A Palaszczuk Government grant for Gladstone manufacturer Berg Engineering is set to help the local business grow their operations and create new jobs.
Berg Engineering – who provide a range of machining, fabrication, welding and reverse engineering services – will receive $161,719 from the Manufacturing Hubs Grant Program to purchase advanced line boring equipment that will provide higher accuracy and finer cuts.
Visiting the business today, Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing and Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher said the funding will also help Berg Engineering create new jobs.
"The funding will allow Berg Engineering to train and put on five new workers, as well as helping to drive business development," Mr Butcher said.
"This will bring its total workforce to 56, which is a fantastic result especially considering the impact COVID-19 has had on Queensland."
Berg Engineering's Owner and CEO Derek Berg said the company is a family-owned engineering business that was established in Brisbane in 1972 and commenced regional operations in Gladstone in 1995.
"Thanks to this funding, we can take our line boring capability to the next level and seek to enter new markets like defence, energy and mining," Mr Berg said.
"This equipment is part of our plan to transition to advanced manufacturing from its traditional practices, which is the direction we, and the entire industry, need to take."
Mr Butcher said Queensland's manufacturing industry employs over 165,000 people—about seven per cent of the state's workforce—and contributes around $20 billion per annum to the state economy across the last decade.
"This government wants to see Queensland continue being a powerhouse for manufacturing, which is why we're investing in local manufacturers," he said.
Mr Butcher said the $13.5 million Manufacturing Hubs Grant Program supports the regional manufacturing sector to implement and deliver world leading technologies, processes and practices.
"Financial assistance in the form of grants between $5,000 and $1 million is available to eligible businesses to help build their manufacturing capabilities through technology adoption, skills and training business development as well as services through the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub," he said.
"Up to $4.5 million is available for each manufacturing hub to build the advanced manufacturing capability of the Cairns, Townsville and Central Queensland regions."
