Holden Special Vehicles, one of Australia’s most iconic brands, has been building cars for over 20 years. During that period, the company has faced many challenges, but probably none more critical than the current economic downturn.

“It’s no secret, the last twelve months have been extremely tough, especially if you’re in the automotive industry,” said Mr Phil Harding, CEO, Holden Special Vehicles. “One of the factors that has assisted in us help weather the storm is our long term relationship with SKILLED.”

The troubles for automotive manufacturers around the world have been well documented. General Motors has filed for bankruptcy in the United States with the estimated loss of more than 21,000 employees and closer to home, the closure of the Mitsubishi manufacturing plant in South Australia has made headlines. So it’s refreshing to hear some good news coming out of the industry after an extended period of turmoil.

“I can’t say that we’ve been lucky as that would suggest that we didn’t put in place strategies that would help us ride out the economic downturn, but I will say that among the things that have helped us cope with the economic downturn includes having a flexible workforce, which is where our relationship with SKILLED is so important,” explained Mr Harding.

The relationship between SKILLED, Australia’s largest workforce services company, extends back for many years, but it’s true value has been highlighted more recently.

“When we first decided to look into supplementing our labour force, we made the conscious decision to try and develop a relationship with a strategic partner rather than just using different labour hire companies on an ad-hoc basis,” said Mr Harding. “Right from the start, we were impressed with SKILLED’s professional approach, attention to detail and their commitment to taking the time to understand our business.

At its peak, HSV were turning out more that 400 cars per month and the ratio of SKILLED employees to HSV staffers on the production line was almost two to one. As the world spiralled quickly into economic turmoil, HSV’s close working relationship with SKILLED allowed them to quickly change production levels to meet fluctuations in demand without having to lay off a single staff member on the production line.

“Our working relationship with SKILLED was one way we were able to keep a close eye on overhead costs in a difficult trading climate. Harding commented.

“On the brighter side, we’ve just had our best month of sales this year with over 300 cars sold through our dealer network. Let’s hope the positive signs for the local economy point to the worst of the downturn being behind us,” he added.