Ballarat manufacturer 'on its knees'

JACK Engwerda’s once busy Ballarat factory features a sea of empty work stations.Embroidery machines, sewing rigs and overlockers that used to run 12 hours a day now sit idle. Years ago, the leading manufacturer of defence clothing employed 60 people. Now it has 20.The company, established more than 20 years ago and responsible for an estimated $2 million year towards the local economy, is on the brink of closure. And Mr Engwerda blames the federal government.“The government says 99 per cent of suppliers of defence and non-combat clothing last year were Australian but it’s all bull,” he says. “They might be Australian but it’s in name only. They’re nothing more than ‘telephone box’ companies with an Australian address, outsourcing all their work to China.”His comments follow news that Victoria Police will be wearing Chinese-made shirts after a $1 million contract was awarded to a Queensland-based importer that sources its product from China.Mr Engwerda said his business was on its knees.“This trend will kill us,” he said. “We would have been out of here two months ago if we hadn’t geared back.”He said he used to have 20 fully Australian-operating competitors a decade ago.“Today there are four.”Mr Engwerda agreed his comments won’t help him win future Defence Department contracts.“There’s a lot of people getting shafted and it’s not right,” he said. “It’s about time we spoke up.”