City of Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown, Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty, Medovex chief operations officer Rick Lucchini and CEO Chris Athavle, Member for Wollongong Paul Scully, Member for South Coast Liza Butler and Acting Commissioner for Marine Rescue NSW Todd Andrews at a NSW Government funding announcement in Unanderra. Photo
A new medical device will be made in Wollongong thanks to perseverance, ingenuity and a grant from the NSW Government.
Medovex is an Australian company that makes products to treat back pain.
Previously, the company had to rely on parts manufactured in the US and South Australia to build their devices, but recently they have shifted to making them all on-shore themselves at a site in Unanderra.
Thanks to $760,107 from the NSW Government and an equal co-investment from the company, they hope to scale up manufacturing and begin to export.
The site has created five new jobs for the Illawarra, but there’s hope it may become the hub for more medical innovation and manufacturing.
Chief operations officer Rick Lucchini said his family had worked on medical technology in orthopaedics in the Illawarra decades ago, and he felt it was fitting that Medovex would make its home here.
“We’ve come full circle,” he said.
“We hope our work will attract other medical projects to the Illawarra.”
Member for Wollongong Paul Scully said the Medovex facility was just one part of a broader goal to have more advanced manufacturing take place in the region.
He said it was a natural evolution of the Illawarra’s proud history of manufacturing.
“The Illawarra has long been a source of great fabricators and skilled tradespeople,” he said.
“This takes the skills we have and combines them with technology that’s being developed to create local jobs.
“There will also be a small-scale sterilisation facility on site to create more opportunities into the future.”
Medovex CEO Chris Athavle explained how their device works.
He said many treatments for back pain rely on hardware like rods or screws to alleviate pressure on nerves.
The Medovex device, however, works by clearing out painful nerves and tissue.
“We go to the facet joint, remove a little bit of tissue and apply some heat to kill the nerve and stop it from regrowing,” he said.
“It allows young patients to continue in their sports, jobs and everyday life without structural realignment.”
Minister for Agriculture and Regional New South Wales Tara Moriarty also announced an expansion of the Port Kembla Community Investment Fund.
The $1 million fund from the NSW Government provides grants of between $10,000 and $250,000 for projects to revitalise Port Kembla by improving community infrastructure, amenities, programs, or events that benefit the community.
Previously, the fund has helped deliver the popular Port Kembla skate park, upgrade the Port Kembla Surf Life Saving Club, and purchase up-to-date equipment for the local Marine Rescue unit.
Mr Scully said some changes were made to make sure the funds were available to all community groups that work in Port Kembla.
“The fund is back, it’s bigger and it’s more exciting than it was before,” he said.
“Some Port Kembla community organisations were on the wrong side of the street when the fund was allocated to a single postcode, so we’ve expanded it to include Cringila, parts of Warrawong and parts of Lake Heights to ensure everyone who is part of Port Kembla can be part of this.
“It’s generated great facilities in the past and will continue to help build that community and grow opportunities as Port Kembla revitalises and becomes a dynamic place for community engagement, employment and growth into the future.”
