Mark Beyer

When communications company Motorola selected Perth as the site for a major software engineering centre, it was hailed as a breakthrough that would support the development of new industry in Western Australia.

A small number of big companies, including Motorola, Westpac and defence contractor Raytheon, have received multi-million dollar incentives from the state government to establish or expand their Western Australian operations.

The state government has combined the launch of its state migration centre, which brings all related services under one roof, with a warning about abuses of temporary migration visas.

The Court and Gallop governments offered nearly $10 million in financial assistance to four call centre operators in Western Australia with a success rate of just 50 per cent.

Australia’s largest towel manufacturer, Canning Vale Weaving Mills, plans to close its manufacturing operations in Perth and lay-off 140 staff, despite having received $20 million in state and federal government assistance over the past eight years.

A widening split between industry and environmental and community groups has dashed state government hopes of a consensus position on the treatment of hazardous and industrial waste.

Fremantle Ports and private company James Point Pty Ltd are likely to proceed with competing port projects at Kwinana after the state government revealed its preferred option for the outer harbour.

Deputy premier Eric Ripper is planning to lead an international infrastructure mission to Europe to try and attract international construction firms to Western Australia.

National defence contractor ASC Pty Ltd has confirmed that it will proceed with a $23 million maintenance facility at the Australian Marine Complex at Henderson to support its work on the Navy’s Collins Class submarines.

The long-running battle to develop a new port at Kwinana has taken a new twist, with private developer James Point Pty Ltd rejecting a compromise proposal put forward by the state government and calling on the Fremantle Port Authority to rethink its plans

Mid-tier accounting firm PKF has snared its second prominent recruit this year with the appointment of Russell Maynard as indirect tax executive.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has published a book that provides an unusually frank insight into the impact of the mining industry on the people of the Pilbara region.

Perth company Coretrack Ltd has launched a public share offer to raise just more than $2.2 million to support the development of a new technology designed to improve the efficiency of oil and gas exploration.

Printing franchise Worldwide Online Printing is aiming to double the size of the business over the next five years after a period of consolidation and a change of ownership.

Global mining giant Newmont Mining Corporation is planning to shift its Australian headquarters to Western Australia, adding to Perth’s prominence as a regional resources sector hub.

Great Southern Plantations has firmly established itself as the top player in the managed investment schemes sector in Australia, with the most fortunate beneficiaries being those investors who put money into the company’s poorly performing early projects

India's Oswal Group Ltd, which developed the $630 million Burrup Fertilisers project, in the Pilbara's Burrup Peninsula has selcted Papua New Guinea as the site for its next ammonia/urea plant.

Newly-appointed Clinical Cell Culture chief executive Bob Atwill believes the company’s more focused sales and marketing approach will ultimately reap benefits for long-suffering shareholders.

The positive state of the Western Australian economy has been highlighted by a flurry of private business sales in the past month valued at more than $100 million.

The new financial year has triggered a series of changes at the top of Perth’s big law firms with senior partners leaving MinterEllison, Clayton Utz and Freehills.

Advance Healthcare Group is planning a clean sweep of its board of directors and a change of name to that of its major subsidiary, pharmaceutical wholesaler Cottman Medical Products Group.

Perth company Mundo Minerals has announced plans for a $20 million initial public offering and in the process may have set a new benchmark for gold exploration floats.

Newly established gold exploration company Mundo Minerals Ltd is planning one of the biggest gold floats seen recently on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Listed technology company Advanced Ocular Systems Ltd (formerly Regenera Ltd) will close its Boston headquarters and has announced the resignation of its US based chief executive Kenneth Taylor following a review of costs.

The family owners of Willeton company Monarch Pool Systems have reaped a $30 million reward by agreeing to sell the business to listed Melbourne company GUD Holdings.

West Perth-based company Imdex Ltd has taken another major step in its strategy to become a major global player in the drilling products and services market by entering into a $17 million agreement to acquire UK-based Chardec Consultants Ltd.

The state government is likely to throw open the development of new port and rail infrastructure in the Mid-West region to a public tender in response to apparent divisions between members of the Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance.

West Perth company Eastland Medical Systems achieved a major milestone this month with its first substantial export order confirmed for its ClipOn hypodermic needle.

Advance Healthcare Group has flagged the possibility of further capital raisings after announcing its second successive multi-million dollar loss.

Melbourne IT company Azurn International has appointed two Perth firms, corporate adviser Azure Capital and Montagu Stockbrokers, to guide it through its second attempt at a stock market float.

Scaffolding and form-work supplier PCH Group expects to report its fourth consecutive record profit this year as it benefits from the global resources boom. But that hasn’t stopped investors from hammering its share price.

The state government is likely to throw open the development of new port and rail infrastructure in the Mid-West region to a public tender in response to apparent divisions between members of the Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance.