Wormald International
| Wormald | |
| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Fire protection |
| Predecessor |
Russell & Wormald Wormald Bros. Wormald Brothers Industries Ltd. Wormald International |
| Founded | 1889 |
| Founder | Joseph Dawson Wormald & Henry Percy Wormald |
|
Area served
|
Australia, New Zealand, Fiji |
| Parent |
Evergreen Capital, L.P. (Australia, Fiji) Tyco International (New Zealand) |
Wormald is an Australian fire protection brand founded in 1889.
Russell & Wormald
Wormald Bros.
Wormald Brothers Industries Ltd.
Evergreen Capital, L.P. (Australia, Fiji)
Founded as an importer and distributor of fire doors and fire sprinklers, it grew over the decades into a diversified manufacturer of steel and metal products as well as a leader in the fire protection industry in Australia and New Zealand. Valued at US$1 billion by 1990, it was acquired by American conglomerate Tyco International that year and became part of its fire protection business (today the world's largest).
In 2016 the Australian fire-protection business of Tyco International - including the Wormald brand - was bought out by a New York-based private-equity firm, Evergreen Capital L.P. (who already purchased Tyco's Fijian fire-protection business, as well as the rights to use the Wormald name there). It now operates under local management as Wormald International, LLC.
Tyco International still operates in New Zealand under the Wormald brand (though it is officially registered as "Tyco New Zealand Limited"), with the strapline "A Tyco Business" under the logo used in most marketing material.
The founders of the company were brothers Joseph Dawson Wormald (born 1863) and Henry Percy Wormald (born 1874). Born in Edinburgh, Joseph arrived in Australia in 1889 when brother Sir John Wormald, of the Manchester-based engineering firm, Mather & Platt, sought to distribute the company's Grinnell-licensed sprinklers in that country. In partnership with Stanley Russell, Russell & Wormald was formed to manufacture and import the fire sprinklers, as well as Simplex fire extinguishers and fire doors. With Mr. Russell retiring in 1896 to join Mather & Platt as the country manager of France, Harry (who migrated to in Australia in 1890) joined the company as a sub-manager two years later and was admitted into partnership in 1900, Russell & Wormald becoming Wormald Bros., based in Melbourne.
By May 1949, around 60 years after its establishment, Wormald Bros. became a public company, Wormald Brothers Industries Limited, with head offices in Sydney. As well as their core fire protection department, its other operating divisions included Metalbilt, manufacturing doors - including fire doors - and roller shutters; Steelbilt, manufacturers of storage equipment such as steel cabinets, shelving and cupboards and the license for the manufacture of products from the Kirsch Company - "the world's largest manufacturer of Drapery hardware and Venetian Blinds" A 1952 booklet titled "The History of Wormald Brothers" listed 18 Wormald, Steelbilt or Kirsch factories in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Ballarat, Hobart, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch - as well as 10 other locations in Australia and New Zealand with 'Resident Representatives' or 'Resident Engineers'.
...
Wikipedia