Councillors and staff recently visited the new lamb breaking room at Frewstal and left with a positive feeling.

The new, value adding department began operation in June and has provided extra room to move for employees, creating a more comfortable and productive working environment.

Mayor, Cr Bryan Small was most impressed by the new addition and said it was a great example of value adding in the agribusiness sector and a real asset for Stawell.

``The expansion at Frews will assist in creating a sustainable business base, improve our local economy and create opportunities for existing and potential residents,'' Cr Small said.

Manager for Business and Tourism Services Angelique Lush advised that while there had been a 4% fall in traditional manufacturing jobs between 2001 and 2006, there had been a 14% increase in gross revenue, a 17% increase in wages and salaries and a 67% increase in value of regional exports for this sector of the Northern Grampians economy.

``This means our manufacturers have been working towards sustainability by employing more efficient production systems,'' Ms Lush said.

``These figures have been accessed from `Remplan', an economic modelling tool which combines data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Census. Tracking trends and issues for manufacturing since 2006 has enabled shire staff to ensure proactive support and assistance is provided to existing and new businesses in this important sector.''

The expansion at Frews confirms forecasts by economist Dr Kim Houghton in council's `Investment Plan' that sustainable opportunities would exist for specialised manufacturers with local advantages being able to scale up.

``Many of the shire's manufacturers have succeeded recently in finding growth opportunities,'' Ms Lush said.

``This is particularly true in mining and agriculture sectors and these sectors are among Northern Grampians strengths. Stawell Gold Mine, Rex Minerals, Rainbow Valley Turkeys, and CKS Engineering have recently grown production. Action Steel is soon to relocate to larger new premises providing growth room for their neighbour, tank manufacturer All Poly.

``Carey Covers has also outgrown its old site and is looking to expand.

``The shire welcomes these developments and notes that Frews has long been one of the biggest of our quiet achievers.''