Hunter based manufacturer, OMNIA has been selected to feature in a new video by the NSW Government’s Going Global Program.

OMNIA has been participating in the program over the past 12 months.

The program hosted OMNIA at a MedTech sector trade show in China and provided staff with ongoing skills and advice in e-commerce.

Program advisors also organised a webinar for OMNIA with 64 potential customers from China.

Managing Director, Peter McKinnon credits the program with helping to boost export capability and sales of its patented omni-wheel technology and associated applications in ergonomic materials handling equipment; automated conveyor sortation; MedTech; robotics and other lifestyle products.

He said the trade show and webinar has generated sales and significant enquiry.

Despite COVID-19, OMNIA has grown exports by 35 per cent and now exports to 45 countries.

“We thought we knew a lot about e-commerce, but it is amazing how little we knew,” Peter said.

“In the webinar, we were also able to link in our Chinese distributor to deliver information in Mandarin.

“Australian exporters often underestimate the impact of presenting information in other languages, particularly when it is about technical products.”

The export push coincides with OMNIA’s product and manufacturing capability expansion at its Beresfield facility.

It has just launched a 180mm wheel taking the number of available wheel sizes to five.

Peter said the 180mm wheel is OMNIA’s largest and will be a gamechanger, offering superior ride quality and load capability.

OMNIA’s range of OEM applications including automated, multi-directional, conveyor sortation and transfer units for logistics and manufacturing, is growing too.

“We have sold conveyor sortation units into Europe and the United States,” Peter said.

Peter encouraged other Hunter manufacturers looking to export to take advantage of government programs such as Going Global.

“The depth of knowledge and the information that program staff give is just fantastic,” he said.

This month OMNIA changed its name from Rotacaster Wheel.

“We are now a global leader in the manufacture and application of omni-wheel technology, so OMNIA makes more sense.”

A bullish capital expenditure program is underway at its Hunter facility to boost capability and capacity. Two new injection moulding machines take the total to eight.

A recent $563,000 grant from the Australian Government’s Manufacturing Modernisation Fund (MMF) is contributing to its $2.25M project to automate parts of its wheel production.

“Gone are the days when wheels went one way, and we went another. Our patented omni-wheels provide the simplicity of a fixed wheel with the multi-directional capability of a swivel castor,” he said.

“The Hunter is at the forefront of creating omni-wheels that move with people to help them to make difficult tasks effortless.”

OMNIA’s excellence in design and manufacturing has been recognised by winning the Manufacturer of the Year category in the 2020 Hunter Manufacturing Awards. They are also a finalist in the upcoming 2021 Awards.

“It has been a long journey but with this type of government support, and the ingenuity and hard work of our team, we might just be a 15-year overnight success story,” Peter concluded.

IMAGE | Managing Director of OMNIA, Peter McKinnon.