When Sil Anthony opened the business in Melbourne we specialised in the design, manufacturing and supply of custom-made bearings, components and injection mouldings for various applications, including doors and windows. Our custom-designed bearings contributed to optimised motion performance, which was challenging to achieve with more commonly available standard-size bearings.
As our specialisation into the door and window industry grew, we recognised customer requirements for wheel assemblies that could fit different size extrusions. As a result, we started developing adjustable assemblies to meet these needs.
From there, the 70’s and 80’s were a time of growth for the company as the country prospered, the demand for bearings grew and the company’s internal capabilities widened to meet the needs of a loyal and widening customer base. But as the 90’s arrived with a mixture of recession, deregulation and globalisation, many of those loyal customers started closing their doors and the business was faced with the challenge many Australian manufacturers struggled with at the time: evolve or die.
The engineering and sales team started collaborating with partners including Bradnam’s, Capral, G James Glass and Stegbar, who Anthony Innovations still works with today. Our products continued to evolve to meet market needs for rollers that were anti-corrosive and versatile for various load windows and doors. Stainless steel was used to prevent corrosion and improve functionality.
Having researched various plastics, Anthony Innovations developed wheels made from acetal. This gave our rollers better performance and durability. We still use this material in our products today to provide longevity, smooth performance and to reduce rolling resistance.
In the end, it was the innovative spirit of Sil Anthony’s son Phil – following in his father’s footsteps as Managing Director – that saw the company make the hard decision to refocus its operations to meet the needs of this changing environment. As the new millennium began, Anthony Bearings evolved into Anthony Innovations, stepping back from making bearings for industrial applications and focusing more on the manufacture of rollers for sliding doors and windows.
Improvements in product performance have always been a constant at Anthony Innovations. We introduced adjustable rollers to fit various size extrusions. These rollers where designed with ease of installation in mind and were robustly made to withstand adjustment under load. This design enables safe, fast installation and is still used in our latest product ranges.
In 2007 Anthony Innovations’ production plant was founded in Changzhou, China to boost our production capabilities which has enabled us to meet increased demand in Australia and North America. This is where we now manufacture to ISO accredited quality standards.
Even during this difficult pandemic, the business has continued to thrive thanks to the generations of innovation and the hard business decisions made in difficult times to help ensure Anthony Innovations is a resilient, contemporary Australian success story – always ready to face the future with the help of innovation.
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