1st Australian Success at Atlanta Olmpics

MT115

27 July 1995

FIRST AUSTRALIAN SUCCESS AT ATLANTA OLYMPICS

One year before the opening ceremony, the Minister for Trade, Senator Bob McMullan, today witnessed the first Australian victory in the 1996 Olympic Stadium under construction in Atlanta.

During a visit to the Atlanta construction site Senator McMullan saw the initial installation of seats designed and manufactured by Melbourne company, Camatic Pty Ltd. The first batch of the 83,000 seats from Australia arrived in Atlanta in mid-July and the process of installing them has just got underway.

"I was very impressed to see at first hand an excellent example of a small to medium Australian enterprise which has gone up against strong US and foreign competition and won contracts to supply and install all the seating for the new Olympic Stadium."

"Next year more than 80,000 people will enjoy the Olympic opening ceremony and sporting events in comfort because of the skills, technology, innovation and competitiveness of an Australian company, Camatic Pty Ltd. It is an excellent example of how Australian industry, with the support of the Government, is increasingly seeking out and winning export markets around the globe."

Camatic's Chief Executive Officer, Mr David Fisher, attributes the company's success to innovative design, state of the art technology and a motivated team approach, all of which enhance the company's competitive capacity.

Austrade Atlanta provided considerable on-the-ground support for Camatic, identifying a local partner, assisting in negotiations and lobbying in favour of the final decision. The Federal Government's Export Finance and Insurance Corporation assisted Camatic to meet the quite onerous bonding requirement for the contract.

Camatic has supplied more than 800,000 seats for foreign customers, including the Tokyo Seibu Velodrome and Village Cinema installations in New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.

During his visit to Atlanta Senator McMullan was also on hand to raise the flag over Boral Ltd's new brick making plant in Atlanta. The plant forms part of the recently finalised acquisition of the Bickerstaff Clay Products Company by Boral Ltd's US subsidiary, Boral Industries Inc. It makes Boral the leading brick manufacturer in the United States. The flag raising ceremony with Tim Tuff, CEO of Boral Industries, was accompanied by a briefing for the Minister on Boral's wider strategy in the US market.

For more information Steve Gartland 06 277 7420 / 018 482 887

Bob McMullan Minister for Trade