R.M. Williams hopes to manufacture medical equipment to supply health workers and keep company afloat
Boot and clothing maker R.M. Williams closed its Adelaide plant last week but staff are hoping a new opportunity awaits – crafting sorely needed medical equipment.
SA News
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Iconic boot and clothing label R.M. Williams wants to retool its Adelaide workshop to produce protective medical equipment to help fight the coronavirus.
The move comes after the company closed its plant and stood down 300 workers just days after shutting its retail network around the world.
In total, 700 R.M. Williams workers in shops, offices and warehouses are out of work.
“We can do masks, we can do gowns, we can do anything that’s not technical that requires certain certification from the health ministry,” company boss Raju Vuppalapati said on Wednesday.
“We’re one of the few companies that have those capabilities in Adelaide.”
The closure of the company’s Salisbury factory follows a week of turmoil for the popular label. Mr Vuppalapati said it was sad to see the shutdown, particularly after investing to put in another production line and employ 100 more staff last December.
“As a company, we thought we cannot adhere to the 1.5m social-distance rule,” he said.
All 709 staff will be offered two weeks’ salary and a payout of accrued annual leave.
Mr Vuppalapati said the shutdown was being seen as “temporary” and would be reviewed at the end of April.
Trade and Investment Minister David Ridgway said: “It’s encouraging to see more SA businesses rising up to the challenge of manufacturing important medical supplies.”
Mr Vuppalapati said teams at the business have already registered for the Federal Government’s Jobkeeper package, which he hopes will tide them over.
“As soon as it opened, our teams have registered ourselves and we’re going through that process,” he said.
Mr Vuppalapati said recent drought, bushfires and now a viral pandemic were proving tough for the business.
“At this moment of unprecedented uncertainty, it is hard to see past the headlines and understand what lies ahead,” he said.
The company, which is owned by a private equity arm of luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy Group, was put up for sale last year but no buyer was found and Mr Vuppalapti said it was unlikely the business would be sold during this crisis.
“At this moment in time we’re all looking at how we can manage,” he said.
“The timing is not the right timing to start looking at things which are far more long term and shareholder driven.”
Originally published as R.M. Williams hopes to manufacture medical equipment to supply health workers and keep company afloat