After almost three decades being a part of the business, Mr Wilkinson is retiring as Akubra's Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

While he says he won't miss the late lock-ups and waking up in the middle of the night with work on the mind, he will miss the people.

Mr Wilkinson has become very close with many members of the Keir family, who owned Akubra since 1918 and only recently sold to the Tattarang.

"It is very much a family. [The Keirs] have got every employees back here, they always have, and I've seen that first hand."

It is clear to anyone who speaks to Mr Wilkinson that he is not only proud to be a part of the family, he is proud to be a part of the brand.

He has a world of knowledge about the business and its history and is proud to have grown with the Australian hat manufacturer over the decades.

"We have survived because of the quality of our product and that goes down to the Keir family. Stevo, my boss and his father, they were hat makers. The knew every part of the process."

Quality is the reason Mr Wilkinson believes Akubra has survived 148 years to date, and is recognised around the world.

"We make a quality hat...if you look after it, it will last you 30 years...we often say it's the best value hat for money in terms of what you pay and the life you'll get out of it."

Upon finishing university in Sydney at 22-years-old, Mr Wilkinson began working for a small charter accounting firm who has Akubra as a client.

In his first year, he was brought to Kempsey to meet Mr Keir, who insisted Mr Wilkinson call him 'Steve'.

"That always sits in my mind. This is a guy who owns an iconic brand, and he's just a down to earth gentleman."

Mr Wilkinson says he's 'absorbed a lot' about the company since that time, mainly through conversation with the generations of Keirs.

The decision to leave the business comes down to simply needing a break.

Mr Wilkinson has 35 weeks of unused leave piled up.

"What this means is, I really have not taken a lot of leave along the way," he said.

"I'm a bit tired."

Mr Wilkinson says he has been running on adrenaline for the last six months and now it's time to wind down.

"You're on automatic pilot most of the time. You kind of live and breathe [the job] 24-hours a day."

While he hasn't had much of a chance to think about what's next, he has started to look back.

A standout of Mr Wilkinson's 27-year-career is winning back 100 per cent of the contract with Australian Defence to manufacture the slouch hat.

Akubra had been making the slouch hat before the time of WWI, but when Mr Wilkinson first started at Akubra, they weren't supplying Defence.

He played a big part in changing that.

Becoming the sole supplier to defence happened over a period of five years.

"That was a big win for us," he said. "It's something we're really proud of.

"That was quite emotional for the [Keir] family, because it was such a big part of their history.

"To think we were supplying [the slouch hat] in 1914 and now we're in 2024...I can take you downstairs [to the factory] and you'll see racks of them being made at the moment."

The contract is worth up to 30,000 hats per year.

"It's 15 per cent of our production," said Mr Wilkinson.

"There are so many highlights along the way, but that one sticks out a little bit."

While the recent sale of the Akubra to Tattarang was a difficult decision for the Keir family, Mr Wilkinson says they are 'quietly comfortable' the company will be looked after for future generations.

Mr Wilkinson says Akubra has been approached by interested buyers for the past two decades, but these enquiries were never entertained.

But then they sold, under two main conditions.

"One would be that our hats remained Australian made, that there was going to be no off shore considerations, and that the plant was going to remain in Kempsey, and we got those assurances," said Mr Wilkinson.

"We're confident the Tattarang family are passionate about Australian manufacturing and are keen to invest in Akubra to see it go to greater heights."

Mr Wilkinson says he has no regrets working with Akubra and has found his career very rewarding.