Bushmaster will be built at Bendigo

ADI Ltd is committed to project Bushranger and will build their Bushmaster vehicle on a new production line at their heavy engineering facility at Bendigo in Victoria.

"ADI is committed to ensuring the Bushranger project is a success and we have spent several million dollars in preparing the Bushmaster production line at Bendigo," Jean-Georges Malcor, ADI's managing Director told ADM recently.

Stop work meetings have been held by angry ADI staff at Bendigo amid claims the Bushmaster work was to be sold off, and the circulation among them of copies of a leaked fax detailing what was described by ADI management as an "unsolicited offer" for the business.

There has been speculation in Defence circles since the privatisation of ADI that the military vehicle business did not fit with the core business of ADI's part owner Thales, and that the business would be sold off when an opportunity presented itself.

According to Jean-Georges Malcor, "Currently it appears that neither ADI, Tenix nor GMDA has a vehicles business in country that is the optimum size... Some consolidation appears essential."

An ADI spokesman told ADM that the company has been and will continue to be part of discussions in regard to industry rationalisation in that sector.

However, the construction of the Bushmaster appears certain to be carried out at Bendigo. "The long-term objective of industry consolidation should never distract a company from the short-term imperative," Malcor said.

By Daniel Cotterill, Canberra