Australian Manufacturing Week 2026 has landed in Brisbane for the first time ever — and we're recording live from the show floor.

Part 1 of our AMW 2026 coverage brings you six exhibitor interviews covering robotics, autonomous material handling, ERP, 3D metrology, automation hardware, and the grant landscape for Australian manufacturers.

Paul Mason and Shane Williams are joined by locals Phil Seboa from the Unplugged IIoT podcast, and Clare Treston to talk to leaders across the show about what's working, what's broken, and where the smart money is going in advanced manufacturing.

In this episode you'll hear:

- Manglesh Singh (Konica Minolta) on mobile cobots and AMRs that have clocked 16,000+ kilometres moving 500 pallets a day

- Amanda (Freelance Robotics) on how cobot welding and the

Blue Dragon framework are giving injured welders and boilermakers a way back into meaningful work

- Mark and Trevor (Lily Works / PFM Works) on why nine out of ten manufacturers still run production on spreadsheets — and why replacing your ERP isn't the answer

- Sara (RSM) on R&D tax incentives, CRC-P projects, and the Transforming Queensland Manufacturing grant programme offering $100K to $1.5M in matched funding

- Danilo (Hi-Tech Metrology) on the Creaform HandySCAN Max — a handheld blue-laser 3D scanner doing three million points per second at 75-micron accuracy, with no surface prep needed on chrome or black parts

- Michael (Mectec) on Delta automation, PLCs and vision systems helping Aussie SMEs automate repetitive packing operations

- Gil Harkness (Queensland Government, Department of Natural Resources, Mines, Manufacturing, Regional & Rural Development) on Queensland's eight manufacturing hubs, the AI-and-jobs conversation, and procurement opportunities from the Brisbane 2032 Olympics

Manufacturing Tech Australia is Australia's leading podcast covering manufacturing technology, automation, robotics, and Industry 4.0.

We're the official media partner of Australian Manufacturing Week.

More episodes and resources: https://www.manufacturingtech.au

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Part 2 of our AMW 2026 coverage drops next fortnight.

Manufacturers keep investing in automation, ERP, AI, and capital projects, yet many still struggle with cost, resilience, and execution. The problem is not the tools, it is fragmentation.In this episode, Shane Williams and Paul Mason are joined by Oliver North and Warren Proctor, Partners at Argon & Co, to unpack why siloed projects quietly destroy manufacturing competitiveness, and what an integrated operational roadmap actually looks like in practice. The discussion cuts straight to the shop floor, exploring how disconnected decisions across operations, supply chain, IT, capital planning, and product development lock in mediocrity rather than advantage. Oliver and Warren explain why sequencing matters, why an 80 percent plan beats perfection, and how integrated roadmaps help manufacturers respond faster to disruption without burning out their teams.This is a highly practical conversation for operational leaders who want to move beyond isolated improvements and build organisations that can pivot, scale, and win under constant volatility.In this episode, you will learn:

• Why siloed investments reduce ROI and lock in operational constraints
• How integrated roadmaps align people, process, and technology around real business value
• What “good” looks like on the shop floor when strategy is truly joined up
• When automation helps, and when it simply hardwires inefficiency
• How digital twins and scenario modelling support faster decision-making, not prediction
• Why progress beats perfection when building operational capability

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Show notes and links for this episode: https://www.manufacturingtech.au/episodes/

Most manufacturers do not need another AI tool. They need better decisions from the ERP and data they already have.

In this episode, Graeme Evans and Ian Macdonald from Epicor explain how embedded AI is helping manufacturers move ERP from a system of record to a system of action, helping them get more from the systems they already use every day. We explore practical use cases across scheduling, supply chain risk, workforce onboarding, invoice matching and predictive maintenance, and explain why the best AI often feels invisible when it is done well.

In this episode, we cover:

• how to separate AI signal from hype in manufacturing

• why embedded AI inside ERP often beats standalone tools

• practical use cases across scheduling, supply chain risk, invoice matching and the shop floor

• why waiting for perfect data is a mistake and how to start small

• how to build trust, keep humans in the loop and get more from the systems you already own

If you lead operations, technology, supply chain or continuous improvement, this episode will help you spot practical ways to reduce admin, surface issues earlier and make faster decisions without handing control to the machine.

Thanks to Epicor for supporting this episode. If you want to learn more about how modern industry-specific ERP helps manufacturers gain clearer visibility and drive performance, visit epicor.com.

Show notes for this episode: manufacturingtech.au/episodes/