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 Eureka tiles: Another factory to close 

Eureka tiles: Another factory to close

02 Dec, 2009 12:35 AM
ANOTHER Ballarat manufacturing company will close its doors, with workers set to lose their jobs just days before Christmas.

Eureka Tiles will close on December 23, just one year short of its centenary anniversary.

The move will put 24 staff members out of work, and means the end of ceramic tile production in Victoria.

Eureka Tiles general manager Mark Schofield said the mood had been sombre around the factory but the workers were realists.

"It's been a difficult for a number of years," he said.

"The factory management and employees have worked very, very hard to maintain efficient production but they understood ... they could see the stock building up."

Mr Schofield assured that all affected staff members would receive their redundancy packages.

The manufacturing industry in Ballarat has been hard hit in recent times.

In November last year, 110 employees lost their jobs when Ballarat foundry John Valves closed its doors.

In April, most of Miric Industries 90 workers lost their jobs after the company's 20-year relationship with Holden came to an end.

April also saw 54 workers made redundant at Wendouree truck trailer manufacturer MaxiTrans.

And in June, after 38 years of business, Ballarat manufacturer Lyco closed down, with at least 80 workers left unemployed.

Eureka Tiles was the last remaining ceramic tile factory in Victoria and one of only three left in Australia.

The company formed in 1910 and started operating in 1912.

Mr Schofield said the company had found it increasingly difficult to compete with the cheap product available from Asia, particularly with a strong Australian dollar.

"A lot of the staff members have been working there for 20 years or more and it's unfortunate that we've had to suspend manufacturing activities," he said.

"We would highly recommend staff and be more than willing to give them references. In fact we've made calls today to actively place them in businesses around Ballarat."

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union divisional branch secretary Steve Roach said the closure was the consequence of free trade.

"It's getting more and more difficult to fund Australia-made products on the shelf," he said.

"You see people like Frank Walker boasting about it .. . with cheap imported tiles from France or Italy or wherever."

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comments


Date: Newest first | Oldest first
As a Brickworks shareholder I am sorry to see this Ballarat operation shut. However the unionist's comments do not tell the full story. Brickworks as a company has recently invested more than $40 million in a new brickmaking plant at Wollert, near Craigieburn in Melbourne's north. Its former land at Scoresby will be redeveloped, creating local jobs. The unionist should realise that overall, free trade is in Australia's and Ballarat's interests. For instance, our biggest exports are commodities such as coal and iron ore. Some Ballarat companies work for miners. Ballarat residents commute to Melbourne and work for financial institutions that service miners. We can't afford a return to the bad old days of inefficient protectionism. Ballarat residents are smart enough to get over these setbacks and to find new ways to make a dollar. Ever since the days of the gold rush, locals have been innovative.
Posted by Shareholder, 3/12/2009 2:28:41 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
I for one have to commute to Melbourne to work after I lost my job in 2006 under the Howard so called free trade work places laws and I with many others in Ballarat that have lost their jobs in the last three or four years aren't so rosey about the way the manufacturing industry is going with the total erosion of workers' rights and entiltlements allowing the greedy fat cats at the top to get financially fatter.
Posted by MARK, 3/12/2009 3:25:28 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
Mark, ain't that the truth, and to Share holder, when was the last time you tried looking for a job, 1973? Get in the real world!
Posted by Linda, 4/12/2009 6:58:25 PM, on The Ballarat Courier
The sad facts are that ceramics have been erased from Australia. I was fortunate to have worked in this fascinating field for a number of years. As a supplier to Eureka Tiles I watched the plant grow and invest in its future. Sad that this has now all gone. However the facts are that cheap Chinese imports have replaced all locally produced materials. With the demise of Ceramic Technical Colleges, the industry has been lost forever. Steve L.
Posted by ceramic54, 27/01/2010 11:13:56 AM, on The Ballarat Courier

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CLOSING: Eureka Tiles will close on December 23.
CLOSING: Eureka Tiles will close on December 23.

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