CQ Fibreglass Direct wins A$113K in first Queensland manufacturing grant
What's the deal? CQ Fibreglass DirectDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Yeppoon-based mining equipment and fibreglass products supplier, will receive up to A$113,000 ($74,000) from the Queensland GovernmentDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. It is the first approved project under the state's Transforming Queensland Manufacturing Grant Program.
What's the endgame? The company will install an automated advanced fibre composite manufacturing system, replacing labour-intensive manual batching. The upgrade is expected to cut production waste and meet growing demand from underground mining and maritime sectors.
Why now? The grant is part of a A$79.1 million ($51.7 million) programme running over two and a half years to modernise regional manufacturing. The first funding round awarded A$12.5 million ($8.2 million) to 18 manufacturers, 11 of them in regional Queensland.
The government received 119 applications in the first round, spanning resources, food and beverage, construction, healthcare, and consumer products. More than half of the funding went to regional businesses.
By the numbers: The CQ Fibreglass Direct project is expected to create seven jobs and upskill existing staff. Across all funded projects, officials forecast more than 300 new jobs and training for over 550 workers.
"Some of our best innovators and hardest workers are based in regional Queensland and these grants are about giving them an opportunity to take their manufacturing businesses to the next stage," said Dale Last, Queensland's minister for manufacturing.
Co-owner Steven Trevor said the money "will allow us to upgrade our equipment and replace labour intensive manual batching with new advanced systems and equipment."
The signal: Queensland's push mirrors wider Australian efforts to modernise industry through technology and skills, echoing recent moves in Tasmania and renewable energy. State-backed grants are increasingly the tool of choice for building resilient, technology-enabled regional economies.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
