• BOTANY: Knitting factory.
    BOTANY: Knitting factory.
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One of the longest serving suppliers to the Australian fashion industry is closing its doors.

Standardknit Fabrics and Universal Dyers today announced it will be closing its dyeing and finishing facility in Botany, effective from August 31, 2013.

The company said the move is in response to a "sustained deterioration" over recent years for locally produced garments.

The deterioration was attributed to the strong Australian dollar and competition from low-cost garment imports.

The Botany knitting mill and dyehouse employs 80 people.

While production will cease from next month, the company will continue to trade through existing stock.

This trading period is expected to last several months.

The Standard Universal Group is a wholly owned family company established in 1954.

It has built a strong industry reputation in knitting, dyeing and finished fabrics at the Botany plant in Sydney.

The company was originally established by Mr Leon Lehrer as a manufacturer of garments and flat knitted fabrics.

Over the next 28 years, the company shifted from making garments to specialising in the manufacture of circular knitted fabrics.

A fully integrated knitting, dyeing and finishing company was established with the acquisition of Universal Dyers in 1980.

In the following years there would be several more company acquisitions including Australian Dyers and Bleachers as well as Very Fine Fabric Knitters.

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