Gouge Linen and Garment Services is not your average commercial laundry.
The family business opened its doors in Shepparton in 1945 as a local dry cleaner. With evolution and expansion part of Gouge’s DNA, it transformed into a commercial laundry operation from 1989.
From there, Gouge went on to establish itself in 2002 with a facility in nearby Mooroopna, followed by distribution centres in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Melbourne.
Today, Gouge serves as an industrial laundering powerhouse for Victoria and southern New South Wales and remains a proud family owned and operated business.
With a focus on industries, including food processing, hospitality, manufacturing and healthcare, Gouge plays a key role in keeping local businesses looking the part.
In 2023, the company significantly upgraded equipment at its Mooroopna production site, backed by an investment from the Victorian Government’s Regional Jobs Fund.
Behind Gouge’s ongoing success is its workforce – now 500-strong. It employs 458 people at Mooroopna making it one of the largest employers in the Shepparton region located on the Goulburn River.
More than 30 new full-time jobs have been supported at the Mooroopna site thanks to the upgrades, including Gouge’s Senior Safety and Quality Advisor Tori Wilkins.
Tori is a Shepparton local who has been working at Gouge for almost 2 years, monitoring and managing all aspects of the company’s health and safety operations.
'It’s been an amazing thing to watch the company grow given the fact that they're a regional family business,' Tori said.
'I’ve always been a Shepparton local, and the Mooroopna site has been a really good opportunity for me to stay with family and friends, and be part of an organisation giving back to the community.'
The new equipment has brought with it a 100-tonne boost to Gouge’s weekly linen capacity.
The Mooroopna site now cleans more than 400 tonnes of linen and garments per week, meaning more jobs in the factory and more clean clothes, sheets and towels for Victorian businesses delivered by the company’s 60+ fleet consisting of semi-trailers, rigid trucks and vans.
To make the 100-tonne increase a reality, Gouge installed an additional continuous batch washer for quicker and easier garment cleaning along with a towel folding machine, new commercial dryers and an ironing line.
'The main benefits we’ve achieved with the upgrade include automating some of our processes through machines like the new towel folder,' Tori said.
'This has removed a lot of repetitive manual movements required. I’ve helped ensure that safety training has been implemented in the lead up to installing this new equipment, so that staff are confident using it.'
Gouge’s Mooroopna site is also moving towards a greener future, using solar energy and reusing and recycling of textiles and plastics.
For Tori, Gouge represents all the benefits of a family business in caring for its staff and the local community.
'We’re expanding and we’re growing which is made possible by putting in the hard yards, implementing that family culture to make sure our workforce feels cared for and having their best interests at heart,' Tori said.
Local employers like Gouge also play an important role in helping regional Victorians find secure work, while being renowned locally as a business that gives back to the community.
Last year, the company worked with community organisations in Mooroopna to deliver free laundry services for people experiencing hardship in the Greater Shepparton region.
By supporting further growth with regional Victorian businesses like Gouge, more workers like Tori and their communities can continue to thrive.
Thanks to our investment through the Regional Jobs Fund, Gouge will continue to play its part in strengthening regional Victoria’s economy as a local business delivering local jobs.
For more information, visit the Gouge Linen & Garment Services website.