The company recently submitted a development application for a $1.5 million expansion at the Wet Blue Hide Facility at Culcairn but has been dogged by a labour problem that has at times brought production to a standstill.

Absenteeism has put a lot of pressure on other members of the team who have carried the unreliable ones and this situation has adversely impacted on production.

A labour force of 30 people is currently being employed at the plant. This is likely to increase by five or six people in the near future

“If more people are unobtainable, we will have to use migrant labour as a last resort,” Geelong Leather chief executive Peter Stottelaar said on Friday.

“People generally believe migrant labour is a cheap way of providing workers but this isn’t the case, as there is an involved process to go through to gain approval and to comply with the criteria set out by the Department of Immigration,” he explained.

The company will be looking at all options. “We are committed to the Culcairn plant and all we need is a stable workforce for it to work well and look at further expansion down the track.” Employees are drawn from a small rural labour pool and much of the available labour has been attracted to jobs involved with the duplication of the highway.

Geelong Leather’s immediate expansion involves the construction of a shed for the storage of chemicals which is currently occupying the factory floor and will provide more space for employees working in the processing plant.

An upgrading of machinery will include new state of the art, wooden tanning vessels.

Greater Hume Shire Council has agreed to waive a development application fee of some $750 in accordance with its policy to provide business and industrial incentives for newly established businesses.

“This is an act of good faith on council’s behalf to who is now and in the future, a significant employer in the shire,” Greater Hume Shire General Manager Steven Pinnuck said.

Previously Council had agreed on an assistance package over five years which involved disposal of general waste at the Culcairn landfill, a 50 percent rebate on rates and minor works to the car-park.