New South Wales company Cowdroy has several firsts to their credit, creating history several times throughout their 128 years of business success.
Established in regional New South Wales in 1890 by the Cowdroy family, the business was initially known as an advertising agency – producing the first full-page illustrated advertisement for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper in 1901.
The invention of the world’s first sliding glass aluminium track changed the business direction of the company, soon fast-tracking to leadership within the Australian hardware industry. Cowdroy’s success story continued with the company filing a series of patents from the late 1940s through to the 1990s for other major inventions including a highly successful sashless sliding window and a sliding door track system featuring ball bearings on a top race section.
It was perfect timing for the company with mid-century modern buildings making greater use of metal cantilever construction, which removed stress from the building’s walls and allowed large sheets of glass to be used.
The Stairline Showcase was another innovation in aluminium and glass design for the shopfitting market. The success of the design encouraged Cowdroy to create a specialised division, manufacturing and supplying products specifically to service the shopfitting industry, which continues to this day.
Having outgrown two premises in Sydney City and Balgowlah, Cowdroy purchased a new warehouse space in Smithfield spanning 1.4 hectares to meet the needs of their business and technological expansion.
In 1998, Cowdroy became part of the Alchin Long Group, a proud Australian-owned company that specialises in the construction hardware industry.
The spirit of innovation continues to this day at Cowdroy as does their focus on independent design, research and development. To keep up with the changing consumer and market demands, especially in the DIY segment, the company recently implemented numerous system and product upgrades.
“Cowdroy has evolved with strategic rebranding and refining of products, to modernise the brand yet still paying homage to its heritage. From this, we have developed into a market leading and household name within the industry,” says Peter Doyle, Business Development Manager, Cowdroy.
“New products, categories and segments are continuously in the planning phase to maximise future opportunities, building on our current reputation.”
