The changing nature of our global economy means that customers are acquiring more leverage than ever before.

Great news! Just arrived in the Ronson Gears inbox. Australian advanced manufacturing is being given a welcome Christmas Gift in the form of a 2.3million dollar grant received by Melbourne-based Australian Manufacturing Institute Limited (AMTIL).

From all indicators Ronson Gears is cautiously optimistic about growth in the gear manufacturing industry in 2012, although Australian updates on the status of the Manufacturing industry reveal a wide disparity between industry sectors. Australian Industry Group Chief Executive, Heather Ridout, said: "Manufacturing conditions clearly remain tough and have been so for much of the past year raising critical issues for policy-makers and businesses alike. While the Australian PMI(r) shows signs of an easing in the pace of decline in current activity and new orders, employment levels fell sharply in November suggesting an ongoing loss of manufacturing capability. This highlights the importance of the Federal Government's manufacturing taskforce in developing a long-term strategy for the industry. At the same time, it is encouraging that the just released ABS capital expenditure data indicates a solid upturn in manufacturing investment suggesting that underneath the data there is a strong vein of confidence in the prospects for the industry".

The resource sector plays a significant role in our domestic economy and as a gear manufacturer for the mining industry, Ronson Gears is proud to have contributed a number of gears over the years including rack & pinions, ground pump gears, ground spur gears and ground helical gears – to name a few – to this ever growing sector.

Local manufacturing is experiencing a very big shift in Australia and Ronson Gears is geared up to take advantage of this transition. Some elements of Australian manufacturing is experiencing an investment boom, as they transition from producing goods manufactured in the era of high protection to manufacturing products consistent with an economy more heavily oriented to Australia's comparative advantage in resources. The key element of that boom is re-tooling manufacturing for such new areas.

Far from being dead, the manufacturing sector in Australia still plays a critical role in our economy and the latest ‘Performance of Manufacturing’ index released by the Australian Industry Group and Pricewaterhouse Coopers is supporting this theory. Amidst the doom and gloom of impending global economic meltdown, key findings from the survey of 200 manufacturers reveals that the Australia’s manufacturing sector is expanding rather than contracting.