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More than a century ago, in 1902, Major Ernest (Billy) Barlow formed Thos. Barlow & Sons in Durban. In 1927 Charles Sydney “Punch” Barlow, an engineering graduate of 22, approached Caterpillar and negotiated the appointment of Thos. Barlow & Sons (SA) Ltd as the Caterpillar distributor for Natal and Transvaal.
Two years later Thos. Barlow & Sons (SA) Ltd acquired the Hyster forklift dealership.
The Caterpillar dealership grew and in 1960 work started on the Isando facility that is today the Centre of Excellence from which all Barloworld Equipment’s southern African activities radiate. By 1973 the Tractor Division of Barlow Rand Ltd, so named after its acquisition of Rand Mines, comprised 30 companies occupying 64 hectares of land and staffed by more than 2000 people.
A site was purchased in Middelburg in 1981 to provide on-the-spot service to the burgeoning coal fields.
Barloworld Equipment’s footprint increased in 1993 when the Caterpillar dealerships in Spain and Portugal were included in its operations. In 1994 the company was appointed as the Caterpillar dealer in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Angola, and in 1998 south-west Siberia was incorporated in the company’s dealership territories.
2000 marked the rebranding of Barlow Limited to Barloworld Ltd and Barlows Equipment Co in turn became Barloworld Equipment. Two years later Barloworld Equipment celebrated its 75th year of partnership with Caterpillar and took the relationship a step further with the introduction of the globally successful Cat Rental Store concept to South Africa.
Also central to its integrated solutions strategy was the subsequent formation of The Used Equipment Company, a joint venture company between Barloworld Equipment and BLC Plant Company to market used Caterpillar equipment.
2002 marked a strong re-entry into the agricultural market with the incorporation of Barloworld’s agricultural capital equipment business into Barloworld Equipment. This move brought Massey Ferguson tractors and CLAAS harvesters and balers, among others, into the company’s brand lineup.
In 2004 it was time for three more anniversaries, 75 years as a Hyster dealer, 40 years in Botswana and 10 years in Zambia, Angola, Malawi and Mozambique.
The Siberian business was also significantly expanded through a jv agreement with US-based Wagner International LLC.
Today Barloworld Equipment (Southern Africa) has some 3500 people providing customer support across southern Africa via six main branches and 40 depots in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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