$1.5 million in grants awarded to PPE manufacturers

Four companies have earned grants under the Australian Manufacturing Fund for PPE program.

The grants would help companies move into capability gaps exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, industry minister Karen Andrews said in a statement on Monday, and lead to export opportunities.

Kestrel Manufacturing received $495,000. It is a supplier to surgical mask business Med-Con, and would dedicate one of its meltblown lines to the filter materials which would assist Med-Con in its scaling up from two million to 160 million masks annually.

Clets Linen was awarded $213,000 to upgrade capacity for disposable isolation gown production.

Nobody Denim received $400,000 for as many as 20 new sewing machines for isolation gowns.

RRJ Engineering was awarded $392,000 to help make more plastic PPE components. CEO Royston Kent said the grant, “gives industry the confidence to invest in its people, facilities and to update technology.”

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