METS

GroundProbe on the top of innovators list

Orica and Swick among METS firms recognised

Staff reporter

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Explosives and blasting technology giant Orica bought GroundProbe from Crescent Capital Partners for A$205 million last December.

GroundProbe, a developer and worldwide supplier of state-of-the-art ground-movement detection systems, was judged as the most innovative Australian company on the list compiled by innovation consultancy Inventium for the Australian Financial Review.

Orica came in at number 20, and Swick number 35.

The AFR said there were about 1,000 nominations for this year's listing.

Australia's METS (mining equipment, technology and services) sector, comprising companies that generate all or most of their revenues from mining and metals market sales, is the world's largest with annual revenues exceeding A$80 billion.

"Every time we deploy the GML-Underground in a mine, there is a strong likelihood that it will save somebody's life," GroundProbe vice-president of marketing and technology, Lachie Campbell said.

"It can be used as a productivity tool to access areas otherwise deemed unsafe, target ground rehabilitation, and save millions of dollars."

The AFR says innovation is defined as "change that adds value" and its judges rank companies based on recent (past 12 months) innovation, how companies "embed innovation into their organisation", and how they perform on a range of other innovation measures.

 

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