Three Queensland companies were awarded a share of almost $3 million in the last round of Federal Government defence industry funding, before a new grants program is rolled out.
Rud Chains, Masters & Young and Gilmour Space Technologies were among nine businesses that received funding under the Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority and Defence Global Competitiveness Grant programs.
Federal Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said those programs would be replaced by a $150 million Defence Industry Development Grant (DIDG) program.
Minister Conroy said the new four-year grant program would support Australian small to medium-sized business in areas of sovereign industrial priorities, exports, skilling and security.
“Each of the four program streams will begin to receive applications later this month,” he said.
“The DIDG program replaces and expands previous defence industry grant programs.”
He said nine businesses, including three from Queensland, shared $2.9 million as the final recipients of grants under the previous programs.
Larapinta-based Rud Chains received $491,787 to acquire a robotic welder with a positional rotator for 9-axis complex welding of heavy lift and lashing products up to 1 tonne for use with military vehicles and trailers.
Fellow Brisbane business Masters & Young, based in Woodridge, received $150,000 to procure and commission a 3D automated optical inspection system for precision evaluation of printed circuit boards used in a range of defence aviation, sensing and communications systems.
Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies secure $148,862 to acquire and commission a Zone 4 secure container to support the security requirements associated with international client space projects.