WHEN the pandemic hit in early 2020, Goulburn Valley-based manufacturer, Med-Con was the only producer of surgical mask in the entire country.
The business quickly responded to the federal government’s urgent plea to produce 60 million masks by November 2020.
For Med-con this meant hiring and training more than 100 new staff, purchasing 10 new machines, and enlisting the help of the Australian Defence Force; all of which the business achieved – successfully fulfilling the request, within weeks of the target date.
Operating 24/7, the business was producing three million masks a week says CEO, Steve Csiszar – that’s 50% more than the annual production figure of 2M, every week.
Federal Member for Nicholls, Damian Drum recently stated, “Med-Con created a real sense of national security and comfort was given to Australians by the fact that we had this capacity for self-reliance to provide for our own people in a crisis.”
But Australian health services have been quick to return to purchasing from their previous off-shore suppliers, since international trade restrictions have eased, in recent months. This resulting in nothing short of disaster for our local Med-Con hero’s, their rapid, expansion, now virtually redundant, as the majority of their machines sit unused on their factory floor, and a skeleton crew remain after laying off the majority of their newly employed personel.
The devastation was evident in Mr Csiszar’s recent comment to the ABC, “All the people we’ve supported throughout the pandemic seem to have left us.
“They seem to have lost the concept that if we have another pandemic and (international) borders shut again, they’re going to be reliant on local manufacturers,” Mr Csiszar said.
“I just don’t think there’s that resolve to stick with Australian-made,” he commented further.
“Unless governments make a stand and tell their health services, they have to buy from us, they’ll just search around for the cheapest product.”
Federal Member for Nicholls, Damian Drum reinforced the point saying, “It is imperative that we maintain support for manufacturers such as Med-Con, this includes through procurement contracts, whether that be at a federal, state or local level.”
