28 May Big Events, Big Innovation & Our Night of Nights | Dean’s Desk 9 May 28, 2026 By Admin RIN Dean's Desk 0 It feels like the pace across the network just keeps building at the moment - and honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way. From major events and industry conversations through to celebrating local innovation and gearing up for our biggest night of the year, there’s been plenty happening over the past fortnight. Here’s a quick update on what’s been going on. 1. Safety Conference – Tomorrow’s the Day It’s all systems go here at RIN ahead of Safety Conference 2026 tomorrow. We’ll be welcoming around 200 attendees to the MECC for what is shaping up to be an incredibly valuable day for our industry. We’re excited to bring members and non-members together for the event, but honestly, from a selfish perspective, I’m just really excited to hear from this calibre of speakers. These are the types of speakers usually reserved for major city conferences and national events, so it fills us with a huge amount of pride that we’re able to bring them all together right here in Mackay. From keynote presentations through to breakout sessions, the content across the day is genuinely outstanding. There’s going to be a lot of practical insight, some important conversations and no shortage of takeaways for attendees. If you’re joining us tomorrow, we’ll see you there. 2. Local Innovation on Display – Husky Launch Yesterday I headed down to Finesse Engineering Solutions for the official unveiling of 2MT Mining Products’ new Husky® Dragline Bucket — and what an impressive milestone for local industry. This is the first dragline bucket developed by 2MT and a fantastic example of the capability sitting right here in our region. Designed, engineered and fabricated locally, the Husky® bucket showcases the depth of expertise we have across Mackay’s manufacturing and mining sectors. What I love most about projects like this is what they represent beyond the product itself — local jobs, local skills, local innovation and confidence in regional manufacturing capability. It was also great to celebrate the achievement alongside Brad from 2MT, who many of you will know as one of our RIN board members and Treasurer. If your business is doing innovative work, launching a new product, delivering a major project or achieving something worth celebrating, we want to hear about it. One of the things we love most at RIN is helping showcase the incredible expertise and capability coming out of our region. 3. Energy Queensland Networking Evening Last week I also attended the Energy Queensland networking evening in Mackay. It was a really valuable opportunity to connect not only with local Energy Queensland staff, but also members of their Board and Executive team. We had some great conversations around the needs of our region, the challenges our members are facing and the importance of reliable infrastructure and strong communication, particularly during emergency events. What stood out to me most was their genuine commitment to understanding regional communities and engaging directly with local industry. It was refreshing, insightful and a really positive conversation overall. 4. RIN Awards – Nominations Now Open Finally, one of my favourite times of the year: RIN Awards season. Nominations are now officially open for the 2026 RIN Awards, and while tickets go on sale Monday, what I’m most excited about is seeing the nominations start to roll in. The RIN Awards are our opportunity to celebrate the incredible people, businesses and achievements across our region. Every year we’re reminded of just how much innovation, leadership and capability exists within our network. This year’s categories include: Safety Foremost Award Champion Culture Award Connecting in the Community Award Manufacturing Excellence Award Standing out from the Crowd Award Expansion into New Markets Award The Tony Britton Award Being recognised as a finalist or winner provides enormous value — from industry recognition and increased exposure through to team pride, recruitment benefits and valuable marketing opportunities. Most importantly, it gives us the chance to stop for a moment and celebrate the great things happening across our industry. Nominations are only open for a limited time, so don’t sit on it — get involved. 👉 awards.rin.org.au Looking Ahead There’s a huge amount of capability, innovation and momentum across this region right now, and the past fortnight has been another great reminder of that. As always, there’s plenty happening behind the scenes as well, and I look forward to seeing many of you over the coming weeks. Related Articles From Parliament to Projects: Wrapping Up 2025 | Dean’s Desk 2 As 2025 comes to a close, this edition of Dean’s Desk reflects on a big fortnight for RIN - from taking regional voices to Parliament, to delivering meaningful project outcomes and finishing the year with strong member connection. Representing the Region on the Global Stage | Dean’s Desk 1 In this first edition of Dean’s Desk, we take a look at a busy fortnight for RIN — from international engagement at the ASEAN summit, to advocating for our region at the QRC State of the Sector Lunch. Dean also shares insights from our recent team strategy day as we prepare for a milestone 25th anniversary year, and acknowledges important Board transitions shaping RIN’s leadership going forward. This Might Be Our Best Lineup Yet | Dean’s Desk 7 Dean’s Desk returns following the Easter break with a forward look at what’s shaping up to be a big few months for RIN. In this edition, Dean shares an update on the highly anticipated Safety Conference 2026 speaker lineup, final opportunities to be part of QME, and how the team is supporting community initiatives during Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month. He also highlights a new approach to the May Industry Briefing, designed to capture real-time sentiment from businesses navigating rising costs and uncertainty. With strong engagement across events and advocacy, this update provides a snapshot of the conversations and opportunities shaping our region. Back in Action for February | Dean’s Desk 3 Dean’s Desk returns for February as RIN officially kicks off 2026, marking a milestone 25th anniversary year. This update confirms a busy start with sold-out events, growing International Women’s Day momentum, and continued advocacy for regional businesses—setting the tone for a strong year ahead. Momentum, Reality & Building What’s Next | Dean’s Desk 4 Momentum builds for RIN in 2026 with sold-out events, strong advocacy in Brisbane, major port infrastructure progress and a renewed focus on diversification and future capability for our region. Capability, Conversations & Keeping Momentum | Dean’s Desk 8 Dean reflects on one of RIN’s most engaging Industry Briefings yet, shares insights from Australian Manufacturing Week in Brisbane, and discusses the conversations continuing at Queensland Parliament around current regional business sentiment. He also highlights why Safety Conference 2026 is shaping up to be one of RIN’s strongest events yet, with ticket sales closing soon. 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