• Inovor Technologies selected for prestigious defence program
• South Australian studios represented at world’s largest gaming trade event
• University of Adelaide researchers receive prestigious medical awards
• Coates to acquire Mount Gambier equipment provider
• Kytons wins Christmas
• Medical device company expands range for cardiovascular issues
• Taylors Wines open new cellar door in Clare Valley
• Carat continues partnership with SATC

Inovor Technologies selected for prestigious defence program

The Adelaide-based space and defence company is the third Australian small-to-medium enterprise to be selected for Lockheed Martin’s ‘Mentor Protégé Program’ (MPP).

The MPP encourages businesses to achieve a strategic uplift for customers and also opens the door to potential export opportunities to the United States and beyond.

Inovor will start the program in November and will undergo a 12-month mentoring program, gaining access to the defence giant’s leading experts across Australia and the US.

The program will realise the company’s growth potential according to Inovor CEO and founder Matt Tetlow.

“We see the MPP as a transformational opportunity that coincides with a series of strategic initiatives, including the expansion of our state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Adelaide and a rapidly maturing flight heritage,” Tetlow said.

“At the conclusion of the program, Inovor will have the scale, experience, capabilities and corporate knowledge required to meet the growing needs of our Australian customers and pursue the international export opportunities that can accelerate our growth exponentially.”

Lockheed Martin’s regional director for space David Ball said Inovor was “ideally suited” for the MPP.

“Inovor impressed us with their innovative technologies, the clarity of their vision and their determination to seek sustained growth through securing export opportunities in the U.S. and further afield,” Ball said.

“Their commitment to making the necessary investments to compete for global supply chain contracts made them ideally suited for the MPP.”

– David Simmons

South Australian studios represented at world’s largest gaming trade event

Over the weekend, six south Australian gaming studios made their mark at Gamescom, an event held in Germany which attracts more than 265,000 visitors each year.

Paper Cactus, Lamplight Forest Games, My Colourful Mind, Dino Rocket, Mighty Kingdom and Mini Mammoth Games represented South Australia at the event.

Trade and Investment Minister Nick Champion said representation at these events demonstrates the skills and investment opportunities the state has to offer.

“South Australia produces world-class talent and this event will showcase that to leading industry figures looking to expand and grow their businesses in new markets,” he said.

Big names attending included Nintendo, Xbox, Amazon Games, the LEGO Group, Netflix and TikTok.

Leo Cheung, the Games Director of South Australian studio Paper Cactus, said building relationships with these brands is a big draw of the event.

“We’re attending Gamescom in the hopes of making deep and long connections with publishers as we push our first project Fox and Shadow towards release,” Cheung said.

Rapid growth in South Australia’s gaming industry has been supported by the state’s Video Games Development (VGD) rebate, which was introduced in 2020.

The scheme offers gaming business owners a 10 per cent rebate on eligible expenditure above $250,000 to develop a video game in South Australia.

– Grace Atta

University of Adelaide researchers receive prestigious medical award

Two medical research projects conducted by the University of Adelaide have been awarded prizes for excellence in the 2023 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes.

The projects were awarded within the Research and Innovation Category, winning for innovative medical imagining techniques to treat children with cystic fibrosis and for the developed diagnosis of endometriosis using artificial intelligence.

The Cystic Fibrosis Lung Health Imaging project is led by the University of Adelaide’s Associate Professor David Parsons.

The IMAGENDO team that worked on the endometriosis project is led by Professor Louise Hull from the Robinson Research Institute.

The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes honour excellence across leadership, science engagement and school science in addition to research and innovation, and are the country’s most comprehensive science awards.

The annual prizes were this year presented in a ceremony at the Australian Museum on Wednesday 23 August.

– Lauren Mills

Coates CEO Murray Vitlich. Photo: supplied.

Coates to acquire Mount Gambier equipment provider

Coates, a national equipment hire and solutions provider, has acquired the fleet assets of Baxter Hire, a local provider in Mount Gambier.

Baxter Hire has serviced southeast South Australian and western Victorian local communities since 1971, which Coates CEO Murray Vitlich says made them synonymous with the area’s construction sector.

The acquisition will allow Coates to expand its customer focus in the Limestone Coast region, supporting the high construction activity in recent years.

In Mount Gambier alone, such activity includes the renewal of the local timber industry, the Mount Gambier hospital redevelopment, the TAFE upgrade, civil works on land redevelopment and new housing projects.

“Now, more than ever, Coates is equipped to support this wave of activity and partner with the local community through the presence of a branch in Mount Gambier to deliver positive change for future generations,” Vitlich said.

– Clem Stanley

Kytons wins Christmas

Kytons Bakery’s Christmas puddings have received two national awards across two competitions in two days.

The Aged Brandy Pudding picked up a silver medal at the Sydney Royal Professional Bakery Competition while the Traditional Christmas Pudding took out first prize in Melbourne’s Professional Plum Pudding Competition.

“The wins are a testament to the quality of Australian fruit we use, the time-honoured recipes of our puddings and the care and years of experience that go into the baking of all of our products,” Kytons owner Sharon Sutton said.

The Christmas puddings will be available at Kytons’ Royal Adelaide Show stand in the Taste SA Pavilion from September 2 to 10.

From late October, they will also be available at Foodland, Drakes and other selected grocers; from Kytons Edwardstown or online; and through community fundraising drives.

– Sarah Herrmann

Medical device company expands range for cardiovascular issues

A South Australian medical device company is expanding its range of products to help improve health outcomes for people with cardiovascular issues.

Cardiovascular Technology Pty Ltd (C.tech) is located in Flinders University’s New Venture Institute (NVI) at Tonsley and specialises in cardiac conduction pacing solutions.

Their flagship product, the OnePoint Junction Box, has seen a turnover of 500 units to hospitals, heart specialists and multinationals such as Boston Scientific, Biotronik and Medtronic.

On the heels of the product’s success, C.tech is expanding the product range with a $600,000 capital raising and staff expansion. 

They are seeking certification for their next-gen TorqView device that monitors pacemaker signals during surgery. 

“These devices are impressing pacemaker implant physicians and medical device companies by bringing a new level of accuracy to routine and sometimes critical pacemaker surgeries,” C.tech founder and managing director Darius Chapman said. 

– Clem Stanley

Taylors Wines open new cellar door in Clare Valley

Taylors Wines has undergone its first significant update since its establishment in 1969.

The multi-million-dollar project offers a newly developed site on the property, separate from its existing cellar door located in the main building.

The new space provides five individual dining experiences: the Main Tasting Room, The Courtyard, The East Patio, The Event Pavilion, and a members’ tasting room, The Collector’s Club.

“Every detail in the project is considered, with design features that are sophisticated while being warm and inviting,” said Managing Director Mitchell Taylor. 

“The space truly reflects our family and the Taylors’ story, and we hope it will be the first point of call for visitors to our wonderful region.”

As part of the new venue, Taylors also introduced a new range of tasting experiences including the Wine & Cheese Tasting Experience, Wine & Chocolate Tasting Experience, and the Flagship Wines Tasting Experience.

– Lauren Mills

Carat continues partnership with SATC

Carat South Australia, a Dentsu International company, has secured the South Australian Tourism Commission’s (SATC) domestic account for 2023-24.

The agency began working with SATC in May 2021 when they secured the 2021-22 contract.

Carat will be responsible for media planning, buying and strategy for the tourism commission which committed to growing the state’s visitor economy to $12.8 billion by 2030.

SATC’s Executive Director of Marketing Erik de Roos said the commission is delighted to continue working with Carat on their marketing campaign for 2023-24.

“We were impressed during the procurement process by Carat’s strategic thinking and how they would implement their strategy to ensure that we achieve both our brand and performance media objectives to drive outcomes for our state’s tourism industry,” he said.

– Elisabeth Marie