Future Geelong: A growing number of hi-tech Geelong companies are marching towards the defence industry

Geelong is increasingly becoming a hub for hi-tech advanced manufacturers that are quietly having a big impact on the world stage.

Federal Industry Minister Ed Husic tries out one of Universal Motion Simulation's cabins during a visit to Geelong last year.

While Korean defence giant Hanwha may get most of the headlines, there are a growing number of hi-tech Geelong companies quietly making waves in the industry.

At the International Armoured Vehicles Conference in London last month, Peter Meikle, chief executive of Universal Motion Simulation (UMS), presented to an audience that included the top brass of many western militaries.

Dr Meikle highlighted the vital role UMS’s technology was playing in the training of soldiers tasked with manning armoured vehicles.

“You can teach the driver preparedness in operating the vehicle in all sorts of difficult training scenarios that you just couldn’t risk in the actual vehicle,” he said.

The high-level crowd also heard from Major General Jason BIain, who oversees armoured vehicles in the Australian Defence Force.

Peter Meikle is chief executive of Geelong-based Universal Motion Simulation.

“He described our solution as a ‘game changer’,” Dr Meikle said.

“Representatives of many armies were present and the feedback was extremely positive.”

At its core, UMS combines cutting edge software and robotics to develop easily interchangeable cabins that replicate a range of armoured vehicles.

Army personnel are trained on how best to handle a range of situations that would be too dangerous to attempt in real life.

Universal Motion Simulation’s technology involves a armoured vehicle “cabin” connect to a robotic arm.

The technology was developed at Deakin University’s Institute for Intelligent Systems and was spun into UMS in 2017 – a private company with 30 employees that remains based at Deakin.

UMS recently installed six of its simulators at the Australian Army’s Puckapunyal training base as part of a $32m federal government contract, which comes on top of a $21m contract to supply simulators for Rheinmetall’s Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles.

It is also developing cabins for the M1A2 Abrams tank and associated engineering vehicles.

“By the end of the year, we’ll be under contract to provide the cabins for the Hanwha Redback,” Dr Meikle said.

“We’re (also) pursuing opportunities in Scandinavia, Poland, the UK, the US.”

Hanwha, which is putting the finishing touches on its $170m Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence at Avalon, was awarded the $7bn contract to manufacture 129 of its Redback vehicles for the Australian Army in July.

Hanwha Defence Australia managing director Richard Cho.

Hanwha’s Australian boss Richard Cho has made clear his intent to partner with advanced manufacturers in the Geelong region, as well as local researchers and educators.

Geelong Manufacturing Council chief executive Jennifer Conley said UMS was one of several local companies with defence industry capability.

“But the Hanwha opportunity means a lot more (local companies) are interested in becoming defence ready,” she said.

Ms Conley said Quickstep was another local company doing impressive things in the defence space.

Quickstep, also based out of Deakin, provides advanced composite solutions to the defence industry and has partnerships with global heavyweights such as BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin.

Both BAE and Quickstep are members of Geelong’s Advanced Fibre Cluster (AFC), which brings together a range of researchers and manufacturers to accelerate the development and commercialisation of fibre-based products and processes.

The AFC and BAE are jointly hosting an event on March 26 at Geelong council’s offices to help local small and medium businesses navigate the more complex aspects of becoming a defence industry supplier.

Topics will include estimating and pricing, supplier quality assurance, and export controls.

“The AFC is focused on ensuring Geelong becomes the centre of excellence in Australia for composites, carbon fibre and advanced fibres, with a focus on the future of advanced manufacturing growth in the region,” chief executive David Buchanan said.

Originally published as Future Geelong: A growing number of hi-tech Geelong companies are marching towards the defence industry