Kyabram’s James Strong Packaging, which makes tins for infant milk powder manufacturers, has appointed 12 new full-time staff members in the past six months to help meet demand.
The factory also supplies companies such as Heinz and Simplot as well as infant milk powder firms.
The demand for baby formula is one of the reasons the company recently invested $8.5 million in the factory.
James Strong Packaging Kyabram manager Grant McConkey said the manufacturing plant hired six full-time staff last year and another six would start in coming weeks.
New full-time employee at the plant, Nathalia resident Kaokao Kautai, said he moved to the area with his family from Melbourne.
Another new permanent employee from Shepparton, Tony Douglas, said it was good to have job security after casual work or being unemployed.
“The stability it brings to the community is huge. It has a flow-on to other business because we spend our money locally,” he said.
It came as Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealed Shepparton’s unemployment rate had fallen to 3.5 per cent, down from 7.4 per cent at the same time last year.
Source: WeeklyTimes