Australian companies undertaking “big” export projects needed government assistance to guarantee not only the projects’ success but also to foster the perception of Australia as an innovative nation.
Australian companies undertaking “big” export projects needed government assistance to guarantee not only the projects’ success but also to foster the perception of Australia as an innovative nation.
Mark Giles, general manager corporate of Perth-based automated ticketing company ERG, said government assistance was important to Australian industry as it allowed exporters to compete on a level playing field.
He said ERG was competing with international companies that received assistance from their own countries, or that enjoyed a geographical advantage with regard to their markets.
“It is pretty important that Australian companies that are doing big export things are assisted,” Mr Giles said.
ERG, which exports its ticketing and smartcard technology to cities around the world, was one of the most successful companies in the Federal Governments latest round of grants under AusIndustry’s R&D Start program.
It received $3.3 million – the second highest amount out of a total of $19.3 million awarded to 15 projects around the country.
It received the most of any Western Australian company, with wireless technology developer Commtech Wireless and security assessment company VAG (Australia) awarded grants of $797,000 and $56,000 respectively.
ERG delivered a $15.9 million net profit for the 2004 December half – its first profit return in three and a half years.
A significant restructuring last year breathed life back into the company’s share price, which had plunged between 2000 and 2003 when the company lost about $350 million, much of it on an ill-fated foray into smart cards.
Mr Giles said the grant was a welcome assistance and would meet 20 per cent of the $15 million ERG planned to spend during the next two years developing its next generation of software.
The software will allow ERG’s technology, normally rolled-out on an individual, city-by-city basis, to run sites through a single platform.
He deflected inquiries regarding ERG’s ability to raise the money privately, saying instead that it was important for government to support technology companies such as ERG.
Mr Giles said Western Australia had a particularly poor track record in terms of successful technology commercialisation.
“You would have seen government rhetoric about Australia being the smart country, so … here is an opportunity where the government is trying to promote the opportunities that they talk about with grants to companies that are developing intellectual property,” he said.
