics research to one of Australia's leading autonomy and mapping technology companies.
Stefan shares how Emesent identified a critical challenge in undergr...
How AI, hydrogen fuel cells and smarter logistics are reshaping Australian transport and supply chains.
In this episode, Dean Calapai, Founder, Director and CEO of Intellitrac, Andrew Willis, Manager External Affairs & Governance at Toyota, Dr. Julian Zeltinger, Chief Commercial Officer at Intermodal Terminal Company, and Joel Kotamanidis, Chief Executive Officer at Allotrak, share practical insights on the technologies transfor...
Humanoid robots are coming fast, but where can they deliver real ROI for Australian manufacturers today?
In this episode, David Pearce, Founder at Our Robot Future, and Adrian Tyson, Founder at Neuranext.ai, separate the hype from the reality of humanoid robotics and explain what manufacturers should be doing now to prepare for the next wave of automation. Shane and Paul cover:
Why more than 90% of humanoid robot sales in Australia a...
How manufacturers can start digital transformation with low-cost tools, real shop-floor data, and minimal risk.
In this episode, Harry Baxter from Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC) and Matthew Doolan from UNSW Canberra explain how manufacturers can begin their digital manufacturing journey without investing in large-scale MES projects or expensive infrastructure. Shane and Paul explore practical examples from Digital Manufa...
How mentoring, work experience and maker spaces help attract more women into Australian manufacturing.
In this episode, Rachelle Turner and Steph Piper share their experiences entering manufacturing, engineering and maker spaces, along with practical ideas for increasing female participation across the sector.
We cover:
Why visibility and representation matter when encouraging young women to consider manufacturing careers
How work exp...
How food manufacturers are using AI vision, robotics, sorting and automation to boost quality, efficiency and competitiveness.
In this episode, we share the latest automation and technology innovations showcased at FoodPro 2026.
How upcycled textile robot covers can extend robot life and reduce maintenance in harsh manufacturing environments
Affordable palletising automation designed to help smaller manufacturers adopt robotics safel...
How dairy processors can close the recycled plastic cost gap with backhauled bottle returns and food-grade HDPE reuse.
Recorded live at CeMAT 2027, Shane hosts a panel discussion with Ben McCulloch from Martog & Company, Edward Vaudrey from Popit Recycling, and Taylor Quinn from Procal Dairies who share how a closed-loop model could reduce the cost barrier that keeps food-grade recycled HDPE above virgin polymer. The cover:
* Wh...
From cold chain robotics to humanoid AI, what will actually deliver value on the warehouse floor in 2026 might surprise you.
At CeMAT 2026, Shane and Paul sat down with John Sauer from OPEX, Daniele Farioli from Modula, Maryam Ziaee from Slimstock, and Adam Frank from SugarAI, along with a Daemon robotics showcase, to break down what’s real versus hype.
In this episode, we cover:
How next-gen AS/RS systems are enabling multi-tem...
How Australian manufacturers can adopt Industry 4.0 using training, collaboration, and emerging robotics technologies.
In this episode, recorded live at CeMAT 2026, Vikram Sachdeva from Swinburne University, Andrew Brown from the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and Jun from Agibot share how Australian manufacturers can practically adopt Industry 4.0 and AI. Paul covers:
How Swinburne’s Factory of the Future and Digi...
Food manufacturing is Australia’s largest manufacturing sector, yet it’s under pressure from every direction, squeezed margins, rising costs, global competition, and ongoing underinvestment.
In this episode, Paul sits down with Angeline Achariya from Innovation Gamechangers to unpack what’s really happening inside the industry and why it matters far beyond food.
They explore why manuf...
Australian Manufacturing Week 2026 delivered more than just machines on stands. It surfaced the real conversations manufacturers are having about productivity, automation, software, skills, and how to stay competitive.
In this episode, Paul Mason and I speak with a cross-section of exhibitors and industry leaders on the show floor, capturing what is actually resonating with Australian manufacturers right now.
Yo...
Australian Manufacturing Week 2026 has landed in Brisbane for the first time ever — and we're recording live from the show floor.
Part 1 of our AMW 2026 coverage brings you six exhibitor interviews covering robotics, autonomous material handling, ERP, 3D metrology, automation hardware, and the grant landscape for Australian manufacturers.
Paul Mason and Shane Williams are joined by locals Phil Seboa from the Unplugged IIoT pod...
Manufacturers keep investing in automation, ERP, AI, and capital projects, yet many still struggle with cost, resilience, and execution. The problem is not the tools, it is fragmentation.In this episode, Shane Williams and Paul Mason are joined by Oliver North and Warren Proctor, Partners at Argon & Co, to unpack why siloed projects quietly destroy manufacturing competitiveness, and what an integrated operationa...
Most manufacturers do not need another AI tool. They need better decisions from the ERP and data they already have.
In this episode, Graeme Evans and Ian Macdonald from Epicor explain how embedded AI is helping manufacturers move ERP from a system of record to a system of action, helping them get more from the systems they already use every day. We explore practical use cases across scheduling, supply chain risk, workforce onb...
Four real AI use cases in Australian manufacturing and the hardware decisions behind moving from pilot to production.
In this episode, Troy Smithells from Xenon Systems (Australia's only Nvidia Elite partner) walks through where AI is actually earning its keep in Aussie manufacturing, and why production workloads often need to leave the cloud. We cover:
Hand-drawn to CAD file conversion: 4x faster, nea...
Authentic storytelling cuts through AI-generated noise and drives real change in manufacturing teams.
In this episode, Gabrielle Dolan, storytelling expert and author, shares her Story Intelligence framework and why it matters more than ever for manufacturers leading change. We cover:
- Why authentic stories outperform data and slides when overcoming resistance to change
- How to use storytelling to connect teams across functions and ...
Australia's robotics sector is scaling fast — here's what manufacturers need to know and do first in 2026.
In this episode, Nicci Rossouw, CEO of Robotics Australia Group, returns to unpack how the ecosystem has shifted and what's driving the most investable robotics businesses today. We cover:
- The National Robotics Strategy and why funding alone doesn't solve the scaling challenge
- What field robotics and physical AI mean fo...
From Industry 4.0 to Industry 6.0 — agentic AI, humanoid robots, and what's already happening on factory floors today.
In this episode, Nick Doyle, Head of Manufacturing at ANCA Manufacturing Solutions in Thailand, walks us through the roadmap from where manufacturers are now to where they're heading. We cover:
- Why Thailand is becoming a major production hub and what that means for Australian supply chains
- The evolution from...
A practical guide to the grants, incentives, and support programs Australian manufacturers can actually use in 2026.
Shane Williams and Paul Mason step back from the detail to map the landscape of federal and state funding programs available to manufacturers this year. We cover:
- The biggest funding opportunities for 2026: Made in Queensland, National Reconstruction Fund, ARENA, and more
- Why R&D, clean tech, and sovereign capab...
AI that augments — not replaces — your workforce: practical steps for manufacturers starting today.
In this episode, Murali Sastry, learning and AI strategist, shares a grounded framework for AI adoption in manufacturing that keeps humans in the loop. We cover:
- What vibe coding is and how frontline workers are using it to build dashboards without IT
- Learning in the flow of work: low-risk AI augmentation use cases with ...
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