Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to put on the record some of the extraordinary innovative manufacturing that takes place in my electorate of Murray. Take Yarroweyah Engineering. They developed a rotary dairy about 30 years ago which has changed the global industry. Over 2,700 of these dairies are now working in over 53 countries. This equates to more than one million cows being milked twice a day on their milking platforms. They employ 45 people in the tiny town of about 300. Then there is Sunweld in Shepparton. They invented the slab-line lawn bowls marker. Since 2001, Sunweld owner, Tony Farrell, has sold over 600 slab-line markers around Australia.

FOODMACH in Echuca manufactures robotics for food and beverage companies. Their best known innovation is the Robomatrix, a new high-speed palletising system. They supply SPC Ardmona, amongst many other food factories. And, of course, last week we celebrated SPC Ardmona's marvellous new snack pack line and a new product for SPC, ProVital. This delivers high-quality food for people who have great difficulty, in some cases, even swallowing. SPC ProVital is the first of its kind for the healthcare market, and we want to thank the Victorian government for the $22 million and Coca-Cola Amatil for the $70 million that made this SPCA innovation possible. They, of course, also employ local Shepparton companies like Watters Electrical and SSS Project Management, all helping with that installation.

We are a great region with great Australian innovation and long may we continue to be so.