Australian Made Campaign Drives Exposure and Sales

Unfortunately, during the first few years of our campaign, our Australian made products received a mediocre response from the market, despite the team's vigorous attempts to lift uptake in our new Australian made range.

During the second half of the 20^th century, Australian manufacturers began scaling down domestic operations and imported their goods from international suppliers. We witnessed local tooling for cast and forged products discarded as Australian manufacturers increased their dependency on imported products.

The investment required to manufacture a single product can be upwards of $100,000, hence the reason why many wholesale buyers looked for an overseas solution.

Currently, Couplemate™ have more than 50 Australian made products all presented to the Australian market by our desire to re-introduce Australian Made products to our industry.

Then the Moment in Time Happened - COVID-19

By June 2020, COVID-19 was a serious part of our community in Australia. However, despite this concerning virus, momentum was building for Australian made products, and public demand to buy Australian caravans and camper trailers skyrocketed.

Our Australian Made campaign was now receiving significant traction. We witnessed sales on our Australian made range beginning to climb with the demand for locally supplied and manufactured goods increasing.

Concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s regional towns, the Couplemate™’s founders decided to travel throughout the regional and coastal communities of Queensland to see for themselves how COVID-19 was impacting our communities.

It was encouraging to witness hard-working Australian families providing essential services to travellers and seeing local communities bustling.

The internationally recognised green and gold Australian Made Campaign Limited logo was integrated into Couplemate™’s promotional material across all Australian-made products. The impact of its inclusion was immediate, and our customers recognised the significance of the logo.

“The famous Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) logo is the true mark of Aussie authenticity. It's Australia's most trusted, recognised and widely used country of origin symbol, and is underpinned by a third-party accreditation system, which ensures products that carry the Australian Made logo are certified as 'genuinely Australian'.”

– Australian Made 

The use of this iconic logo and the company’s involvement in the Australian Made campaign also provides an immense sense of pride and job satisfaction to all our employees – representing the support of Australian families, businesses and the positive impact creating local jobs has on our economy.

The opportunity to increase the workforce of others through our purchasing support flows through to our procurement policies. Preferred supplier status is granted to companies supporting the Australian Made campaign within our industry.

Looking to the Future

A question was put to the owner by senior management recently, “Will Australian buyers return to their normal purchasing habits once Covid-19 is finished and international travel resumes”?

Concern was apparent that demand for Australian made products and thus, the Australian Made Campaign may decline again.

History tells us everything has a habit of returning to its natural state, and competition demands prices will work their way down to the point of equilibrium.

However, we remain optimistic that local working relationships established over the past 18 months will survive the downward spiral of Australian manufacturers reverting to imported overseas products.

Our past investments will continue to produce quality, locally manufactured products. While further investment in technology, machinery and upskilling, our people will help provide an incentive for buyers to continue purchasing locally manufactured products.

The answer to management’s question could be considered ambiguous, or perhaps philosophical, contemplating the potential that we may see demand for Australian made products decrease at some future time. However, Couplemate™’s path, as best we can, will remain steadfast.

Continuing to diversify the range of Australian-made products we manufacture offers extended product development opportunities while also supporting local jobs and the Australian economy.

Ultimately, Couplemate™ intends to remain leading the manufacturing industry in the caravanning, boating and recreational trailer industry, finding new opportunities and bringing to market the brilliance of Australian innovation from our team of experts.

Finally, if you wish to check out our range of Australian products, they can be found on our online shop in the Australian Made category.

Thank you,
Steve Wotherspoon