In the Orange district, local companies supplying the mining and engineering sectors are joining hands to create a bulk-buying option for workers' clothing and protective gear.
In a bid to create beneficial arrangements for about 20 local industrial and engineering firms, the Central West Regional Development Board has set up the Renweld group, which has begun asking major clothing firms to look at the group's needs.
Clothing was a big issue because of a rush of new contracts and additionally employed staff and some industrial companies have been finding it difficult to kit-out staff.
As a result, the costs run into many hundreds of dollars per employee, because companies need everything from office clothes to protection wear, which is a major expenditure.
Jeff Hort Engineering, which employs 160 people, has an annual clothing bill of about $80,000.
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