Rossi Boots is an Australian work boot company. Rossi employs 90 staff in the Adelaide suburb of Hilton

Hilton, South Australia

Hilton is an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of West Torrens, for which it is the council seat.-History:The land now covering the suburb of Hilton was received by Matthew Davenport Hill in 1839...

, making it Australia's second largest work boots company. All Rossi boots are made in Australia in their Hilton factory.

The company was started in 1910 when Arthur Edward Rossiter began making boots in a shed in Adelaide. The World Wars were good times for business, but it was a struggle during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. Today the company uses computerized machines for cutting, sewing and attaching soles. Replacing workers with technology is the company's way of avoiding the transfer of its jobs to other countries. Rossi makes 250,000 pairs of shoes per year.

The CEO of Rossi, Dean Rossiter, is the grandson of Arthur Rossiter, and holds a PhD in physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

. He was a finalist for the 2010 Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....

Entrepreneur of the Year award.

External links

• Sly, D. Family business stays at home. The Adelaide Review