About Us
Macfarlane - Power since 1949
Macfarlane is the big name in the Generator game.
Today Macfarlane Generators is one of Australia's most respected companies, but back in 1949's post war building boom, its origins were certainly hardworking and humble.
Founder Malcolm Macfarlane returned from WWII and, in partnership with fellow electrician Ian Alladice, began working from home on light commercial and domestic installations ... a growth industry at a time when peace brought a younger Australia prosperity.
M.A. Macfarlane & Co. (as it was then) operated successfully in a small way over the next 20 odd years, moving into specialty areas like power tool repairs, electric motor rewinds and maintenance, until the sudden death of its founder in 1967.
Enter Gerald Kay, a one-time Macfarlane apprentice (in 1957) who had left the company to gain more experience in the industrial field and, by the late '60s, was successfully operating his own electrical contracting business, G. G. Kay & Co. Pty Ltd.
Kay had always maintained close links with his first employers - indeed, he had a member of the Macfarlane family in staff - and the two companies were involved in several joint-venture projects at the time.
Gerald Kay acquired M.A. Macfarlane & Co. in mid-1969 and merged the two companies' activities on the one site in Clayton - today, in vastly expanded form, it serves as Macfarlane Generators' national headquarters.
Initially Macfarlane continued its sales and repair activities and G.G. Kay & Co. Pty Ltd its installation work, but in the early '70s the two companies expanded into the Generator field.
Macfarlane became involved with the construction of Australia's first sound-reduced Generators for TV and film work, and soon after moved into this new area of activity with designs and developments of its own.
Grasping the business opportunity with both hands, Kay moved the company into the sales and servicing of Generators, and this quickly became the core of Macfarlane's business.
That was certainly reflected in a name change to 'Macfarlane Generators' when the two companies were finally merged in mid-'81.
Since then, Macfarlane Generators have grown steadily to become synonymous with power generation both in Australia and overseas. A significant proportion of its customers are today drawn from neighbouring Asian countries.
Macfarlane Generators offers customers an extensive range of new, used and refurbished Generator sets, as well as a comprehensive parts back-up to suit all the major brands, and expert repair and servicing support.
Fifty years young, Macfarlane Generators is proudly 100 percent Australian-owned.