Over the next few months there will be a change of leadership in the Halifax Vogel Group Fabric Division.

After leading the division since 2009, Daniel Gollan will be leaving us in the next couple of months. However, we are pleased to announce that Paul Hunt has been promoted to the role of General Manager of HVG Fabrics and will transition into the role between now and when Daniel finishes up.Daniel has overseen a period of significant growth, both in sales and the product portfolio. He has developed industry leading brands in key areas. His departure is a loss, but he leaves with our blessing and best wishes.Paul is a more than worthy replacement. He is familiar to most of you with a 30+ year history in performance textiles. Paul brings a wealth of experience, having worked with HVG for many years in various roles and his appointment will ensure a smooth transition in leadership of the division.

HVG has been a strong supporter of LSAA.

See their Profile

August 2019

LSAA President Dr Kourosh Kayvani is Aurecon Managing Director – Design, Innovation & Eminence.

Aurecon has been named one of Australia and New Zealand’s most innovative companies, ranking number four in the professional services category of the prestigious AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies list.

The esteemed annual list, published by The Australian Financial Review and Boss magazine, is based on a rigorous assessment process managed by leading innovation consultancy Inventium in conjunction with a panel of industry expert judges. For the first time in 2019, organisations were ranked directly against their peers across ten industry lists that assessed entries from 800 nominated organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Aurecon was recognised for its OpenGATE AutoDraw project that used computational design and machine learning to create automated digital drawings, driving greater accuracy, speed and enabling higher quality responses to design challenges.

For more details see http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1908/S00291/aurecon-recognised-on-afr-boss-most-innovative-companies.htm

August 2019

Mike Lester has been appointed as Chairman of MakMax Australia.

The LSAA is pleased to report that long term active MSAA/LSAA member Mike Lester has been appointed as Chairman of MakMax Australia.

Mike is a full Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia since 1985 and a Registered Professional Engineer in Queensland. He graduated in Engineering way back in 1978 and I believe he has been involved with membrane structures from shortly after that.

Mike has served on the Association's committee in the past and has chaired our Technical Sub-committee and more recently the Fire Sub-committee.

He has been a driving force in MakMax with his involvement in many Award winning projects - such as stadia roofs in several countries and at home.

See also the MakMax Profile

Several of our LSAA Members are attending SuperExpo 2019 including:

• Gale Pacific (Booth F69)
• Hiraoka (Booth L315)
• HVG Fabrics (Booth D32)
• Miami Stainless (Booth N269)
• Nolan Group (Booth E49)
• ProKnit Industries (Booth A367)
• Serge Ferrari (Booth D35)
• The Shann Group (Booth L221)

SuperExpo 2019 is Australia's largest trade exhibition for the window furnishings and specialised textiles industries.

It will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from 12 - 14 June 2019.

Getting to the Starting Point (Mansfield, Thursday 11am)

Background: The "Maddog" 4WD Trips into the Victorian High Country started after the 2009 Melbourne LSAA Conference and have been attended by several committee members each time.

The “Maddog” AKA PeterK travelled down from Sydney via the Southern Highlands when he attempted to find the necessary(?) gear for the trip into the High Country. In an earlier year featured an impromptu “show and tell” session where all participants brought out their latest gadgets (café styled coffee machines, fancy knives, cameras on long poles and drones). This year the Maddog had trouble finding even the basic gear after a move to the Southern Highlands.

Running out of time he set off aiming to take some astro photos of stars in the background of the famous timber bridges at Gundagai. Being overcast he pushed onto to catch a few hours sleep in the back of the Defender at Holbrook. Next morning there was quite a lot of fog on the way to Mansfield where I arrived well ahead of the meeting time. Fuelled up ready to go I crawled into the Defender to get an hours sleep. No sooner than I found enough space to lie down the phone rang. It was Brian who said he was already having a coffee in the Bakery. So a shot of caffeine would need to replace an hour of sleep.

Congratulations to several of our LSAA members for their Awards and International recognition at the recent IFAI 2017 Expo.

MakMax, Fabritecture, Tensys Engineers and Wade Consulting were mentioned.

Houston’s Village Green was transformed in February into a vibrant “destination for play” with the completion of a new Catenary Lighting solution by Ronstan Tensile Architecture.

Discovery Green is a 12-acre park in the heart of downtown Houston, Texas that opened to the public in April 2008.  The park was transformed from an undeveloped, concrete eyesore into a beautiful and vibrant destination adjacent to the George R. Brown Convention Centre re-defining the Houston downtown and instilling a new civic pride in the city.  In preparation for the 2017 Super Bowl, the City of Houston chose a Ronstan Catenary Lighting System to create an open outdoor pedestrian area that would become “Super Bowl El Centro” and a focal point for the city’s Super Bowl related play activities.

At the 2016 LSAA Conference held at the Monash University of Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), Peter was presented with an Honorary Life Member trophy for his outstanding and long contribution to the LSAA. In particular Peter has been a driving force in the realization of the technical programs of many of our previous Conferences.

Peter Lim was presented with an LSAA Honorary Life Member trophy

At the 2016 LSAA Conference held at the Monash University of Art, Design and Architecture (MADA), Peter was presented with an Honorary Life Member trophy for his outstanding and long contribution to the LSAA.

In particular Peter has been a driving force in the realization of the technical programs of many of our previous Conferences.