Backing small business in Gippsland

21/08/2023

The Victorian Government is supporting the expansion of a family-owned manufacturing business in Gippsland, creating new jobs and growth in the Latrobe Valley.

LV Shade & Shutters’ new manufacturing and retail site in Traralgon is now completion. Its location is three times larger than its previous site and will support a four-fold increase in production along with seven new jobs, thanks to an investment by the Victorian Government.

The expansion includes the construction of a new workshop, fit out with new machinery and technology, a retail and office space, and the external development of the premises including landscaping, fencing and signage.

Established in 2013, LV Shade & Shutters began as a small family business and has evolved into one of the State’s leading suppliers of residential and commercial shade structures, blinds, roller shutters, and awnings in Victoria. The business designs and manufactures its products in Traralgon, servicing the whole of Gippsland and Melbourne.

The project will allow the company to move its larger sail and steel works in-house instead of outsourcing the work to subcontractors. This will increase retail sales over the next 12 months and grow annual turnover.

Almost 40% of businesses in Gippsland are small businesses and manufacturing is a driving force of the region, employing 700 workers and contributing almost $1 billion to the economy each year.

The Victorian Government has made record investments in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland, with projects including the Morwell Hi-Tech Precinct, Traralgon’s Latrobe Creative Precinct and the Latrobe Valley GovHub.

Support for LV Shade & Shutters’ expansion is part of the Government’s $2 billion investment in projects and programs that have added more than 4,000 additional jobs to the Latrobe Valley’s workforce since 2014.

The project is part of the Victorian Government’s record investment of more than $41 billion across rural and regional Victoria since 2015.