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It’s only by looking back that we can see how far we’ve come. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and see where Tradelink’s rich, almost 200-year history began. Our heart and soul have always been embedded in the plumbing and building industry, and we’re just as passionate about it today as we were back then. |
[about-us-img-1] | https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-13ufylmnbu/images/stencil/original/image-manager/history-section-1854-470x315px.jpg |
[about-us-header-1] | 1854 – In The Beginning. |
[about-us-desc-1] | John McIlwraith established McIlwraiths Plumbing Supplies Centres in Melbourne. He ran this company for many years with his brothers Andrew and Sir Thomas McIlwraith, who happened to become the Queensland Premier in 1897. |
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[about-us-header-2] | 1867 – GE Crane & Our First Copper Pipe! |
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Crane Copper Tube is established by George Ekins Crane, with the opening of GE Crane & Sons in Sydney, manufacturing copper pipe, amongst other things, for the building and plumbing industry. |
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[about-us-header-3] | 1909 – Introducing Watson & Crane. |
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Watson & Crane is established in Sydney by Arthur Crane, one of George Crane’s sons, and Joseph Watson, as a retail provider of GE Crane and other brassware building and plumbing products, to the public. |
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[about-us-header-4] | 1947 – The Inception Of Raymor. |
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The Raymor brand is officially established by Graham Withecombe, with a vision to bring high-quality and stylish tapware to Australian homes. His dedication to quality and design excellence ensured that Raymor products were not only functional, but also aesthetically pleasing, making them popular choices for homeowners, builders and designers alike. |
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[about-us-header-5] | 1979 – Our Very First Tradelink. |
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The first Tradelink branch opens in Enoggera, Queensland. Southport and Coopers Plains branches followed shortly after, with Tradelink quickly establishing a solid foothold in South East Queensland. |
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[about-us-header-6] | 1980 – 1994 – Expansion and Growth. |
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Through a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions between GE Crane, McIlwraiths, Watson & Crane, Burns Philip and Tradelink, Tradelink’s site numbers swell to make it one of the largest plumbing and building suppliers in the country. |
[about-us-img-7] | https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-13ufylmnbu/images/stencil/original/image-manager/history-section-raymor-470x315px.jpg |
[about-us-header-7] | 1995 - Raymor Joins The Family. |
[about-us-desc-7] | GE Crane purchases the Raymor brand, and merges it into the Tradelink business as Tradelink’s exclusive home brand of Bathroom, Kitchen & Laundry products. |
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[about-us-header-8] | 1997 - The Biggest And The Best! |
[about-us-desc-8] | GE Crane purchases Shearer Wright and merges it with Tradelink, making Tradelink Australia’s largest plumbing supplies business at the time. At this time, GE Crane rebrands themselves to Crane Distribution. |
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[about-us-header-9] | 2002 – 2007 – Over 150 Sites Nationally. |
[about-us-desc-9] | Crane Distribution acquires Warlay Plumbing Supplies, Boots Plumbing Supplies, Northern’s Pluimbing Supplies and H&L Builders Supplies, merging them all into Tradelink taking Tradelink’s total footprint to well over 150 sites nationally. |
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[about-us-header-10] | 2012 – Part Of The Fletcher Family. |
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Fletcher Building acquires Crane Distribution, and Tradelink officially becomes part of the Fletcher Building family. |
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[about-us-header-11] | 2024 - A new chapter with Metal Manufactures (MM). |
[about-us-desc-11] | Metal Manufactures acquires Tradelink. Tradelink embarks on a new chapter under the ownership of MM. |
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