Queensland Minister for State Development and Manufacturing Cameron Dick has welcomed the completion of the final phase of Cochlear's new manufacturing base in the Brisbane suburb of Newstead.
“Cochlear has transformed the lives more than 475,000 people across 100 countries and now they will continue their great work with Queensland-built technology,” said Mr Dick, who was joined at the site by state education minister and local MP, Grace Grace.
“I am pleased to welcome Minister Dick and Minister Grace to our new facility," said Dig Howitt, CEO of Cochlear.
"We currently employ around 200 people here in Queensland, most of whom work in manufacturing, logistics and engineering. We look forward to adding more skilled team members as we expand our advanced manufacturing operations here in Queensland.
“Innovation has been essential to Cochlear’s success as an Australian headquartered, globally competitive exporter, and we are delighted this new facility provides us the opportunity to continue our investment locally.
“With Australia’s ageing population, finding solutions for people with severe-to-profound hearing loss is an increasingly important issue to address. Cochlear looks forward to working with the Queensland Government, continuing our work to make hearing a national health priority and cement Australia as the world leader in hearing health.” added Mr Howitt.
“This investment has enabled Cochlear to re-direct more than $20 million of work from overseas to Queensland, so not only is our state supporting people experiencing hearing loss but additional staff will be recruited as the facility ramps up,” continued Mr Dick.
“More than 27,000 Queenslanders have severe to profound hearing loss, more than 2,100 have a Cochlear implant, and we hope to see many more Queenslanders benefitting from this incredible innovation now happening right here in our state.
“This is an important step for the development of advanced manufacturing capabilities in our state, with our growing manufacturing sector already employing 170,000 Queenslanders and consistently contributing nearly $20 billion a year to Queensland’s economy,” he said.
“This is what our government is focused on creating: the high-tech, high-paid jobs of the future for Queenslanders manufacturing products that create high-value exports for our economy.
“We want manufacturing businesses in Queensland to set their sights on delivering not only for domestic markets, but also for global markets, and Cochlear is one company grasping that vision with both hands through their Newstead operations.”