Thomas Henry Harvey (current management’s great grandfather), came to Australia from Wales in 1882. In 1892 he graduated with a diploma with merit as a Master Plumber from Sydney Technical College.

In approx. 1895 he purchased the plumbing and tank making section of Murray Bros. and set up business alongside JH Murray at 117-123 Church St Parramatta. The business was called TH Harvey & Co.

His successor on his death in 1932 was Thomas Henry Harvey (Jnr). He became a prominent person in the Parramatta business community having worked on Parramatta council for several years and becoming Deputy Mayor from 1940-1943. He was also a founding member of Parramatta Rotary.

In addition to plumbing, the company became a general merchant for hardware and plumbing fittings. This company still operates within the group today.

In 1958, Thomas junior’s son, Philip Harvey (Toby) purchased land on the corner of Macarthur & Fennell Streets Parramatta. While the plumbing business still operated from Church St, Harveys Parramatta was growing as a general sheetmetal manufacturer. This land holding was expanded and today remains the primary business site.

Harvey Air Conditioning Pty Ltd was formed in 1961 with Harveys becoming an agent for Carrier in Australia. It undertook some key contracts in Parramatta – including David Jones, Parramatta Courthouse, etc, as well as domestic installations.

Newcastle was becoming a major industrial site centered around aluminum smelting and steel production.

Harveys began manufacturing in Newcastle in 1967 and in 1970 established Harveys Newcastle Pty Ltd as a separate company. It was involved in the manufacture of sheet metal work and all air conditioning and dust extraction installations. Early projects included BHP No 2 Blast Furnace, Liddell Power Station and many telephone exchanges around Newcastle.

In 1968, Harveys was broadened further to incorporate centrifugal fan manufacture, – these fans being required for industrial and mining projects. The manufacturing company became known as the Fan and Blower Company of Australia Pty Ltd.

FBA is today the largest Australian manufacturer of centrifugal fans. Cutting fan components with the computerised plasma machine to the final test run of fan assembly is all undertaken at our dedicated Parramatta facility.

The current Managing Director of Harvey Industries is Peter Harvey, the fourth generation of the original founder and a mechanical engineer who continues to expand the business. He has used his engineering expertise to automate the factory and workplace methodology, with plasma machines, computer scheduling, computer selection programs etc.

If you would like to know more, please contact us