It's a city that's suffered major job losses in recent years.
But the prime minister was keen to show there is light at the end of the tunnel for Geelong when he visited on Tuesday.
Malcolm Turnbull toured Carbon Revolution - a Geelong business exporting carbon fibre rims that are half the weight of regular ones.
They're the most advanced wheels in the world and a great example of what's to come from the federal government's innovation and science agenda, he said.
"This is the world's best technology," the prime minister beamed as he lifted the wheel over his head.
"Innovation, exports, technology, advanced manufacturing, jobs and growth, that's what it's all about."
Inventor Ashley Denmead said saving weight from the wheels was more efficient than reducing weight from any other part of a vehicle.
The lighter wheels can shave 1.4 seconds off a 70-second lap with a professional driver.
For city driving, they can save between three and six per cent in fuel.
Within five years, the business has grown from four employees to 110 and growing, chief executive Jake Dingle said.
More than half of his staff are involved in manufacturing on the shop floor and a large proportion of those have come from traditional manufacturing jobs in Geelong.
These include aluminium producer Alcoa which shut down its Point Henry operations in 2014 and carmaker Ford which will close its Geelong plant in October.
"What they bring is a wealth of experience in manufacturing and our challenge is to transition that experience into advanced manufacturing," Mr Dingle said.
"The market is massive, 65 million cars produced every year around the world."
The business produces 20 wheels a day but the goal is to reach 200 a day.
It's also working on developing wheels for aircraft.
The prime minister used his visit to the marginal seat of Corangamite to pledge $65 million in new election promises - $5 million for a new hospice in Geelong and $60 million to fix mobile phone black spots in regional areas.
He also took a swipe at what the government claims is a $67 billion funding black hole in Labor's promises, waving a wad of papers he insisted backed up his argument.
"Billion-dollar Bill, making jokes about the spendometer - he thinks it's a joke, spending all of our taxes," Mr Turnbull told reporters.
"That's what Bill Shorten thinks is terribly amusing."
Corangamite is held by Liberal MP and former ABC journalist Sarah Henderson by a margin of 3.9 per cent and has traditionally been a conservative-held seat.
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