B&D Australia

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B&D Australia
TypePrivate
IndustryGarage door
Founded1946
FounderMurray Allen
Headquarters
Revesby
,
Australia
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsShutters and Doors
SubsidiariesPaul Davidson & Arthur Byrne
Founders Murray Allen
Executive General Manager
Websitewww.bnd.com.au

B&D Australia Pty Ltd. is an Australian company founded in 1946 that manufactures metal doors, sash, trim products, and shutters for residential and industrial garage doors and shutters.

Historical background[]

B&D was founded in 1946 as a steel fabricating business by Arthur Byrne and Paul Davidson with and £140 in Botany, Sydney. In 1956 inventor Ben Saul had an idea for roller door but after he failed to make it he signed away his rights to the idea. After several years Byrne and Davidson decided to give it another go and worked with boilermaker Gordon Lambert to make the first Roll-A-Door which debuted at Daily Mirror Sydney Home Show in 1956. The door was made of compressed metal sheets fastened together and was the first all-steel door that could be rolled and unrolled without cracking. B&D introduced the slogan, "Even a child can open it" for a safe, secure garage door that would not slam shut and was easy to open.[1][2]

In 1957 B&D founder Paul Davidson left the company and Ray Willoughby was appointed.[3]

In the 1960s B&D went national, opening a factory in Melbourne and exporting the Roll-A-Door to New Zealand, and by 1963 the company was in the United States and Europe.[2]

In 1985 Arthur Byrne and Ray Willoughby sold B&D to Clyde Industries and the company was renamed B&D Doors.[4]

In 2000 B&D Doors sold the five millionth garage door worldwide, a figure that included more than 2.5 million Roll-A-Doors in Australia alone.[5][6]

In 2001 B&D was acquired by Queensland-based CSI Doors and Catalyst Investment Managers Proprietary Limited and, in 2003, acquired Automatic Technology Australia (ATA) to become Australia ’s largest door opener manufacturer. In 2004 it was bought by Australian company Alesco.[7] In 2005 bought out its largest competitor in the New Zealand market, Dominator New Zealand, to become the largest door and opener manufacturer across Australasia.[8] B&D was acquired by Dulux in 2012.[9]

Public Recognition

Philanthropy[]

The Cure Cancer Foundation of Australia (Cure Cancer Australia) was founded by B&D founder Arthur Byrne in 1979.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Developer of a ubiquitous symbol of Australian suburbia". Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-10-11. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  2. ^ a b De Lacey, Lynda (2007). Australia's greatest inventions. Wollombi, NSW: Exisle Pub. ISBN 978-1-877568-29-9. OCLC 697634276.
  3. ^ a b "National Museum of Australia". National Museum of Australia | Collection Explorer. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
  4. ^ "Clyde on a roll with garage door plans". Australian Financial Review. 1995-01-12. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  5. ^ "B&D Australia, B&D Garage Doors & Openers History". www.bnd.com.au. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  6. ^ "Steel Commercial Roll-up Sheet Doors".
  7. ^ "B&D Doors still open to an Alesco bid". Australian Financial Review. 2004-04-11. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  8. ^ api_import (2018-04-18). "Commission grants clearance to B&D Doors to acquire Dominator International". comcom.govt.nz. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  9. ^ "Dulux makes $188m offer for Alesco". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  10. ^ "Stamp Master Album News". www.stampmasteralbum.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  11. ^ Wilkinson, Zoe (2020-11-10). "B&D garage doors 'safer than a lion' states new Thinkerbell creative". Mumbrella. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
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