Albion Sports, maker of the baggy green cap, has told Fairfax Media that it is considering moving its manufacturing operations from Sydney to Geelong.
According to a report published on the Sydney Morning Herald, Albion’s chief executive and managing director Brendan Denning is already in talks with the City of Greater Geelong and local politicians about moving production to the region.
”There are some synergies there that could see us develop a bit more of a manufacturing presence in the Geelong region, which I’d love to see happen,” Mr Denning said in the report.
”Yes, the company always used to be based in Sydney and we have retained a presence up there because of some very valuable staff in terms of how long they have been making caps, but that doesn’t last forever and we have got to make sure we’re ready to make those moves as we develop other future opportunities.”
Albion has moved its headquarters to Melbourne a couple of years ago, but manufacturing has remained in Sydney. The company employs 18 people across two cities, but is driven by big ambitions. Mr Denning said the move to Geelong is attractive particularly due to the establishment of Australian Sports Technology Network in the area.
Mr Denning said that despite the recent string of bad news about Australian manufacturing, the making of personalised sports equipment would remain a local industry.
”We want to stand up and be very proud that we make not just the baggy green but tens of thousands of caps in Australia. It’s a big part of what we do and we don’t want to lose that connection.”
