Meet and greet: Liberal candidate for Nicholls Steve Brooks, Med-Con chief executive Steve Csiszar and Federal Tourism, Trade and Investment Minister Dan Tehan during a visit to the Goulburn Valley on Friday.
Photo by
Anna McGuinness
Federal Tourism, Trade and Investment Minister Dan Tehan heard about Lemnos mask manufacturer Med-Con’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic during a visit to the Goulburn Valley on Friday.
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Med-Con has drastically cut staff it hired when demand jumped in 2020, as it struggles to compete with overseas imports and other local players.
“We were the only manufacturer when we started and now there’s about 12 in Australia,” chief executive Steve Csiszar said.
“The issue we’re facing is there are other competitors now in Australia, so we not only face the importers, we’ve got local guys that have started up.”
When borders reopened and the supply chain recovered, state governments returned to previous suppliers, leaving Med-Con with the capacity to deliver but not the demand.
The Federal Government has a five-year deal with the manufacturer to make 10 million masks each year.
Tour guide: Med-Con chief executive Steve Csiszar (right) shows Liberal candidate for Nicholls Steve Brooks and Federal Tourism, Trade and Investment Minister Dan Tehan around the factory floor.
Photo by
Anna McGuinness
There are now 24 staff employed and five to six machines running five days a week — compared to 24 hours a day and 10 machines in 2020, with more than 100 staff employed.
“We’re making 10 million (masks) for the Commonwealth and another four or five million through various distributors,” Mr Csiszar said.
“Every now and again a health department might ring up with an order for a million masks.
“We’d like to get up to 50 (staff); it means we could actually triple production and have a lower cost base, which would make us more competitive.”
Mr Tehan said the way Med-Con expanded to meet the demands of the pandemic was something the local community should be proud of.
“They were able to get production of surgical masks from two million up to 160 million and that has helped us get through this pandemic,” he said.
“What we would like to see is state and territory governments and the private sector also put in similar contracts because that helps with the continuity the company needs.”
Mr Tehan also visited Echuca, Nagambie and Seymour as part of his visit to the Goulburn Valley, hosted by Liberal candidate for Nicholls Steve Brooks.
