History

The Association we know today as ACASPA, was established in the 1940's shortly after the Second World War (under the name of Canvas Manufactures Association) by a group of fabricators and the owners of two large weaving and finishing mills with the objective of promoting industry standards and ethics, lobbying Government and providing a forum for the exchange of ideas.

The following ten years saw the expansion of state based Canvas Manufacturers Associations. In 1950 the Association name changed to Canvas Goods Manufacturers Federation of Australia. Then finally in the 1970s the Association was re branded with the name of "Australian Canvas and Synthetic Products Association of Australia" - a name that reflected the emergence of non-woven synthetic material used in modern manufacturing.

The history of this Association is truly the story of manufacturing in Australia. Over the 60 years membership range from the small one man canvas & synthetic goods manufacturing operations to the largest manufacturing names in Australia like Nylex , Bradmill, Birkmyre, and Brella.

It was the diversity of the association that made it strong and offered large and small companies the opportunity to associate, learn and support.

ACASPA is still strong today because it members still see the need to have an Industry body that offers them support, information and the ability to share knowledge.