Published Thursday, 07 June, 2007 at 11:00 PM
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
HOME GROWN IT GIANT TAKES OUT SMART AWARDS HONOUR
A Brisbane-based company known as Australia’s largest commercial software developer has been recognised as Queensland’s smartest business.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie tonight announced that Mincom was the overall winner of the 2007 Premier of Queensland’s Smart Awards.
“Mincom isn’t just a great Queensland success story – it’s a great example of what a commitment to innovation can do for a company,” Mr Beattie said.
“The organisation has always invested heavily in research and development and contributed to the growth of the IT sector as a whole.
“This has translated to at least 10 per cent of its workforce being deployed in developmental roles and a long-term commitment to Australia’s Cooperative Research Centres in Distributed Systems Technology and Integrated Engineering Asset Management.
“At the core of the company’s philosophy is a desire to always look beyond the obvious, to seek better solutions for its customers and better ways of working,” Mr Beattie said.
Mincom began in Brisbane some 30 years ago and now employs more than 1250 professionals across 18 offices worldwide. It specialises in providing enterprise solutions focused on improving business outcomes for customers in the mining, transport, utilities, government and defence industries.
Mincom also took out the awards’ Science, Innovation and Technology category and was a finalist in the Services category.
Mr Beattie said the Smart Awards, now in their fifth year, continued to reward innovative Queensland-based businesses like Mincom that have helped make the Smart State philosophy a reality.
“Our Smart State vision has created a state where knowledge, creativity and innovation have improved the prosperity and quality of life for all Queenslanders,” Mr Beattie said.
Rising Star Award
Another stand out winner in this year’s awards was surfboard manufacturer Firewire Limited which took out the Rising Star category for exciting new firms.
“The company is using fibre composite technology, not fibreglass, to manufacture the next generation of surfboards,” Mr Beattie said.
“And with a new purpose-built factory on the Gold Coast incorporating the latest robotics Firewire is now producing more than 300 boards a week – almost quadrupling its output in just six months.”
Food and Agribusiness Award
The Food and Agribusiness Award went to Oakey Abattoir which has developed a quality system that is able to trace each piece of meat back to its property of birth.
“This system will provide the abattoir with vital defect and yield feedback within its high volume environment,” Mr Beattie said.
Mr Beattie said the abattoir processed more than 1000 cattle per shift, supplied largely from the company’s feedlot in Texas, Queensland.
Large Manufacturing and Mining Award
Mr Peter Beattie said Ludowici MPE was in a class of its own as it took out the Large Manufacturing and Mining Award for its innovative, leading-edge and competitive range of mineral process equipment.
“Ludowici’s patented innovation, Ludowici Reflux Classifier, is recognised by the industry as next generation technology,” Mr Beattie said.
Services Award
Mr Beattie said Services Award winner Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) was committed to elevating Brisbane as a global destination, business location and as a hub for connections to Asia and the major cities of the world.
“BAC is seeking to achieve world’s best practice in corporate and environmental management standards,” Mr Beattie said.
“BACs integral role in the growth and globalisation of the south-east Queensland economy has ensured the transformation of Brisbane from a city airport to an airport city of the future.”
Small-to-Medium Manufacturing and Mining Award
Mr Beattie congratulated the Acacia Ridge-based company BSD Robotics for winning the Small-to-Medium Manufacturing and Mining category.
“BSD Robotics makes high-tech medical and scientific equipment which helps laboratories to automatically process dried bio-samples, such as blood,” Mr Beattie said.
“BSD has been providing this equipment for neonatal screening for the past 15 years and is widely recognised as a leader in the field.
Mr Beattie also acknowledged the awards’ category sponsors: Qantas, CSIRO, Commonwealth Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cullen & Co, Rio Tinto, and the Australian Institute for Commercialisation, as well as alliance sponsors QUT Creative Industries, Department of Mines and Energy and Millhouse IAG and media partners The Australian, ABC Regional Radio and ABC 612 Brisbane.
The full list of winners and finalists in the 2007 Premier of Queensland’s Smart Awards is:
Food and Agribusiness
• Winner – Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd, Oakey (4691 1277)
• Finalists – Di Bella Coffee, Bowen Hills (3252 5858); Australian Country Choice, Morningside (3902 4141)
Large Manufacturing or Mining
• Winner – Ludowici MPE, Banyo (3292 4444)
• Finalists – Easternwell Group, Toowoomba (4659 1555); Dingo Australia, Dalby (4672 5400); Rio Tinto Aluminium, Brisbane (3867 1698)
Rising Star
• Winner – Firewire Limited, Burleigh (5587 7700)
• Finalists – Broadcast GP, Milton (1300 761 956) ; Grabba International Pty Ltd, Coopers Plains (3344 6599)
Science Innovation and Technology
• Winner – Mincom Ltd, Brisbane (3303 3716)
• Finalists – Biolytix Technologies Pty Ltd, Maleny (5435 2700); Micreo Limited, Eight Mile Plains (3340 6245)
Services
• Winner – Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd, Hamilton Centre (3406 5702)
• Finalists – Signmanager Pty Ltd, Milton (3876 2411); Mincom Ltd, Brisbane (3303 3716)
Small to Medium Manufacturing and Mining
• Winner – BSD Robotics, Acacia Ridge (3273 0273)
• Finalists – Fibre King Pty Ltd, Clontarf (3889 4400); JKTech Pty Ltd, Indooroopilly (3365 5842); Platypus Graphics, Stafford (3352 0300)
Smart Award of the Year
• Winner – Mincom Ltd, Brisbane (3303 3716)
Media Contact: Premier’s office 3224 4500
7 June 2007
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie tonight announced that Mincom was the overall winner of the 2007 Premier of Queensland’s Smart Awards.
“Mincom isn’t just a great Queensland success story – it’s a great example of what a commitment to innovation can do for a company,” Mr Beattie said.
“The organisation has always invested heavily in research and development and contributed to the growth of the IT sector as a whole.
“This has translated to at least 10 per cent of its workforce being deployed in developmental roles and a long-term commitment to Australia’s Cooperative Research Centres in Distributed Systems Technology and Integrated Engineering Asset Management.
“At the core of the company’s philosophy is a desire to always look beyond the obvious, to seek better solutions for its customers and better ways of working,” Mr Beattie said.
Mincom began in Brisbane some 30 years ago and now employs more than 1250 professionals across 18 offices worldwide. It specialises in providing enterprise solutions focused on improving business outcomes for customers in the mining, transport, utilities, government and defence industries.
Mincom also took out the awards’ Science, Innovation and Technology category and was a finalist in the Services category.
Mr Beattie said the Smart Awards, now in their fifth year, continued to reward innovative Queensland-based businesses like Mincom that have helped make the Smart State philosophy a reality.
“Our Smart State vision has created a state where knowledge, creativity and innovation have improved the prosperity and quality of life for all Queenslanders,” Mr Beattie said.
Rising Star Award
Another stand out winner in this year’s awards was surfboard manufacturer Firewire Limited which took out the Rising Star category for exciting new firms.
“The company is using fibre composite technology, not fibreglass, to manufacture the next generation of surfboards,” Mr Beattie said.
“And with a new purpose-built factory on the Gold Coast incorporating the latest robotics Firewire is now producing more than 300 boards a week – almost quadrupling its output in just six months.”
Food and Agribusiness Award
The Food and Agribusiness Award went to Oakey Abattoir which has developed a quality system that is able to trace each piece of meat back to its property of birth.
“This system will provide the abattoir with vital defect and yield feedback within its high volume environment,” Mr Beattie said.
Mr Beattie said the abattoir processed more than 1000 cattle per shift, supplied largely from the company’s feedlot in Texas, Queensland.
Large Manufacturing and Mining Award
Mr Peter Beattie said Ludowici MPE was in a class of its own as it took out the Large Manufacturing and Mining Award for its innovative, leading-edge and competitive range of mineral process equipment.
“Ludowici’s patented innovation, Ludowici Reflux Classifier, is recognised by the industry as next generation technology,” Mr Beattie said.
Services Award
Mr Beattie said Services Award winner Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) was committed to elevating Brisbane as a global destination, business location and as a hub for connections to Asia and the major cities of the world.
“BAC is seeking to achieve world’s best practice in corporate and environmental management standards,” Mr Beattie said.
“BACs integral role in the growth and globalisation of the south-east Queensland economy has ensured the transformation of Brisbane from a city airport to an airport city of the future.”
Small-to-Medium Manufacturing and Mining Award
Mr Beattie congratulated the Acacia Ridge-based company BSD Robotics for winning the Small-to-Medium Manufacturing and Mining category.
“BSD Robotics makes high-tech medical and scientific equipment which helps laboratories to automatically process dried bio-samples, such as blood,” Mr Beattie said.
“BSD has been providing this equipment for neonatal screening for the past 15 years and is widely recognised as a leader in the field.
Mr Beattie also acknowledged the awards’ category sponsors: Qantas, CSIRO, Commonwealth Bank, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cullen & Co, Rio Tinto, and the Australian Institute for Commercialisation, as well as alliance sponsors QUT Creative Industries, Department of Mines and Energy and Millhouse IAG and media partners The Australian, ABC Regional Radio and ABC 612 Brisbane.
The full list of winners and finalists in the 2007 Premier of Queensland’s Smart Awards is:
Food and Agribusiness
• Winner – Oakey Abattoir Pty Ltd, Oakey (4691 1277)
• Finalists – Di Bella Coffee, Bowen Hills (3252 5858); Australian Country Choice, Morningside (3902 4141)
Large Manufacturing or Mining
• Winner – Ludowici MPE, Banyo (3292 4444)
• Finalists – Easternwell Group, Toowoomba (4659 1555); Dingo Australia, Dalby (4672 5400); Rio Tinto Aluminium, Brisbane (3867 1698)
Rising Star
• Winner – Firewire Limited, Burleigh (5587 7700)
• Finalists – Broadcast GP, Milton (1300 761 956) ; Grabba International Pty Ltd, Coopers Plains (3344 6599)
Science Innovation and Technology
• Winner – Mincom Ltd, Brisbane (3303 3716)
• Finalists – Biolytix Technologies Pty Ltd, Maleny (5435 2700); Micreo Limited, Eight Mile Plains (3340 6245)
Services
• Winner – Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd, Hamilton Centre (3406 5702)
• Finalists – Signmanager Pty Ltd, Milton (3876 2411); Mincom Ltd, Brisbane (3303 3716)
Small to Medium Manufacturing and Mining
• Winner – BSD Robotics, Acacia Ridge (3273 0273)
• Finalists – Fibre King Pty Ltd, Clontarf (3889 4400); JKTech Pty Ltd, Indooroopilly (3365 5842); Platypus Graphics, Stafford (3352 0300)
Smart Award of the Year
• Winner – Mincom Ltd, Brisbane (3303 3716)
Media Contact: Premier’s office 3224 4500
7 June 2007