ESTABLISHED 1953
Throughout the 1940’s and early 1950’s Reg Dobinson, a hard working blacksmith, earned a well deserved reputation as an exceptional tradesman and expert spring repairer.
He began perfecting his spring repair and manufacture skills at the Queensland Railway and as a result the demand for his expertise grew. As time went on he began to specialise in spring repair and manufacture, and it led him to take on further weekend work for friends, repairing springs.
Reg’s keen eye for quality, attention to detail and his passion for blacksmithing and spring repair soon saw Reg spend all of his spare time working.
In 1953, having more work than he was able to handle, Reg founded ‘Dobinsons Welding Works’ (now known as ‘Dobinsons Spring and Suspension’) under a tamarin tree in the backyard of his Rockhampton home.
The next few decades saw the business grow exceptionally as Reg began specialising in the repair and the manufacture of springs for Rockhampton and surrounding areas.
With a huge demand for his quality work, Reg was soon working up to 18 hours a day, 7 days a week - without taking holidays for years at a time.
An innovator and a man ahead of his time, Reg purchased Central Queensland’s very first computer in the mid 60’s to improve efficiency. He also began to manufacture his own machinery such as a leaf spring eye roller - designed, engineered and built by Reg himself, utilising manufactured parts and hydraulics taken from ex-warplanes.
In the late 70’s, Reg’s sons Glen and Keith Dobinson joined the growing family business and immediately showed the same passion and expertise in spring repair and manafacturing, allowed Reg’s work load to be shared. With fresh eyes and more hands, Dobinsons began to distribute their quality products throughout Australia.
BUILT ON PRIDE
Dobinsons Spring & Suspension’s success throughout the Australian market sparked a desire for Reg and his sons to share their top quality products with the world.
In the mid 1980’s Dobinsons exported their first order. Whilst Dobinsons now export to over 50 countries worldwide, in a time before fax machines were prevalent and the Internet existed, this meant a trip down to the local post office to purchase international phone books to find international distributors and to receive international orders.
In 1991 Dobinsons moved to its current location in Rockhampton, and in 1994 Reg retired leaving Glen and Keith as directors of the ever-growing company.
In the mid 90’s their vision saw them design and build an entire coil spring manafacturing line and Dobinsons began producing world class coil springs from their Australian production facility.
In the late 90’s with over 40 years of spring and suspension experience already under their belt, Dobinsons began designing, developing and distributing their own range of 4x4 shock absorbers.
In the early 2000’s Glen and Keith’s children began working in the family business and with a shared passion for the suspension industry and 4x4’s, Dobinsons Spring and Suspension continued to grow.
In 2009 Dobinsons began the research, development and testing of their range of 4x4 accessory products which have earned a reputation as high quality 4x4 products which compliment their extensive range of suspension products.
Over 60 years on, and three generations later Dobinsons Spring and Suspension’s Rockhampton production and warehousing facility has grown to over 60,000 square feet. Dobinsons now have over 5 major warehousing distribution facilities across Australia with an Australia wide dealer network, as well as distributors in over 50 countries worldwide.