CAQA Loom and Last
CAQA Loom and Last is an Australian design and manufacturing business that makes apparel, printed textiles and footwear for uniform programs, independent fashion labels and its own small retail range. The business takes a product from a client brief through design, patternmaking, sampling, grading, cutting and sewing to finished, labelled and dispatched stock. The footwear workshop produces short runs of welted and cemented shoes and boots and carries out repairs for retail customers and hospitality clients. Customers value local manufacturing because it shortens lead times, allows small minimum order quantities and keeps the supply chain visible from fibre to finished garment.
The business runs from two Melbourne sites and a showroom in Sydney. The Brunswick factory houses the design studio, pattern room, cutting room, sewing floor and dispatch, and works a single day shift from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm with an optional afternoon overtime crew during peak uniform season. The Preston site holds the footwear workshop, the screen print and dye studio and the trade waste treatment tank. Six departments report to the General Manager: Design Studio, Pattern Room, Production, Footwear Workshop, Quality and WHS, and Supply and Dispatch.
Quality is managed through a controlled document system, tech packs that lock every specification before bulk cutting, and inspection at cut, in-line and final stages. Safety is managed under the Victorian occupational health and safety framework with a needle control program, guarded cutting and pressing equipment, chemical handling controls for dyes, solvents and adhesives, and monthly toolbox talks. The business holds ethical sourcing records for every fabric, trim and leather supplier, keeps care and country of origin labelling to Australian requirements, and monitors its trade waste discharge under its council and water corporation agreement.