Senator Kim Carr, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, will be giving the opening address at PVC AUS 2018: Shaping the Future, Australia’s premier vinyl conference to be held in Sydney from 14 to 15 March 2018.

Organised by the Vinyl Council of Australia, high-level international speakers at the two-day event will explore the latest technical, market, innovation and sustainability trends impacting on Australasia’s PVC value chain.  

On March 14, Senator Carr will update around 130 delegates on the Labor Party’s future vision for supporting innovation and development within its manufacturing sectors.

Worth an estimated $3 billion, Australia’s growing PVC industry directly employs more than 2,500 people. While around 85% of PVC is used in building and infrastructure products, from pipes to windows, the polymer’s versatility extends to myriad applications such as telecommunications, mining, health, food and agriculture to consumer goods.

Development of the local manufacturing base, from the creation of new growth markets in building products to reprocessing and recycling of end of life products, has been underpinned largely by the Vinyl Council of Australia and its members over the last two decades.

Vinyl Council Chief Executive Sophi MacMillan comments: “Here in Australia, we can demonstrate some world-leading examples of vinyl in areas ranging from healthcare to PVC pipe. Innovation in our sector has also seen great strides forward in areas such as wall construction systems, medical product recycling, 3D vinyl compounds and new recycling technology.

“We encourage and support policies that facilitate industry transition towards a resource efficient and circular economy, along with reducing the risk of non-conforming products being placed on the market.”

She adds: “Competition from non-conforming building products, such as cables, windows and plumbing, are significantly affecting our industry. So we would be interested to hear how the ALP plans to deliver frameworks that address this issue, as well as updates on its vision for the future of manufacturing and industry development in Australia.”

More information on the conference and its program can be found at vinyl.org.au/news/pvc-aus-2018