Hanwha Defense Australia (HDA) has opened its new corporate headquarters on Bourke Street in Melbourne.
The office was formally opened by Victorian Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Ben Carroll and HDA managing director Richard Cho, with a number of Defence and industry representatives present, including Head Land Systems Major General Andrew Bottrell.
"Congratulations Richard and HDA on today. It's a really important milestone and already builds on the great work that Hanwha is doing not only here but in country Victoria and around the world," Minister Carroll said. "It's a real family that makes up the defence industry. I've been back in the industry portfolio a short while, but I've done more with defence industry than with any other sector already.
"It goes to show how in Victoria we are a manufacturing state. We are proud of our skills base, our manufacturing, our ability to partner with organisations like Hanwha."
Cho noted the growing presence of South Korean industry in Australia and thanked his team for keeping the Land 8116 program on schedule despite the challenges of the past two years.
"In December 2020, HDA signed a major contract with the Commonwealth," Cho said. "That was very significant for both South Korea and Australia, and particularly for Hanwha. It's been a difficult two years since then with Covid. In a short period of time, both our team and the Commonwealth's team have been working hard and we are still on schedule."
Minister Carroll told ADM that the Victorian government, if re-elected in November, has high hopes for defence industry growth in the state.
"The defence sector - from missiles to satellites to armoured vehicles - has been consuming my day, in terms of meetings and working with major players. I know how important this sector is to the Victorian economy," Minister Carroll said. "Getting SMEs plugged in is really important. Just yesterday I announced grants of up to $100,000 to allow SMEs to get global certifications to work in the defence industry supply chain. It's an opportune time for Victoria."
Minister Carroll - who is also the Victorian Minister for Public Transport - also noted the capacities of the wider Hanwha Group, including solar cell manufacturing and hydrogen fuel cells.
"I'm really excited about this. Hanwha Defence is only eight per cent of Hanwha Group. It's a big company," Minister Carroll said to ADM. "Hanwha are the biggest supplier of solar panels worldwide and have a huge investment in hydrogen fuel. I'm the transport minister - there are a lot of synergies, and to have HDA here in Melbourne is a really exciting opportunity."