General News
30 November, 2025
Shadow Minister visits local success stories
STAWELL’s Krause Bricks and Best’s Wines at Great Western received a high-level visit last week from Shadow Minister for Trade, Investment and Tourism Kevin Hogan. Mr Hogan was invited to the region by Mallee MP Anne Webster who wanted to showcase successful businesses in the region.
“I brought the Shadow Trade and Tourism Minister to Krause Bricks at Stawell and Best's Great Western to showcase a strong export and tourism example respectively from the south of the Mallee electorate,” Dr Webster said.
“Kevin and I were very impressed with the excellent operations and strong export activity of Krause Bricks, a Stawell success story,” she said.
Krause Bricks is a Stawell institution, celebrating eighty years in the local community.
The family-owned and operated business produces high grade handmade bricks used around the world.
Its founder, Jack Krause, started the company in 1945 and built it from the ground up, brick by brick, working 24/7 to establish a unique custom-made product in what is generally a mass-produced industry.
The clay used to make the bricks comes from the original local clay quarry, just two kilometres from Stawell.
The unique raw material product has received numerous international awards and secured a strong profile in the brick industry.
"Jack Krause was a hard worker; he saw the opportunity for a brickmaking business, and with some building knowledge and a brickmaking history, he established Krause Bricks," Site operations manager Rohan Hine said in an interview with the Stawell Times-News earlier this year
Dr Webster said both Krause Bricks and Best’s Wines were successful businesses run by people with vision and determination.
“Australian manufacturing is essential for our future success and as Shadow Minister for Regional Development I am always looking to show parliamentary colleagues how strong regional manufacturing can drive our economic future,” Dr Webster said.
Read More: Stawell