Mr Sharpe spoke to The Border Mail ahead of AMGC's Manufacturing Industry Connect Albury-Wodonga event on Tuesday and said a move into robotics can "sustain jobs".

"It is not just about maintaining those jobs either - the digital transformation is about making a better product in a safer and more productive workplace," Mr Sharpe said.

"And it is about growing new jobs."

When asked about the recent news 180 jobs will be lost when the Ettamogah Norkse Skog paper mill is sold to Visy in 2020, Mr Sharpe said there are "opportunities" for other local manufacturing businesses to utilise the skill set of those workers.

"We are seeing an uplift of manufacturing business each month and there are opportunities for other companies locally to produce new jobs for those workers," he said.

Mr Sharpe said AMGC has a relationship with the Albury branch of manufacturer Geofabrics and hopes to show other businesses what they can achieve in the digital space.

"We hope other businesses will go 'if Geofabrics in Albury can do it why can't we'," he said.

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"We visited Geofabrics and they told us of a research project they were doing and we got on board.

"The Geofabrics Australia Demo Project is about showing the company new technologies and teaching them about automation.

"When a company moves into the robotics and automation space the product improves and so do the product sales."

The event at the Albury Entertainment Centre is open to big and small businesses from around the region to discuss "emerging trends in business, skills requirement for the region, along with the latest advanced manufacturing news".

"We will be launching our Manufacturing Academy as well which is an exciting online platform where manufacturers from around the country can share what is working and what isn't."

The event will provide opportunities to connect with other regional companies along with meeting business mentors, academic researchers and other partners.

It is a free event and starts at 9.30am.