Technology Park growth plans

Twenty years after Technology Park was established as a research and development centre in Bentley, the State Government is preparing to spend $25 million developing what it calls a technology precinct in the area.

The precinct is built on the concept of an intellectual network that brings together disparate groups in the area, including tenants at Technology Park and the nearby Curtin University.

While the precinct remains a loose concept, people involved in Tech-nology Park can point to some very tangible achievements over the past 20 years.

Peter Why, the chief executive of Zernike Australia, which manages Technology Park, said state governments had achieved a very good return on the $22 million spent to date.

“We run this park on the smell of an oily rag, we really do, but the achievements that have come out of this place have been a tremendous win for this state,” he told a conference to mark Technology Park’s 20 years of operation.

Mr Why said nearly 100 companies operated in Technology Park, directly employing 2,465 people and gener-ating annual turnover of $500 million.

The returns have also included $150 million in real estate development.

“What is more exciting than that is that if you put all the organisations together, they reinvest 20 per cent of their earnings into R&D and 60 per cent of earnings come from exports,” Mr Why told WA Business News.

By comparison, he said Australia invested about 1.6 per cent of GDP into R&D.

Mr Why said some of the successful companies to have operated in Technology Park included Clinical Cell Culture, Advanced Energy Systems, VibraQ and Intellect.

Its biggest employer is international pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which employs 500 people and has annual exports of $250 million.

Mr Why noted that Pfizer’s local operation was built on the success of Perth company Delta West, which had 60 employees in 1985 and made some major research breakthroughs.

He said another important contributor was technology incubator Entrepreneurs in Residence, of which he is a director.

EiR has invested in 25 new WA companies, which have attracted a total investment of $40 million.

Mr Why said the original inspiration for Technology Park was Emeritus Professor John De Laeter, who currently holds a senior position at Curtin University.

He also paid tribute to former Curtin vice-chancellor Don Watts and former Burke government minister Mal Bryce, who he described as a “champion in government”.

“This would never have happened without Mal,” said Mr Why.

John Curtin Institute of Public Policy professor Peter Kenyon told the conference the fortunes of Technology Park have risen and fallen with the priorities of state government ministers.

“The future of the park lies in the formation and development of partnerships between government, industry and universities,” Professor Kenyon said.

Business consultant Marian Tye, who chairs the technology precinct board, said the concept was first proposed in 1993.

The Gallop Government plans to spend $25 million over several years, primarily upgrading the physical infrastructure in the area to support further development.

Ms Tye said businesses, government agencies and schools in the precinct currently generated annual turnover of $2 billion and employed 8,000 people.

Projections for the precinct indicate turnover could rise to $5 billion and employment could rise to 12,000 people.

The State Government has also provided extra funding for technology incubators and has introduced a grants program to help small firms raise capital.