Wimmera air movement manufacturer Smallaire is celebrating 50 years in business this year.

Gary and Carolyn Small started the business in Rainbow in 1974, manufacturing water tanks.

It was a time when air-conditioners were beginning to hit the market, prompting the innovative Mr Small to teach himself how to make them.

That innovation has carried through Smallaire’s half century of business.

Daughter Lolita Small, director at Smallaire, said it had all began with evaporative air conditioning – which was economical and perfect for the dry heat in the Wimmera-Mallee region’s summer.

“Dad saw there was an opening and not many manufacturers around were making them,” he said.

“They moved the business into Horsham in the 1980s and have slowly expanded from there.”

Miss Small said her father was now semi-retired, living in Perth, but was still involved in the research and development aspect of the business.

She said the company had grown to employ 24 staff and manufactured for agricultural, commercial and domestic industries.

“Our business is anything to do with air. We can make a fan to suit almost any application,” she said.

“We have made high pressure blowers for wineries and bunker suckers for grain aeration.

“Our latest innovation is a green bunker sucker, which uses wind generation instead of petrol or diesel, to suck the tarp to the grain.

“We are trying to become greener and it’s a bit of a breakthrough innovation.”

Miss Small said a ‘can-do attitude’, with the business eager to learn how to make any product a customer needed, had led to its expansion.

“The growth has happened through innovation, staying ahead of the market and making more and more products,” she said.

“A lot of products we make are made in China, but ours are of a better quality – we have even made fans to blow up hot air balloons.

“This diversity of what we make has allowed us to survive.”

Miss Small said expansion had resulted in the business moving location several times since relocating to Horsham.

“When we first moved to Horsham, we were on the corner of Golf Course Road and the highway, which was a smaller place when we only had a few staff,” she said.

“Then we went to King Drive, which we outgrew. That’s when we moved to our current premises on Golf Course Road.

“We built our building with a showroom so we can host tours and allow people to see our end products. We also bought the block next door for our dispatch.”

Miss Small said the business employed six metal fabrication apprentices, including two school-based apprentices, and recently purchased a welding robot to meet growing demand.

“Some of our staff have been here for 30 years, which is a feat in itself,” she said.

Miss Small said the company had received Wimmera Southern Mallee Development business awards and nominations in recent years for business of the year, excellence in agriculture and manufacturing innovation.

Smallaire was also a finalist for induction into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame twice, including in 2023.

“It’s nice to have recognition and support from the local community and those awards are a good chance to reflect on where the business has been and where it will be in the future,” she said.

Miss Small said several staff had become shareholders in Smallaire, including general manager Jock Baker, which resulted in the long-term success of the business.

 

Smallaire will celebrate its 50 years in business with a factory open day, and sausage sizzle, on Friday, July 19.

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