By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A BERWICK manufacturer was buoyed last month when it was commended by the Federal Government and local council for its work within the community.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood recently visited the Berwick-based Australian Precision Technologies (APT) to discuss manufacturing in his electorate and to applaud the business for its innovation.
APT specialises in producing simple to highly complex precision components, instruments and assemblies for the mining, aerospace, and sporting industries.
APT business director Ron Weinzierl led Mr Wood on a tour through the company’s quarters, accompanied by Casey mayor Geoff Ablett, deputy mayor Amanda Stapledon, City of Casey CEO Mike Tyler, manager of Economic Development for the City of Casey David Wilkinson, and South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance (SEMMA) executive officer Adrian Boden.
Mr Weinzierl said he was able to show the visitors how a recent government grant had allowed the company to expand their investments in the latest world-leading technologies.
“We work closely with our technology partners such as Okuma to maintain our competitive edge and that, along with our quality control program managed by Ian MacKenzie, are all critical to our success,” he said.
Mr Wood said the motivated team at APT, along with their technology partners, had allowed the company to forge into niche markets with a vision to expand their global export.
“APT is not just good for La Trobe because of its manufacturing abilities and diversification of their product,” he said.
“They have also developed a cutting edge training system, working with Chisholm TAFE to develop training that gives employees staged training on state-of-the-art machinery and opens the eyes of young students to the exciting opportunities in engineering.”
