KML Industries celebrating 20 years of trading locally
Wednesday December 17, 2008
The KML staff recently at a staff social function. - Photo contributed
While many businesses in Cobar may have come and gone over the years, one local business, KML Industries, has stayed the distance and is about to celebrate 20 years of trading.
KML Industries is an engineering workshop providing machining, fitting, boilermaking and paint work jobs and services a diverse range of industries across the western area.
Michael Prince, the now sole owner of the company (and the M in KML) was one of the founding members of the business which began trading from the Hartman Street workshop in December 1989.
The K in the business name comes from the other founding owner, Kurt Haensch, while the L stands for Local.
Mr Prince, a boilermaker by trade, was working as a workshop foreman at Compair while Mr Haensch, a fitter, was also employed by Compair and living in Melbourne.
“I was sick of my job and Kurt was sick of living in Melbourne so we got together and decided to set up our own business,” Mr Prince said.
“This building came up for sale, the old indoor cricket centre, and we bought it - of course with a lot of help from my father.”
“We began working on Christmas Day 1989,” Mr Prince recalls.
“We did a jumbo rebuild for Elura that they needed in three days.
“We worked while everyone else was shut down. We got the job done and Elura gave us more work and they have supported us ever since.”
Mr Prince said they have seen their fair share of ups and downs in their 20 years of trading.
“We survived when CSA shut but we lost a lot of money. We’ve had two floods through the workshop, one in January this year and one in 1994.
“We also built and installed the big beer can at the Grand.”
The company has also been a generous sponsor and supporter of a range of Cobar’s sporting and charitable organisations.
When the business commenced it had a staff of three and the company now employs 28.
“We’ve had 219 employees in our 20 years, one of them, Barry Yates, was here for 19 ½ years and we have trained more than a dozen apprentices,” Mr Prince said.
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