A project 12 months in the making is about to come to fruition as Steber International embarks on a partnership to build unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Steber General Manager, Alan Steber said: “We have been working with Hunter Precision Agriculture (HPA) for around 12 months on design and tooling for the drones”.
“This has involved regular Teams meetings with the Canadian robotics personnel”.
“We will be manufacturing all the FRP components including fuselage, wings, tail assemblies and associated assemblies.
The services offered by HPA received plenty of attention at the recent Ag-Quip Field Days staged in Gunnedah.
The bright yellow drone is hard to miss with a fuselage length of 2.3m nose to tail and an impressive wingspan of 6.2m.
Current version is powered by eight electric motors.
The UAV project follows hot-on-the-heels of a hectic six months for the Taree-based boat manufacturer.
Mr Steber said in this short period (in addition to general production) we also have:
# Completed major refits to three Steber 43ft Navy workboats
# Manufactured a variety of FRP components for Zodiac RHIBs and Sea Devil recreational boats
# Completing a refit on another Steber for the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
# Continued development of the 40ft Steber Hybrid with partners Ampcontrol and the University of Newcastle while exhibiting the electric hybrid at Sanctuary Cove and Sydney international boat shows
# Won major industry awards: 2024 AIMEX Marine Industry Innovation of the Year; 2024 ACMG Manufacturer of the Year; 2024 BIA Sustainability in Boating Award and TAFE Regional Student of the Year Award to Steber apprentice shipwright, Jake Alcock.
ends 13-08-2024
PHOTOS:
Main photo: Fully assembled UAV
Photo 2: Ampcontrol and Steber International staff on the aft deck of the Electric Hybrid at SIBS 0224
Photo 3: General Manager, Alan Steber congratulates shipwright apprentice, Jake Alcock on his TAFE Excellence Award
