BUSINESS FLYING IN
EXCLUSIVE: Timber company, new jobs join Cotton On at Avalon
A NEW timber manufacturing plant will join Avalon Airport’s booming industrial hub next year, bringing with it 25 new jobs.
That figure is set to rise to 100 employees in five years as Cross Laminated Offsite Solutions expands into its new space.
The factory is being touted as a “game-changer for the construction industry in Victoria and beyond” by Shane Quinn of Quintessential Equity, which is involved in the project.
“... it will support local advanced manufacturing and we’re big supporters of that,” he said.
A NEW timber manufacturing plant will open at Avalon Airport’s industrial precinct next year in what is being hailed as an industry game changer.
Cross Laminated Offsite Solutions (CLOS) will open the base in mid-2019, where it will process cross laminated timber and provide manufacturing services for the housing, industrial and commercial building sectors.
While the company will initially employ about 25 people, it aims to become Australia’s second cross laminated timber (CLT) producer within five years in a move that is expected to create around 100 direct local jobs.
The commercial property group which owns and built Geelong’s WorkSafe headquarters — Quintessential Equity — is also involved in the project.
Its executive chairman Shane Quinn said the use of CLT was more sustainable for the environment than other methods of construction.
He said timber produced eight times less carbon than concrete and that the use of timber could reduce building costs by up to 20 per cent.
“The CLOS factory in Geelong will be a game changer for the construction industry in Victoria and beyond,” Mr Quinn said. “Local, accessible mass engineered timber will help put Australia in contention to meet and exceed global standards like … the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals.
“We’re excited about CLOS because Quintessential Equity wants to use CLT technology — we’d love to construct our first CLT building in Geelong. What’s more, it will support local advanced manufacturing and we’re big supporters of that.”
Once operational, the factory will prefabricate engineered timber products into walls, floors, roofs and other building components, adding the necessary cladding, insulation and plasterboards.
The materials will then be sent to building sites where they are assembled and used in construction, following a similar principle to Ikea flat pack furniture.
The company will join Cotton On in setting up operations at Avalon’s industrial zone, after the popular clothing retailer opened a distribution centre next to the airport earlier this year.
CLOS managing director John Fitzgibbon said there was a “real opportunity” for a major advanced manufacturing industry in Geelong.
“We have the space, the local workforce and the lifestyle that makes workers want to stay and live in the area,” he said.
“With the demise of hard manufacturing and the resurgence of white collar jobs, I see advanced manufacturing as the next stage of Geelong’s economic growth.”
The Geelong Manufacturing Council has also welcomed the arrival of CLOS, with chief executive David Peart saying he was keen to help the company link up with other businesses in the region.
“The CLOS factory in Geelong will be a game changer for the construction industry in Victoria and beyond.” - Shane Quinn