Robotics help Bowhill Engineering keep pace with the world’s best
Jodie and Jeremy Hawkes have been to Europe to learn more about the machines that will power the next wave of Murraylands manufacturing.
This sponsored story is brought to you by Bowhill Engineering.
A Murraylands engineering company is investing in world-leading robotic technology and the people who will operate it.
Bowhill Engineering CEO Jodie Hawkes and director of business development Jeremy Hawkes recently travelled to Europe to visit robotics manufacturers IGM Robotersysteme AG.
At a factory just outside Vienna, Austria, they learned all about the technology Bowhill Engineering will use to help make components for the next stage of the state government’s South Road upgrade, a contract worth tens of millions of dollars.
Far from replacing humans, though, the seven-axis welding robots will complete the most repetitive parts of the manufacturing process in partnership with expert welders, machine operators, programmers and project managers.
Jodie said seeing firsthand where innovation met execution had been an inspiring experience, and one for which she was grateful.
“We needed to go to Europe to learn from the best,” she said.
“It opens your eyes when you realise how far you can go.”
Jodie and Jeremy also got to visit several factories where IGM robots had been used to increase production capacity: those of Liebherr, which makes cranes and other construction machinery an hour and a half away in Gyor, Hungary; plus Austrian firms Doppelmayr, a manufacturer of ski lifts; and contractors Gassner.
The tour gave the Australians an idea of what might be possible here in the Murraylands.
“The size and magnitude of the places we visited was so good … but not that far from what we’re doing, either, not beyond our reach,” Jodie said.
“Machines were placed specifically to complete a certain process, but the rest of the factory was just like ours.
“It opened my eyes to the size and capability of projects we can work on: big, heavy, bespoke components.
“It’s exciting.”
Other Bowhill Engineering employees recently visited an IGM/Protube facility in Adelaide to undertake training on the robots; and the Murraylands company aims to fill a range of job vacancies in the coming weeks.
The idea is that, when Bowhill Engineering’s three welding robots arrive later this year, the team will be able to commission them and start manufacturing with as little interruption as possible.
The Torrens to Darlington project will keep the company’s new B5 workshop busy until 2027.
That will mean skilled employees and world-leading technology working side by side.
“(Technology) doesn’t replace people,” Jodie says.
“You’ve got to be able to program the robots, to set them up; and to know if they’re welding right through the sounds, the smell and by sight.
“We’re learning what parts (of a process) are better done manually and what parts are better done with robotics.
“Now we need to hire people smarter than us … people who can help us grow.”
- View current job vacancies: boweng.com.au/our-vacancies.
Advertising to more than 20,000 highly engaged locals can do wonders for your business. Call Jane Intini on 0418 835 768 or email jane@murraybridge.news.
Peri Strathearn
