75-year-old Wonthaggi Cyclone factory to close in October

THE 15 loyal employees still left at the Cyclone Tools’ factory in Korumburra Road Wonthaggi were still turning out “a Wonthaggi product we could be all proud of” this week.

From a weekly order of 3 tonnes of coiled steel plate, they cut out the shovel blades for a variety of popular and durable garden and work tools including their long-handle plumbers’ shovel, trenching shovel and short-handle garden spade.

It’s a far cry from the 200 people employed there in the 1980s and 1990s when the factory stretched most of the way down Korumburra Road, west from McKenzie Street where a string of big box stores line the street today.

But, they were still going strong, until they got the tap on the shoulder on Wednesday this week to be informed that the factory would be closing down once and for all in October this year.

Also closing down is the factory Grafton NSW where the timber handles are made and shipped down to Wonthaggi to add the finishing touches to the steel work.

Having been told they are losing their jobs, the workers were given the day off on Thursday and they’ll come together for coffee and a chat before getting back to work on Friday.

Many of the 15 still in the employ of Cyclone Tools have been there for many years, some up towards 50 years. For those considering retirement, it has taken that agonising decision out of their hands, but there are some younger employees who may have to consider relocation.

No details have yet been released about alternative work opportunities or workers’ entitlements, but right now, it’s the end of an era for Wonthaggi and a firm that started in the town in the early 1950s and ended up taking up some of the slack from the closure of the coal mines in town in 1968, which was crucial at a time of deep recession in the area.

Wonthaggi is a more robust town now, admittedly without much of a manufacturing base, but with a strong health, education and government service sector and expanding cattle processing capacity following the purchase of the Lance Creek abattoir by Kilcoy Global Foods.

But the closure of Cyclone Tools, and in recent times, the closure of a promising new business venture into medicinal marijuana by MediPharm Labs Australia, just across the road at 2 Cyclone Street, come as a disappointment.

The Bass Coast Shire Council was advised of the decision by the firm’s parent company, AMES Australia, headquartered in Doncaster in Melbourne, in turn owned by the US-based Griffon Corporation, a diversified management and investment company, which also makes “Cyclone” tools in China.

If you visit Bunnings today, for example, you’ll see the Australian-made green-painted shovels and other garden and work tools sporting the Cyclone label, likely made in Wonthaggi, standing alongside the hammer-grey Cyclone product made in China.

Predicably, the China product, is priced $5 or more below the price of the same style product made by the same company in Australia.

Sales pressure, under the present depressed circumstances, may be a factor in the parent company’s decision to close its operations in Australia, but landing the same product from China, and undercutting their own Australian-made product on the shelf must also be playing a part.

If you want to have a keepsake from 75 years of Cyclone Tools in Wonthaggi in your garden shed or in your tradies’ tool kit, get down to your favourite hardware store in the next few weeks and grab yourself a piece of Wonthaggi history the like of which we’ll not see again.

The Cyclone story

The Cyclone journey started in the late 19th century led by the visionary minds of Leonard Chambers and William Thompson. From humble beginnings as a beekeeping supply business in Melbourne, their path led to the establishment of Cyclone Fence & Gate Company in 1898.

The 1920s witnessed Cyclone's innovation growing across Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, and Perth, with the introduction of wire fencing and gates. Cyclone was renowned for durability and inventive designs of the times, and this marked the beginning of its relentless commitment to delivering the perfect tool for every gardening job at hand.

For over a century, the product range continuously expanded to service all home gardeners and trade professionals across Australia - shovels, axes, and trowels, to name a few.

It has been reported that Cyclone started building its factory in Wonthaggi in 1949 and opened in 1950, although these dates need to be confirmed.