New South Wales, Australia -- The NSW (New South Wales) Government in Sydney, Australia, has provided the security for a A$10 million ($8.7 million) loan for consolidation of Joyce Foam's manufacturing operations for Western Sydney. The move will save 64 jobs and create an additional 5 new positions, a 3 Jan statement from NSW minister for State and Regional Development, Ian Macdonald said.
According to Macdonald, Joyce will consolidate all of its foam manufacturing to a single site in Moorebank in Sydney. The foam maker currently operates four flexible polyurethane foam manufacturing plantsin Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide -- as well as sales facilitiesin Melbourne and in the US. The company will invest the A$10 million from the NSW Government to expand its Moorebank base into national manufacturing headquarters, generating 15 new jobs during the construction phase, the statement said.
Joyce, which supplies flexible PU foam to the bedding, furniture and automotive industries, became a wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of Indian flexible PU foam manufacturer, the Sheela Group, in 2005. Joyce then accounted for 35 percent of the Australian flexible PU market.
The Australian company will also introduce new environmentally-friendly foam manufacturing technologies to its Moorebank facility, including 'controlled pressure polymerisation' which was developed in Europe to eliminate emissions and improve foaming quality, Macdonald said.
"The NSW Government acknowledges the important role manufacturing plays in the economy of Western Sydney and NSW -- that's why we've worked to secure this project," Macdonald said. "This will be a first for the Australian foam market and will give Joyce Foam a global best practice in foam manufacturing," he added. (RD)
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