When Australia II was crossing the finish line in the America’s Cup in 1983 for a historic win, the roller doors at Powerdown were opening for the first time.
From those humble beginnings, this year Powerdown is celebrating its 40-year anniversary – a significant milestone along its successful ongoing journey.
Founded in 1983 at Cardiff, New South Wales as part of a heavy vehicle wheel alignment business, Newcastle Truck and Bus, Powerdown started as an importer of shock absorbers from North America and Europe. It quickly became apparent though that these shock absorbers worked well on concrete highways and autobahns, but they were not up to the rigours of Australian roads and hot climatic conditions. This requirement led Powerdown on the path to design and develop shock absorbers specifically suited to our roads, loads and local conditions.
Here are some of the key highlights from Powerdown’s illustrious 40-year journey:
In just three short years, Powerdown outgrew its humble location and in 1986, moved to a larger 1,000-square-metre premises.
In 1990, Powerdown’s engineering team designed and developed Supershock, which was the first commercial shock absorber designed in Australia, specifically for Australian roads and conditions.
Following on from the successes earnt in the Australian heavy vehicle market in 1995, Powerdown established its distribution network in New Zealand partnering with John Bates Automotive that would later become part of the BNT group.
After 17 years of continued growth in Australian and overseas markets in 2003, Powerdown custom-built its new office and warehouse facilities. This new position placed Powerdown’s head office and warehouse in a prime position at the end of the freeway leading from Sydney to Newcastle improving freight access and improved product delivery Australia wide. Once the facility was completed, one of the largest shock absorber dynamometers in Australia at the time was installed for research and development purposes.
In 2004, Powerdown’s work was recognised when it was awarded the State and National Telstra and Australian Government Small Business of the Year title.
Just 10 years after the new facility was constructed at Beresfield, in 2013 the warehouse space was doubled to accommodate the increasing demand for products. The extension also included a new manufacturing area that allows Powerdown to build some of its product range in-house.
As an industry-first in 2017, selected Powerdown shocks were fitted with an on-vehicle ride height indicator allowing operators to check at a glance if a shock is at risk of topping or bottoming out.
In 2020, Filpro Automotive, a supplier of automotive aftermarket products, acquired Powerdown Australia. Under the acquisition agreement, Powerdown continues to manufacture and distribute all current aftermarket products for trucks, heavy commercial trailers, buses and light commercial vehicles; and RAW 4×4 branded products for four-wheel drive vehicles.
Continuing its proud heritage of innovation in 2021 Powerdown launched Enveero at the Brisbane truck show. An Australian first, Enveero is an ultra-High performance environment-friendly shock absorber fluid developed by Powerdown as an alternative to traditional mineral oils currently used in shock absorbers. The base fluid used as the key component of Enveero is made from renewable resources and is carbon negative. Not only is Enveero a better-performing product, but it also lasts longer and is better for the environment and the people using it.
In 2022, Enveero was one of the national finalists in the HVIA Awards in the Product Innovation category.
“For the past 40 years Powerdown has been committed to supplying the highest quality, innovative and cost-effective suspension components for commercial vehicles,” the Powerdown team says. “We would like to thank our past and present customers for supporting us through our journey.”
