Chinese order buoys local firm
Eli Manufacturing will ship 60 units of its stand-alone milk meter to China this week.
Owner Greg Cole said the order came out of the blue recently, several years after the company abandoned an unsuccessful sales push into China.
“Four or five years ago, we got a Government grant to go to China.”
While there was lots of interest, and even some orders, the potential purchasers never came up with the money.
“We tried really hard for two years and got nowhere so we pulled the pin.
“Out of the blue, one of the people we were trying to deal with back then contacted me and asked if we could supply them.”
Mr Cole said the first order was worth about $45,000, but the Chinese company was talking about a potential order for 1000 more units. “That’s more than our annual production.
“If that happens, we’ll have to ramp up our production and almost double our workforce.”
Mr Cole said that was also good news for other Baw Baw firms that handled aspects of the manufacture, including the plastic injection moulds.
The milk meters provide dairy farmers with real-time data on the performance of each cow.
The technology came out of the Ellinbank Dairy Research Centre.
Mr Cole bought the firm 11 years ago, and it is Gippslandowned and operated.
The local sale provides rare good news as the local dairy industry feels the effects of falling prices.
Mr Cole said Australian manufacturers struggled to break into the Chinese market.
“You hear about the success stories but you don’t hear about the 99 per cent who have tried and failed.”
Mr Cole will visit China in August to advise on installation and use of the meters.