Repco
Repco traces its history back to 1922, when Geoff Russell, a 30-year old returned soldier started the Automotive Grinding Company in a tin shed in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. Russell s business was based on reconditioning engines. His first equipment, obtained by hire purchase, included a Heald cylinder grinder, a lathe, a vertical drilling machine and a power hacksaw.In 1924, Russell moved his business to Queensberry Street Carlton, the centre of Melbourne's motor trade. Like many other automotive businesses, Russell was finding it increasingly difficult to obtain sufficient components to keep his business running, so, in 1926, he teamed up with a friend, Bill Ryan, who was then working for a spare parts company and had a wide network in the industry. The two set up a new business, Replacement Parts Pty Ltd and together they thrived. The company distributed automotive spare parts, accessories and general equipment, stocking its own products and those of other firms.
Profitable trading enabled the Russell Manufacturing Co. Pty Ltd to be set up (1927) in North Melbourne. By 1930 this piston-making factory had moved to Burnley Street, Richmond. The trade name Repco was registered that year. Russell embarked on his ventures at a time of small-scale manufacturing in Australia, when proprietors often ate a sandwich lunch with their workers on the footpath; business lunches might consist of a meat pie, an apple slice and a cup of tea in a nearby cafe. Respected by his employees, Russell was one of the 'hard but fair' employers much valued in the period. He had a talent for welding a team from varied but complementary individuals. Several of his apprentices and trainees became Repco executives.
During the 1930s, a network of spare parts stores with their own engineering workshops was set up in regional Victoria. More motorists chose to recondition and repair their vehicles rather than buy new ones. The Federal government increased protective tariffs on Australian manufactures. Both these developments enabled the business to survive a severe reduction in liquidity caused by customers who were slow or failed to make payments. The intense, quiet and studious Geoff Russell and the gregarious, dashing Bill Ryan with his entrepreneurial flair proved to be a winning combination in business.
By the mid-1930s the four companies employed over five hundred people and manufactured 60 per cent of the goods they sold. Russell bought out Ryan in 1936. In 1937 Repco Ltd. became a public company, and made corporate history by elevating Maud Terdich to the position of company secretary - the first ever female secretary of an Australian public company. At the time of the float, the Repco businesses employed some 500 people and they manufactured nearly two thirds of all the products they sold. In addition to selling products throughout Australia, the businesses had started to export, a pioneering move for any Australian manufacturer of that era.
During World War II he worked fervently to supply the armed services' needs for engine parts and repairs. In addition to running Repco, he managed a plant for the Department of Aircraft Production. In spare moments he worked on aircraft cylinder heads at his home. His elder son Tom was killed in action in 1943 while serving with the Royal Australian Air Force. Towards the end of the war, the quest for a local industry based on an all-Australian car had begun in earnest. In 1944, General Motors - Holden proposed to build a medium sized, affordable car from 1947 that would be Australian designed and have 90% of its components manufactured in Australia. With its large range of engine components, Repco was ready, for the first time to supply original equipment rather than replacement parts, thanks to the GMH plan. The acquisition of PBR gave Repco the opportunity to provide GMH with brake components including cups, pistons and cables as well as engine components. The first Holden rolled off the production line on the 29 November 1948. Despite the death of its founding father, Geoff Russell in 1946, Repco was about to embark on its greatest period of growth.
Repco steadily increased its business after World War II. From 1947 when PBR Brakes was sold to Repco, until the 1980s, Repco and PBR were to create new standards in Australian manufacturing, design and development. The new products they created were eventually taken to automotive markets throughout the world. They provided the funds and expertise which allowed Repco to build numerous new factories and expand its range of services. In 1959, the company acquired a string of parts distributors in NSW and Queensland and opened outlets in South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Repco Forge in suburban Clayton was originally set up by Repco as a joint venture with Kirkstall Forge, Leeds, UK in 1952. Two years later, Repco acquired Hardy Spicer (Australia), which had commenced operations in 1950 producing universal joint kits and yokes for agricultural applications at a plant in Burwood. repco continued to produce a similar product range under a licensing agreement, and in 1963 this range was expanded to include Commercial Vehicle driveshafts for original equipment and aftermarket purposes. In 1963, Repco acquired the Kirkstall interest and changed the name to Repco Engineering and Forge Co. Hardy Spicer (Australia) then moved to the Clayton site, and assumed responsibility for all machining operations and the name reverted to Repco Forge Co. Whilst activities in this area related primarily to production of automotive forgings for supply to vehicle manufacturers and 'in house' use, forgings were also products for Agricultural, Earthmoving and other Industries.
The 1960s are often seen as a halcyon period for the Australian economy. As the next decade turned, Repco had 14 factories. By the end of that decade, the number of factories had increased to 38 and had opened its first stores in Western Australia. Despite a brief recession in 1961, the nation enjoyed full employment for most of the decade. The spread of the suburbs that had started in the 1950s continued on a wave of optimism and affluence. The nation s industrial engine was growing to accommodate the seemingly unstoppable tide of consumer confidence and a minerals boom in the mid-1960s brought new wealth from exports. In 1960, Ford commenced manufacturing the Falcon and by 1962, GMH had produced one million Holdens.
It was in this era that Repco s far-sighted recruitment and training programs proved to be an invaluable investment. A cadet engineers program ensured that the company was well stocked with bright young engineers, many of whom rose through the ranks to take on senior management roles while others were responsible for the exceptional product and process advances that kept Repco and its subsidiaries at the forefront of manufacturing in Australia. Concurrently, Repco had one of the nation s best apprenticeship schemes that produced large quantities of well trained trade and technical staff. An apprentices centre in North Melbourne was regarded as a model and was visited by other organisations and governments keen to learn from the Repco experience.
Moving into high-performance engine construction, the company gained fame for developing the engines which powered the Brabham Formula One cars in which Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme won the 1966 world Grand Prix championship, the 1966 and 1967 World Championship of Drivers titles respectively. Brabham-Repco were awarded the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers in the same two years.
Repco had been involved in Australian motor racing many years prior to the association with Brabham. Most famous had been development of the engine of the series of Maybach Specials in the 1950s to various wins including the 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix. The Brabham-Repco project was initially aimed at the Tasman Series, where Coventry-Climax's obsolete FPF 4-cylinder engine was dominant in the mid-1960s. The 2.5 litre version of the Repco V8 was never very successful in this series, initially producing no more power than the FPF. It did however record one Tasman Series round win with Jack Brabham driving his Repco powered Brabham BT23A to victory in the 1967 South Pacific Trophy at the Longford road circuit in Tasmania. Brabham-Repco's were also prepared and entered in the 1968 and 1969 Indianapolis 500. In 1969, Peter Revson finished fifth in such a car. He also won a USAC race in the same year.
Further versions of the V8 engine were produced, including a 4.3 litre variant for sports car racing and a turbo-charged version intended for United States Automobile Club races. Neither version met with any international success. The sports car engine (increased in size to 5.0 litres) was however dominant domestically, powering cars to several wins in the Australian Sports Car Championship and its predecessor the Australian Tourist Trophy, most notably powering the Matich sports cars built and raced by Frank Matich, and Elfin Sports Cars built and raced by Garrie Cooper. Repco also developed and built the Repco-Holden Formula 5000 engine for Formula 5000 racing.
During the 1970s, overseas ventures in Singapore and the USA proved disastrous. The target of corporate raiders, Repco eventually passed into the hands of Pacific Dunlop in 1988. Repco was briefly a publicly traded company being first listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2003, however following acquisition of all shares by CCMP Capital Asia, Repco has been delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange. From Monday 1 July 2013, Repco and the entire Exego group (consisting of Ashdown-Ingram, Mcleod Accessories and Motospecs were all acquired by GPC Asia Pacific.
Repco is today best known for spare parts and motor accessories and is the largest reseller and supplier in the automotive parts and accessories aftermarket in Australia and New Zealand. As at the end of 2013 Repco Australia has 295 Stores, and Repco New Zealand has 81 Repco Stores and an additional 10 Appco (Automotive Trade Only) Stores with 2,000 employees.
