South Australia’s Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, joined Siemens CEO Jeff Connolly yesterday to officially open Siemens’ new $5 million facility at Tonsley in southern Adelaide. Koutsantonis said the investment in Tonsley by the global technology giant demonstrated the growing confidence in the future for South Australia.
“Tonsley offers great potential for innovation and industry collaboration, bringing together complementary businesses with leading academic institutions. It represents a new future, with a net economic benefit to the state of $492 million,” Mr Koutsantonis said. “To have this great company firstly invest, but secondly be so vocal in its commitment to Tonsley, speaks volumes for the vision the State Government has for this site as an incubator for innovation, research and technology.”
Siemens CEO Jeff Connolly said the global technology giant was proud to deliver on the promise made in a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2012 to investigate opportunities for collaboration between education, research and industry.” A long-term viable manufacturing and technology sector matters to South Australia and also matters to Siemens. With this facility in Tonsley, we are in a unique position to partner with the state on a diverse range of critical industries and projects,” Mr Connolly said.
Designed using a lean manufacturing methodology to make it flexible in terms of production set-up and delivery, Mr Connolly said the new service centre would deliver a 22 percent faster turnaround, with 65 percent more throughput while using 14 percent less floor space.
“The facility will be able to overhaul larger equipment for the oil and gas industries that previously would have been sent offshore. We will now be much closer to our customers and can provide greater responsiveness for critical local industries,” he said. “It will be used to service the Snowtown II wind farm constructed by Siemens and our gearboxes and equipment installed on other wind-farms. In addition, it will attract work from heavy resource states such as Queensland and Western Australia, which could otherwise have gone overseas. Much of the work that will be sent through the service centre will come from outside the state, making this a national service centre for technology and engineering.”
The opening of the service center coincides with the completion of the $10 billion acquisition by Siemens of Dresser-Rand. “That will ensure a comprehensive portfolio of equipment and capability for oil and gas. This service centre will help make sure that the servicing of all of this equipment can now happen in Australia.”
The state-of-the-art workshop will initially house 25 employees; however Siemens is confident that number could double as the business grows.
Photo: Siemens Australia CEO Jeff Connolly, Siemens Ambassador Cadel Evans and South Australia’s Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis unveil the commemorative plaque during the official opening.
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