Bracks Government Backs Innovative Geelong Firm
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Media release - 25 July 2007
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The Bracks Government today announced $60,000 in funding to help Express Promotions Australia develop a smart tag library system that, if successful, will create $8 million in new investment and 30 new jobs in Geelong.
In Geelong, the Minister for Regional and Rural Development, John Brumby, said the grant for the ‘Libraries Smart Tags Commercialisation Project’ was being provided through Regional Development Victoria and the Office of Manufacturing and Service Industries.
“Express Promotions Australia is involved in developing software and hardware for its smart tag library technology to handle inventory, loans, security and a range of asset management functions,” Mr Brumby said.
Currently, up to seven individual tags are applied to library books, including scanning codes, security tags and archive numbers. The new technology aims to replace all these tags with one smart tag, which will reduce costs significantly, increase efficiencies and enable libraries to provide better services to the public.
“The Bracks Government funding will enable the company to undertake a demonstration project which will see the smart tag technology installed and trialled in two small regional libraries,” Mr Brumby said.
“If the project is successful, Express Promotions Australia will move to fully commercialise the product, creating up to 30 new IT positions and providing a significant boost for Geelong’s developing IT industry.”
The Minister for Industry and State Development, Theo Theophanous, said the libraries market in Australia was worth around $100 million. The new product also had significant export potential.
“This initiative will also enable Express Promotions Australia to build on its links into Singapore, which has one of the largest library markets in the world with annual purchases of 1 million books,” Mr Theophanous said.
Regional Development Victoria is providing $40,000 toward the $60,000 project through its Living Regions Living Suburbs program, and the Office of Manufacturing and Service Industries is providing $20,000 through its Agenda for New Manufacturing.
Mr Brumby said the new initiative built on the Bracks Government’s strong record of backing innovation in Geelong, which included support for the Geelong Technology Precinct, the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (VCAMM), BioGeelong, and the Geelong Manufacturing Cluster.
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