Iveco shares ideas at Victorian Manufacturing Showcase

Iveco, recently participated at the Victorian Manufacturing Showcase 2015, displaying three of its locally-manufactured truck models and joining a select group of other industry leaders to discuss growth and collaboration within the sector.  

Opened by the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, Minister for Industry and Minister for Energy and Resources, and hosted by ABC’s Ticky Fullerton, presenter of The Business Program, the event sought to promote Victoria’s current manufacturing efforts, create dialogue and exchange ideas on how to strengthen the industry’s viability into the future.

Representing Iveco’s parent company, CNH Industrial was Ron Grasso, Head of Corporate and External Affairs, APAC-ANZ, who presented on the theme of ‘growth through collaboration’.

Mr Grasso’s expertise on the subject had been called on in October, when he presented to a Senate Economics References Committee, discussing the future of Australia’s automotive industry.

According to Mr Grasso, despite the doomsayers, the future of manufacturing in Victoria and other parts of Australia remained promising, but faced some serious transformational challenges particularly over the next five years.

"It is difficult for local industry to compete in a traditional model producing high volume products – Australia simply lacks the domestic scale to successfully underpin this method, and in some industries export opportunities are relatively limited, compounding the problem," Mr Grasso said.

"Where opportunities do exist, is in agile and flexible manufacturing of niche volumes that provides for customer-tailored solutions. Our (Victoria’s) local manufacturing base has the potential to be very good in this area."

Iveco’s Dandenong facility manufactures a selection of truck models and two bus chassis, with Australian-sourced content ranging from 55 per cent, to an impressive 85 per cent for the long-standing ACCO model.

The ACCO is a strong example of a truck that can be modified considerably along the assembly line to best suit the buyer’s application requirements. Iveco has the expertise and capabilities to further build on providing these customised solutions using existing knowledge and by accessing the expertise of CNH Industrial, one of the world’s largest industrial products companies.

Mr Grasso also discussed the importance of the commercial vehicle industry’s third party parts suppliers.

"Companies like Iveco are reliant on a broader local supply chain and at times our suppliers are called on to deliver items beyond their capabilities," he said.

"By tapping into the expertise of suppliers to the car industry, greater knowledge and efficiencies could become available to Australian-based commercial vehicle manufacturers – the more knowledgeable each part of the supply chain becomes, the more competitive the local product can be through improved economies of scale."

Mr Grasso said that as a country, Australia needed to value local content for what it meant beyond the cost of goods.

"Automotive manufacturing is a good thing for our country’s broader economic prosperity, it’s not just about direct jobs. Buyers should keep this in mind during their purchasing decisions," Mr Grasso said.

"Aside from individual consumers and private fleets, local, state and even Federal Government can play an important role in promoting a local-first attitude. The days of industry seeking protectionism are long gone, this is about applying consistent rules around government procurement."

The event which was held at the Chisholm Institute of TAFE, was extremely well attended. The location is a familiar one to Iveco, who engages Chisolm to assist in upskilling its manufacturing facility workforce.