Bright spark in electronics revolution
Article from:
Anthony Kittel
MANY South Australians do not realise our state has become the mecca of electronics in Australia.
With more than 400 electronics companies, there is one company for each square kilometre of Adelaide. To drive the point home, more than 40 of the state's newest numberplates have been issued with the slogan "South Australia the Electronics State".
The industry employs more than 10,000 people and is feeding neatly into the booming defence industry in SA.
Electronics represents up to 80 per cent of the production cost of a modern warship or submarine.
With innovation increasing in many industries, a healthy electronics sector is of key importance to the state's future growth - as reflected in the recent The Advertiser's SA Business Journal-Synovate survey.
The electronics industry's 10-year strategic plan is testimony to the vision and breakneck growth that the industry is experiencing. It aims to lift job numbers from 10,000 to 15,000 by 2015, revenue from $3 billion to $12 billion and exports from more than $1 billion a year to $7 billion. If these growth targets are achieved, the electronics industry would be about as large as the communications sector in employment terms or about one-third of the manufacturing sector (in value-added terms).
SA-designed and built electronic systems are in demand worldwide in communications, transportation, wine and food production, defence, medical and scientific and in virtually all industry sectors. Some SA companies competing in highly competitive markets have their global headquarters in Adelaide.
Quest Retail Technology, for example, has developed completely wireless point-of-sale terminals for the hospitality realm. As well as many of the major league baseball stadiums in the U.S., Quest POS terminals are a familiar sight to SA shoppers at Baker's Delight and Donut King.
Another electronics success story is Adelaide-based computer memory chip maker Legend Corporation. It has shown entrepreneurial zest to become a large global and regional supplier of PC and consumer product memory modules.
Other companies with global headquarters in Adelaide include Minelab and Codan.My own company, Redarc Electronics, is using a $1.6 million expansion grant to help fund a new electronics centre at Lonsdale. Redarc currently employs 28 people. These examples are helping to fill the void left by the ailing car industry in SA.
There are many reasons for SA being the hub of electronics in Australia. SA's low-cost structures and high spending on research and development add to the spin-off effect from having a defence industry here.
Probably the key ingredient for success and growth in the electronics industry over the past 10 years and the key ingredient which leads it into the future is vision and drive.
* Anthony Kittel is managing director of Redarc Electronics and SA president of the Electronics Industry Association.
