30 Ballarat jobs to come in tram works

Well, part of them at least. 

A Delacombe company will put on 30 workers as part of a new partnership with train and tram maker Bombardier. 

The French company announced on Thursday it would link up with DW Controls to help build its new E-class trams for Melbourne. 

Additionally, the company says these workers will mostly be women. 

In a statement DW Controls founder Tony White said they were excited to more than double their workforce. 

“We are a family based business in Ballarat currently employing 25 people in switchboard manufacture, fabrication and powder coating works” he said. 

“We are excited to partner with Bombardier on this project and look forward to not only increasing our workforce, but also further developing the skills of our employees.”

The manufacturing jobs addition is good news for a sector that has struggled at times in recent years. 

Bombardier currently employs 35 people at its Ballarat East depot where V/Line trains are maintained and worked on every night. 

The company said its tram building program had “accelerated” recently and they had had to look outside the company for help on the project. 

The state government ordered 20 new E-class trams late last year, on top of 50 already being built. 

At the time, the company estimated the last of the new batch would be out on the tracks by 2018. 

Bombardier director of business development Ben Phyland said they were keen to see the new workers to get long-term work in the sector. 

“Long-term sustainability and true local content isn’t just about employing large quantities of people,” he said. 

“It’s a combination of three things; building a smart workforce, developing a strong and capable supply chain and securing long-term, sustainable projects for both your employees and suppliers to survive and prosper.”

DW Controls will specifically be doing the electrical looming and other pre-assembly work for the new trams.

Bombardier said it would help train the 30 workers, who will be hired over two years. 

Bombardier’s train department had a busy start to the year too, replacing hundreds of VLocity wheels damaged by the new Regional Rail Link track in North Melbourne.