HMS Group & Tank Solutions (Constituency Statement) 

21 November 2024

A major part of our government's agenda is a future made in Australia, and that future involves rebuilding our manufacturing base and continuing to support the brilliant manufacturers we have. I'm so proud to represent some of the world leading manufacturers right out of my electorate.

For over 16 years now, Jamie Howard and his wife Jill have been managing an incredible company called HMS Group in Thornton. As a local business leader, Jamie has made incredible steps forward with mining and manufacturing in the Hunter region, designing, building and delivering quality safety solutions for the global market, including the United States, China, Germany, South Africa and Chile. His work has also been acknowledged through multiple manufacturing and export awards, including the 2019 Australian safety solution of the year. Thank you, Jamie, Jill and HMS Group, for making the mining workplaces of the Hunter and the world, quite frankly, more safe.

I recently had the pleasure to visit HMS Group on the occasion of the unveiling of their brand-new piece of equipment named the Spyder—spelt with a 'y'—that pushes the envelope for efficient, quality, safety solutions specifically in the mining industry. Innovations like these are vital for keeping workers safe in, quite frankly, very dangerous situations. Jamie is also a major advocate for ensuring that we have a solid base of educated apprentices. He is employing people who are going through TAFE and are now being able to do some of those courses for free. Jamie and his group are building the next generation of fitters, electricians and boilermakers. They are having a quality education at TAFE, and they are receiving incredible training on the job at HMS Group. Thank you for doing that and bringing that next generation of Australian makers to the fore. It was great to see Jamie's passion for industry. It is so clearly evident in his products and the quality that he produces.

I also went recently to Tank Solutions at Tomago. This facility employs 70 people and creates above and underground storage tank solutions for fuel, chemical and water industries. Tank Solutions is one of only two companies in Australia that manufacture two-hour and four-hour fire rated tanks under licence from the Steel Tank Institute of the United States of America.

These tanks are used in emergency power systems where emergency power is required on standby, including in commercial buildings and hospitals. There is incredible manufacturing going on in my electorate. Thank you to those people who turn up every day and do that work.