COAST’S TECH HEART
A MULTINATIONAL medical software giant has signed up to be on the Gold Coast within two years – and key business leaders say there is more to follow.
The yet-to-be announced software leader will be one of the first occupants of the Griffith University’s Health and Knowledge precinct.
Griffith Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Ned Pankhurst said the new partnership was the first of many large corporations interested in becoming involved in the facility.
Professor Pankhurst said Griffith’s $80 million “4th Generation” manufacturing facility had generated strong interest from offshore bigwigs, particularly those in the pharmaceutical and automotive fields.
The Australian-first Advanced Design and Prototype Technology (ADAPT) Institute will allow private corporations to develop and test 3D prototypes for industries looking to develop anything from machine parts to bone scaffolding. Construction of the institute is expected to start this year.
“We had the view it would take a while to build a manufacturing industry base here, and use ADAPT as a launch pad, but already there is strong interest from companies developing medical implants, engineers, and material scientists,” Prof Pankhurst said.
“The exciting thing is, in this space you reinvent the technology every time you find a new ink.”
City leaders say the ability to attract large corporate companies will help diversify and fuel the Coast economy.
“We have gone out and actively pursued some of the big ones in research, medical robotics, clinical trials and disease prevention and cure,” Mayor Tom Tate said.
“There are some major announcements coming down the pipeline in this regard but I cannot comment publicly due to commercial sensitivities.
“I have an open-door policy and welcome contact from the major multinationals in this field.”
The Mayor said he expected the council’s $4 million high-speed fibre optic cable from Helensvale to Coolangatta to offer large corporations a competitive advantage.
“The band width is incredible and the upload speeds are 10 times that of the NBN,” he said.
“Companies in IT and the film post-production industry would be ideal as they can transfer their footage and data worldwide in seconds.
“This also aligns with our tertiary-education push with around 28,000 students now enrolled at our key universities, compared to 17,000 a few years back. Students create employment for others as they are long-term tourists, often staying up to four years.”
Danny Maher, CEO of Opmantek, said the Gold Coast should continue appealing to mid-size businesses instead of landing corporate whales.
“I believe the future is 100 companies of 20 people, not one company of 200 people,” Mr Maher said.
“Large companies are comfortable buying from smaller companies now. That is the future and that is very good for the Gold Coast.”
Mr Maher’s own software firm received a councilfunded economic attraction grant when coming to the city in 2011.
“The Gold Coast was the first to offer it,” the Gold Coast Hub chairman said.
“Initiatives like the grant and the Gold Coast innovation hub have proven results when it comes to attracting and building business.
“The fact is in the hub has produced over 2000 jobs and 300 new companies that wouldn’t have existed on the Gold Coast.
“That is close to $1 billion cash in terms on investment. We need to be manufacturing jobs, not just buildings.”