Cecil Ye tinkers with a printed circuit for Ecotech’s high-tech air and water monitoring equipment. Pictures: Stewart Chambers. 19640
By Shaun Inguanzo
Ecotech has been green long before the colour became a buzz word.
The Knox-based company has manufactured and sold air emission monitoring equipment for 31 years and was founded by Robert Dal Sasso, who identified a future market for such products.
The business is now in the hands of Robert’s son Nicholas Dal Sasso, who said Ecotech was competing against multibillion-dollar United States companies from its base in Melbourne’s east.
That, he said, made the company’s induction into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame even sweeter.
“Given the strength of the Australian dollar, and that we are still competing and winning, is one of the biggest pluses about the induction,” Mr Dal Sasso said.
“We have exported to every continent in the world including Antarctica, where we’ve got some equipment.
“I believe we now export to 80 countries around the world.”
The products analyse the polluntants in air samples.
But despite the exciting and often technical and challenging work on offer, Mr Dal Sasso said Ecotech found it difficult to attract employees.
One of those reasons, he said, was the amount of domestic and overseas travel involved, which despite being ‘infrequent’ was enough to stop people from applying for electronic and technician jobs.
“As you move up the ladder here, travel becomes a more important part of the job, and finding people who are not just willing, but keen to travel, is a challenge,” he said.
Mr Dal Sasso said anyone interested in joining the Ecotech team should contact the company’s employment officer via email at employment@ecotech.com.au.
