A.G. Coombs Company History
A Tradition of Excellence
A.G. Coombs — The beginning…
The 40's
- Mr. Allan George Coombs founded A.G. Coombs in 1945 beginning as a "one man plumbing business" working out of the rear of a house in Bentleigh, Victoria.
The 50's
- A new base was established for A.G. Coombs in 1953 with the purchase of land at 26-28 Cochranes Road, Moorabbin.
- A sheet metal manufacturing operation was established and A.G. Coombs developed to become hot water, heating and ventilating engineers.
- Significant Projects undertaken in the 1950's :
- Olympic Village Complex - Heidelberg
- Royal Children's Hospital Nurses Home & Hospital Complex. (The Largest Mechanical Services Project undertaken in Australia)
Manual handling in the 60's
The 60's
- Recognising the changing needs within the Industry the 1960's saw A.G. Coombs introduce a Service Division into the market place making A.G. Coombs the first Contracting Company to run its own Servicing Operation.
- This period also saw A.G. Coombs involvement in establishing the Industry Standard for Sheet Metal Manufacture (SMACNA).
- Realising the need for solidarity within the Industry, Allan Coombs became a founding member and first President of the Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association (AMCA).
The 70's
- A.G. Coombs was recognised as an integral part of the building boom during the 70's.
- The Collins Place project was the most significant undertaking for the decade and this underpinned the development of the Company into an industry leader.
The 80's
120 Collins St and Melbourne Central
- Designing, manufacturing and installing the mechanical services in many of Melbourne's prominent buildings, A.G. Coombs also expanded into manufacturing products for the Industry.
- In 1986, the next generation of Coombs 'arrived' as Philip Coombs was appointed Managing Director.
- The end of the eighties saw an unprecedented building boom in Melbourne. Significant projects for A.G. Coombs as part of that time included:
- 120 Collins St
- Melbourne Central
- The Como Project
The 90's
John Gorton Building, Canberra
- The Nineties presented A.G. Coombs with the opportunity to diversify and accept greater challenges.
- A.G.C. Metal Products was formed, now trading as independent Company, Celmec International.
- Thomas Walker & Sons was acquired, adding Fire Protection to the Mechanical Services Package.
- A.G. Coombs expanded its operation undertaking projects both Nationally and Internationally.
- In 1996 A.G. Coombs streamlined their manufacturing operation by developing strategic alliances, resulting in Ductmakers Pty Ltd.
- 1997 saw A.G. Coombs restructure their Contracting and Service Divisions resulting in the two entities standing alone in individual premises.
- Significant Projects undertaken in the 90's -
- Casino Joint Venture Project
- Refurbishment of 140 William Street
- Treasury Place
- Refurbishment of 385 Bourke St
- John Gorton Building Canberra
The New Century
National Gallery of Victoria
Melbourne GPO
- The new Century has brought expanding opportunities for the virtually integrated A.G. Coombs Group. Notable projects already completed include:
- Infrastructure upgrade to the ANZ Data Centre
- National Australia Bank Headquarters development at Docklands
- Redevelopment of Melbourne Central Retail Complex
- Redevelopment of the National Gallery of Victoria
- New Herald and Weekly Times Building
- Redevelopment of the Melbourne GPO
- A.G. Coombs Service are raising industry standards for quality service and maintenance delivering sophisticated support to an increasing number of high quality facilities and property portfolios and has become "the place to work" for quality service personnel.
- The Walker name is enjoying a resurgence with Walker Fire now making its mark strongly, particularly in the areas of essential services maintenance and specialist fire protection for high risk facilities like data centres.
- The increasing market requirement for sophisticated operationally focused technical facilities management, particularly in complex and critical sites, has seen the formation of Integrated Technical Management as member of the A.G. Coombs group of companies.