AN AUSTRALIAN beer brewer – branded Broo – has secured what is believed to be the country’s biggest beer deal in China since the original globalisation of Fosters products.

Impressively, Broo Export Pty Ltd has struck a seven-year agreement with the major Chinese supply and distribution company, Jihua, belevied to be worth more than $120 million in aggregated distribution revenue. 

“Jihua’s distribution reach in China will see Broo Premium Lager penetrate the Chinese beer market and expand into a major brand over the coming years,” Broo founder and CEO Kent Grogan said. 

Jihua has agreed to purchase the Broo Premium Lager beer products that are manufactured in China, directly from Broo’s approved Chinese manufacturers, Mr Grogan said. The agreement is binding on a ‘take-or-pay’ basis for 1.5 billion litres of Broo Premium Lager beer products over the seven year period.

Mr Grogan said Jihua has also committed significant upfront marketing and advertising funds to expedite the growth volume of Broo in the first three years of the distribution and Broo has agreed revenue payments for that term can be accrued and paid upon completion of the third year, with payments continuing on a six monthly basis thereafter.

It sounds like an ideal launch formula for the relatively small Australian brewer.

Jihua has interests in a wide variety of industries in China and has established quality supply and distribution channels with major Chinese organisations across multiple market segments, including China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporations (COFCO)  which is China’s largest food processor, manufacturer and trader; China Aerospace, Science and Technology Corporation (CASC); hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience store chains throughout China including Wumei Holdings Inc; restaurant chains including China Quanjude (Group) Co Ltd; and hotel chains including Huatian Hotel Group Co Ltd.

“Our focus is now on continuing discussions in other international markets and domestic expansion,” Mr Grogan said. 

www.broo.com.au

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TEAM MachineGenes, led by artificial intelligence (AI) developer and mathematician Nigel Greenwood, has beaten 624 other international teams to make it to round two of IBM Watson’s XPRIZE.

The IBM Watson XPRIZE is a global competition that challenges teams to develop and demonstrate how humans can collaborate with AI to tackle the world’s challenges.

Dr Greenwood, who is based in Brisbane, has risen to this challenge to show how his new form of AI can be used for many purposes, although he and his team are currently focussing on both helping people with Type 1 diabetes and keeping aviation turbine engines operating at optimal capacity.

“My patented AI can be used for personalised medicine - it can understand how each person is unique and can recommend the best insulin dosage to keep the patient’s blood glucose levels under control,” Dr Greenwood said. 

“In silico trials conducted in conjunction with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have demonstrated my technology could be extremely successful in controlling blood glucose levels for people with ‘brittle’ diabetes.

“It has the potential to reduce greatly the risk and severity of hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic events for people with diabetes.”

The same technology is also being used by Dr Greenwood’s team to demonstrate another world-first capability, for AI to understand the health of aviation engines in a way that is currently impossible.

One of the world’s top-three engine manufacturers was were so impressed by the diabetes work that it has begun part-funding the engine demonstration. While confidential, the arrangement would be with either GE, Rolls-Royce, or Pratt & Whitney.

Dr Greenwood said both medical and engineering work, a key source of frustration is the difficulty in getting suitable investment, with Australian venture capitalists reluctant to invest in deep transformative technologies.

“International recognition of my work is bittersweet as it comes at a time when it appears inevitable that my technology, a globally new kind of AI, will be forced to leave Australia,” Dr Greenwood said.

The IBM Watson AI XPRIZE is a four-year competition with annual milestone competitions in 2017 and 2018. The top three finalists will compete for the grand prize of $5 million at TED 2020.

www.machinegenes.com

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WHEN he graduated from Queensland’s Griffith University, armed with horticultural qualifications and an Environmental Science degree in the 1990s, Sean Lynch knew he wanted to change the way built environments interfaced with the natural world – for the better.

He chose pools as his canvas, figuring he could make a positive impact upon the chemical-laden practices of the time. How right he proved to be, taking a lead in applying new technologies and sustainability practices after he founded Ecozen Pools and Landscapes in 1999.