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When it comes to original equipment design, successful customisation to meet a specific requirement is often the catalyst for innovation that can be game changing for a particular sector.

The Customer Participation Award, one of the APPMA Industry Excellence Awards, recognises that, and this year Fibre King was announced the winner of the category for the development of the Oryx De Erector.

In short, the project reduced manual handling of RPCs for the end-user and the 'Proof of Concept' for the Oryx De Erector created a partnership between manufacturer and end user that enabled both parties to create value through lower overall cost of use per RPC for the end-user and future demand for De Erectors and RPC Automation for Fibre King. The Oryx De Erector enabled the end-user to fully automate the de-erect process, running random crate sizes, at the required speeds.

Read more about it here.

Other awards recognising technology developments presented on the night included the Best New Product Award to HMPS for the Coffee Pod Case Packing system; the Export Achievement Award GP Graders for the Airjet Cherry Defect Grader; the Design Achievement Award to Machinery Automation & Robotics for Container Loading solution; and the Imported Equipment Award to AAA Packaging Supplies for the C-One Plana Pallet Wrapper.

The award-winning technology will be covered in PKN's May-June print issue.

Food & Drink Business

The Central Coast is about to receive a boost to its local food and beverage manufacturing industry, with construction starting on the $17.14 million Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub, funded by the federal government’s National Reconstruction Fund (NFR).

The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) says Australia is at a “critical crossroads” when it comes to R&D and decades of rhetoric have not delivered material change.

New Zealand’s national organisation for the country's grape and wine sector, New Zealand Winegrowers, has released its 2025 Sustainability Report, highlighting the industry’s commitment to environmental preservation and sustainability through its climate change, water, people, soil, waste, and plant protection goals.