Employees gathered at the skills centre to recognise colleagues who had given a combined 345 years of service to the Orange plant.

Electrolux Orange general manager Mark O’Kane pointed out eight of the employees started in 1975, the same year Sir John Kerr dismissed the Whitlam government, full-time colour television started, average annual incomes were just $8133 and the median house price was $34,000.

Mr O’Kane also said it was a tumultuous time for the whitegoods industry after a tariff reduction the previous year led to foreign goods flooding the Australian market.

“For Orange, it meant hundreds of Email workers lost their jobs, industrial unrest increased and the city as a whole suffered a severe economic downturn,” he said.

For 40-year employees David Harvey and Len Fardell, they will leave amid a similar industry overhaul in May next year when the factory closes.

They both started as junior process workers on the production line at the ages of 16 and 19 respectively and Mr Harvey later progressed to a production supervisor, while Mr Fardell became a door frame reworker.

“It was pretty daunting because of how big the factory was,” Mr Harvey said.

“It’s sad to see it close, for the people here and for Orange, but there’s always a challenge in life and an opportunity to experience something different,” Mr Fardell said. 

They said they valued the friendships they made and for Mr Harvey especially, the factory shaped his life - his parents, brother, sister and daughter have all worked there, he was foreman to the woman who would eventually become his wife.

“They used to call it Harvey World at one point,” he said with a laugh.

Neither of them have locked in their plans post-closure, although Mr Fardell said he looked forward to more time in the garden.

Mr O’Kane praised Mr Harvey for his record results in safety and quality and Mr Fardell for his ability to rework fridge doors and minimise scrap.

danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au