THE nation’s biggest textile factory does not produce denim or knitwear and it’s not in the suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne.
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Instead that title belongs to Geofabrics, a factory that backs on to the train line in North Albury, and makes textiles used under roads, railways and sport fields.
The plant makes 36 million square metres of material each year, the equivalent of driving the length of the Hume Highway more than seven times.
On Thursday, the factory’s 48 workers celebrated 30 years of production with a breakfast on the floor of the Boronia Street plant.
Geofabrics managing director Brendan Swifte told them their “sense of having a go and commitment to customers” was key to success.
He later told The Border Mail that innovation on products and being able to match Asian rivals on end costs were integral to the plant surviving since 1987.
“The people that were around in ‘87 would be so proud of what this site’s become,” Mr Swifte said.
“I don’t think anyone of them in their wildest imagination could have seen what this has become.
“I think they were just happy to make the first roll and sell it.”
From making one roll of its geotextile Bidim per shift, the factory now produces a roll every ten minutes.
Mr Swifte said diversifying had helped Geofabrics, which also a factory in south-east Queensland, expand its sales.
A drainage-related material is used under golf courses in Britain and another item, Tracktex, can help pump mud from rail tracks.
The longest-serving worker at the Albury factory is production supervisor Neville Quast who begin in September 1989 as a shift operator.
“When I started they were running at 250 kilograms an hour of raw material, now we’re running at 1500 kilograms an hour of raw material, it’s a big difference,” Mr Quast said.
“It’s a good secure job.
“I was a diesel mechanic before I started here, it’s easier than laying under trucks.”
Mr Swifte said while there was concern at the Albury plant’s annual $1.2 million electricity bill rising, the overall future was bright.
He pointed to major investment in metropolitan train networks and the inland rail freight route from Melbourne to Brisbane as production spinners.
