F35 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) 10 Contract, page-31

Geelong’s Quickstep Automotive wins Federal Government grant


ONE of Geelong’s leading carbon fibre manufacturers will today secure more than $1.6 million in Federal Government grants.
Car-part maker Quickstep Automotive will get the money to further its development of lightweight car seats and fenders.
The grants will be announced by Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson and Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Craig Laundy, in Geelong.
The grants are a further show of confidence in the innovative manufacturing firm, based at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus.
In 2014 it landed $1.76 million for job-creating projects from the Geelong Region Innovation and Investment Fund, and now employs 26 workers in production and research and development.
Ms Henderson said the bulk of the taxpayer money provided to the firm today was for its car seat operations.
A Co-operative Research Centre grant of $1.4 million would help Quickstep deliver a “made-to-order materials and process solution for lightweight carbon fibre seats”, she said.
A further $250,000 will be provided by the Advanced Manufacturing Industry Growth Centre to support Quickstep’s development of a “low-cost carbon composite fender for the European automotive market”.
That project is said to have the potential to generate export revenue of $25 million.
Ms Henderson said it was important the burgeoning carbon fibre industry in Geelong was given support.
“Carbon fibre composites remain niche products in cars primarily due to the high cost of materials and manufacturing, despite the weight reduction, improved performance and aesthetic appeal they provide,” she said.
Quickstep’s $1.4 million grant will be part of a $34.5 million announcement made today, with 17 of the 57 applicants for the Cooperative Research Centre Projects winning funding.


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