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At the upcoming APPMA Business & Industry conference, we'll find out how Coca-Cola Amatil (now Coca-Cola European Partners) adopted Industry 4.0 to develop a world-class smart factory in only six months.

While every business is different, there are common challenges ahead for all. If you have not really dived into what Industry 4.0 means for your business, now might be the time to take the plunge.

Industry 4.0 refers to a new period in the Industrial Revolution that focuses heavily on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data.

Industry 4.0 marries physical production and operations with smart digital technology, machine learning, and big data to create a more holistic and better connected ecosystem for companies that focus on manufacturing and supply chain management.

John Broadbent, who is an Industry 4.0 evangelist, will share at the upcoming APPMA Business and Industry Conference how the Coca-Cola bottler took a complex and greenfield manufacturing environment, inserted equipment sourced from multiple vendors and countries, and orchestrated a world-class smart factory in only six months.

Broadbent will share how to set up a smart factory project for success and the importance of beginning with the end in mind.

Coca-Cola Amatil rose to the challenge and in doing so met their target commissioning date and vastly exceeded output in their first two weeks, so he knows what he is talking about.

The APPMA will be live and live streamed from the ICC Sydney on 16 September 2021. Book your tickets now at https://nectarcc.eventsair.com/appma-business-industry-conference-2021/

 

 

Food & Drink Business

Gold Coast brewery, Black Hops, has entered administration for the second time, with an urgent sale campaign underway for the business.

In the final chapter of court action regarding the 2020 collapse of Freedom Foods Group, the Federal Court has found former managing director and CEO, Rory Macleod, breached his duties as a director and officer, and failed to take all reasonable steps to secure the company’s compliance with its financial reporting obligations.

Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing industry is converging on Melbourne this week for foodpro 2026, the country’s leading trade event for processing, packaging and innovation. Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) from 26-29 July, foodpro 2026 will be opened at 10am on Sunday 26 July by Victorian Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing and Minister for Skills and TAFE, Colin Brooks.