Hub Customs House is home to a wide range of industries, including Australian Government Industry Growth Centre AMGC.
Jens Goennemann is the Managing Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), one of several growth centres the government launched in 2015. Jens shared his vision of the future of Australian manufacturing, how AMGC is transforming Australia’s manufacturing industry to be globally competitive, and what his diverse team likes most about working in Hub.
What is manufacturing?
The way we look at manufacturing needs a broader understanding – it includes something that happens before and after the production.
For example, research and development and design happen before production, and distribution, sales and service happens after production. If you have a holistic view of manufacturing that way, we are employing over 10% of the workforce in Australia – 1.27million people.
Manufacturing matters.
Australia is not carved out to be the cheapest in assembling stuff.
Other countries can do that cheaper. We don’t have to be cheaper, we need to be better. The more we turn towards that, the more successful we are, and the more high-paying, qualified jobs we can offer.
Australia’s growth centres
AMGC collaborates with the other Growth Centres: oil and gas, mining technology and services, agriculture and food, pharmaceuticals and med-tech, and cybersecurity.
In every one of the other sectors, something always needs to be manufactured.
We see ourselves as a horizontal growth centre that connects with other centres and sectors where they manufacture.
Quality over quantity
We have a strong automotive sector in Australia, but we don’t build our own cars, and instead participate in global car manufacturing by delivering to the value chain.
It doesn’t make sense for Australia to build our own cars from research, development, design, logistics, production, sales and services.
We are only 25 million people. We buy 1 million cars per year and have over 60 different car brands so it’s too small of a market to justify an entire car manufacturing industry. There only a few countries that can do that – China, South Korea, the US, or some European countries and Japan. That’s basically it.
Instead, we aim to participate in the global value chain by delivering elements. For example, we produce composite carbon fibre rims to the Ford Mustang which is then sold globally. We have a part, we do it well and we deliver in every market where the Ford Mustang is delivered.
Passion for the industry
I’m passionate about our industry because we change the sector for the better. We like to think that we’re able to leave a legacy, to be the people who change manufacturing in Australia. It’s a big ask for a 12 person team like AMGC but with the right people, we can make a big difference.
AMGC at Hub
Hub is such a vibrant place. We love the building, we love the vibe, we love that everything is kept impeccably.
The staff is dedicated to making every tenant feel comfortable and making sure they enjoy coming here to work. Everyone in the Hub team is highly motivated, super friendly, easy to talk to and a great bunch of people – I really like working here.
For me, it was an easy decision for AMGC to move into Hub, and my colleagues love coming here and spending time here – it feels as comfortable as if you were working from home.
