Local businesses showcased in Nyaal Banyul’s construction

LOCAL businesses are leaving their mark on all parts of the coming Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Events Centre, including the floor.

The $449 million development on the Geelong waterfront will feature more than 5,000sqm of Godfrey Hirst’s locally designed and manufactured carpet.

For Godfrey Hirst, the project has supported commercialisation of an innovative flooring technology. The Geelong-based company’s new Enviro Grip technology makes the venue’s 1,000 seat Wala Mirr Theatre carpet removable without the use of adhesives.

The Enviro Grip carpet was co-designed with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, and is just one of the features at Nyaal Banyul that celebrate Wadawurrung Culture.

“We’re a large producer [of carpet], actually in Geelong we produce probably 15km to 20km of carpet a day,” Godfrey Hirst national sales manager Joel Williamson said.

“So [the carpet for this building] is not a huge part of what we do, but it’s a very important part.

“And projects like this are just amazing for the local community – we basically employ hundreds of people here in Geelong, so they love when they can come and use facilities and see the carpet on the floor.”

Other locally produced elements in Wala Mirr Theatre include concrete batched at Moolap by Barro Group, steel in the roof structure fabricated at Hanlon Industry’s Corio plant, as well as flashings from Rodgers Sheetmetal.

The walls have joinery and cladding manufactured by North Geelong-based Jacaranda Industries featuring locally milled fabric from LoomTex and Instyle.

Geelong MP Christine Couzens, representing Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Syme, visited Nyaal Banyul to inspect the Wala Mirr Theatre on Monday this week.

“It’s just spectacular, really, when you look around the room – the carpet, the seating, the timber work that’s been incorporated, the linings – all Geelong or Victorian manufacturers, which is really exciting for Geelong,” she said.

“With our big infrastructure projects, we want regional communities to have those opportunities to tender and to get those jobs, which is obviously great for employment, great for those businesses, but also great for Geelong overall.”

Expected to open in July 2026, Nyaal Banyul is the flagship project of the $676 million Geelong City Deal.