A NIS 25 million order for 63,000 pairs of army boots by the Ministry of Defense, for delivery during 2013, should save the shoe factory of Brill Shoe Industries Ltd. (TASE: BRIL), and prevent the loss of 120 jobs.
Ministry of Defense director general Uri Shani told Knesset Finance Committee chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) yesterday that the ministry would expand its orders for army boots from Brill next year, paying NIS 400 per pair. The ministry said that the order follows NIS 70 million in orders for 170,000 pairs of boots placed with the company over the past two years.
The crisis at Brill began earlier this year, when the Ministry of Defense decided to reduce its orders from the company in 2013, and buy army boots for the IDF from the US, using US military aid, due to uncertainty over the defense budget. The company's management said that, without orders, it would have to close the plant and fire its employees, many of whom are older workers in the periphery who have little chance of finding new jobs.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 26, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012