Deakin graduate named 'Young Manufacturer of the Year'

Dr Ashley Denmead, a mechanical engineering graduate from Deakin University, has been awarded the 2016 “Victorian Young Manufacturer of the Year” prize.

The award was presented at the Victorian Manufacturing “Hall of Fame” Gala Dinner.

Dr Denmead has played a key role in the establishment of one of Victoria’s most successful new companies, Carbon Revolution, which is rapidly expanding its production for the global market.

One of the inventors of the technology that led to the world’s first commercialised carbon fibre composite wheel, Dr Denmead is now the Engineering and Design Director for Carbon Revolution.

He contributes to all aspects of product design and holds inventor status on all patents in the company’s IP portfolio.

During his final years of study at Deakin, Dr Denmead was team leader and then chief engineer of the University’s Formula SAE-A team. This program centres on an annual four-day international student engineering competition. It provides students with the opportunity to develop their skills in a real world environment, focussing on the design, construction and racing of an internal combustion or electric race car, up to 600cc/80kW.  

The Deakin team invented a one-piece carbon fibre composite wheel in 2004 and continued to develop the technology over the following three years.

Many of the engineers involved in these teams now work at Carbon Revolution.

This experience was the genesis of Carbon Revolution (founded in 2007), which is now housed in a $24 million factory at Deakin’s Waurn Ponds campus and employs over 100 staff.

Its wheels are almost 50 per cent lighter than existing alloy wheels, with improved acceleration and handling.  

Supplying automotive companies such as the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Carbon Revolution is planning an initial public offering in the next two years, to fund its expansion within the $40 billion global wheels market. It has also signed an agreement with a North American aircraft landing gear manufacturer to develop carbon fibre wheels for use in aerospace.

Dr Denmead said that he developed his interest in composite materials engineering while studying mechanical engineering at Deakin. He undertook his PhD researching composite materials, supervised by Professor Peter Hodgson, now the University’s Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).

“Deakin gave me exposure to the huge potential of lightweight composite materials and the people involved in this area of research at the University have been a huge support in the success of Carbon Revolution,” he said.