THE HILLS STORY  

The History of Hills is well documented  

It is an Australian success story; a story which has become part of Australian folklore.  

It has captured the imagination and the hearts of the Australian people because it started with a regular bloke who had a simple idea. 

 

THE FIRST 50 YEARS  

A man called Lance Hill decided to make a less expensive rotary clothesline.  Together with his brother-in-law Harold Ling, the two men started an Australian manufacturing enterprise destined to grow from a humble backyard operation into a multi-national company distributing a diverse range of products throughout the world.

 

THE LAUNCH OF THE 'HILLS HOIST'

In 1946, "The Hills Rotary Hoist" was launched, and the orders came rolling in.  Salvage army trucks were purchased to keep up with deliveries.  Progressively a galvanising plant, tube mill and plating plant were purchased to provide independence from outside vendors.

By 1948 the hoist was selling for 11 pounds - twice the average weekly wage - and was in such demand that the new Hills factory could scarcely keep pace.

 

AUSTRALIAN ENTERPRISE AT ITS BEST 

1948 saw the launch of an expanded range of laundry products to supplement the hoist.  Harold Ling was working long hours to take the company further.  The enterprise already an industrial power in South Australia, wanted to go national.  Harold Ling decided branches should be established in the Eastern States.

Hills' activities were also being expanded overseas, with agencies being established in London and New Zealand.

In 1954 the company's activities were consolidated into new premises on South Road at Edwardstown on the former site of Pengelley's Coach Builders.

By the end of 1955 all Hills' activities were centralised and materials could now be directed towards mass production.

 

A NEW ERA OF TECHNOLOGY

Realising that television was on the way, Hills set up a research and development program in 1955, utilising their expertise and resource in tube manufacturing to design and produce a range of television antennae.  Today Hills Industries is the largest antenna producer in Australia.

1959 saw Hills enter yet another new field - that of television repair service, and 'Hills Telefix' was born. This business was sold in 1996.  By 1960 Hills Industries had become a major force in the television antenna field in Australia.

The range of consumer products was also growing, with a vast distribution network extending throughout the nation and overseas.  The manufacture of children's play equipment became another important facet to the business, with steel tube production complementing Hills existing manufacturing expertise.

In the meantime the original "Hills Rotary Hoist" had evolved into a range of household clotheslines to cater for a new generation of Australians.  The Frazer range of ironing boards and covers was added to the laundry range, and still new products kept coming.

Over the years Hills has made or distributed many products which it now does not. These include exercise equipment, pots and pans, mufflers, storage products, trampolines, aluminium scaffolding and wheelbarrows to name a few.

Hills has continued to diversify through acquisition.  Bailey Ladders, Kelso Wheelbarrows, Direct Alarm Supplies, Vicam CCTV Systems, Pacific Communications  and K.Care Group are all examples of this strategy.

In 2005, Hills acquired the plastic rotational moulding business known as Team Poly.  The Team Poly business is involved primarily in the manufacture of water storage tanks, chemcial storage and septic and holding tank solutions, acquaculture tanks as well as Smartbar vehicle frontal protection systems and leisure deck pontoon systems.

 In June 2005, Hills acquired Audio Telex Communications and Crestron Control Solutions.  These businesses have been expanded to become Hills Sound Vision and Lighting and is a leader in all segments of the professional audio and sound reinforcement markets in Australia and New Zealand.  Creston Control Solutions is one of the world's leading manufacturers of advanced control and automation systems for integration and control of audio, video, computer and the Internet. 

In 2005, Hills acquired the business of BSM, one of Queensland's leading rollformers.  This completes a network of Fielders mainland branches across Australia.

Always alert to opportunities in growth markets Hills has acquired controlling interests in Opticomm, a leading provider of fibre to the Home Solutions and UHS, a world leading provider of secure communications equipment to the security and telecommunications market. 

NEW STATUS AS A CULTURAL SYMBOL

In 1994, Hills celebrated the sale of its 5 millionth Hills hoist, an event the whole country stopped to recognise as a milestone.  The "Hills Rotary Hoist" had become an emblem of Australian enterprise.

Today Hills employs over 2,500 Australians, and hardly a day goes by when Australians do not encounter a Hills product in their daily lives.

As a closing chapter of the first fifty years of the Hills Company, the 1996 Adelaide Festival of Arts chose the "Hills Rotary Hoist" as a symbol to promote and market their programme of cultural events to the world.  Held high like a flaming torch, the hoist expressed a celebration of individual effort and Australian endeavour.

In a celebration of Australian Icons the familiar Hills Hoist was prominent in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.  These were tributes to the significant role Hills products have played in becoming part of the Australian culture.

 

A NEW ERA BEGINS

Bob Hill-Ling was the first Cadet Engineer at Hills.  He joined the Company in 1952, gaining his engineering degree from Adelaide University in 1957.

When Bob joined the Board of Hills Industries Limited in 1958 (which had first listed on the Stock Exchange earlier that year) the Company's sales were dominated by clotheslines.  Seven years later in November 1965 at the age of 32, Bob became Chairman and Managing Director of Hills.

In that year turnover exceeded $10 million for the first time, the net profit was just over $300,000 and the market capitalisation was a little more than $3 million.

Sales are now in excess of $1.2 billion.  This growth has been achieved while keeping debt to a modest level and continuing to pay dividends to shareholders.

Under Bob's leadership as Managing Director and Chairman over 40 years the Company is now unrecognisable from the one that he joined.

Bob saw the need to move the Company into new fields so that it was not reliant on clothesline sales.  By embracing new technology he was able to pioneer moves into television repair and television antennae and later into electronic security.

During Bob's years Hills has made many acquisitions and has at the same time disposed of many business operations.  Some of the larger acquisitions that Bob encouraged include Bailey Ladders, Direct Alarm Supplies, Pacific Communications, Team Poly and Audio Telex.

In November 1992, after 27 years as Managing Director, Bob handed the role of Managing Director over to David Simmons and became the non-executive Chairman.

Bob handed over the Chairmanship of Hills to his daughter Jennifer Hill-Ling following the AGM in October 2005.  She will be continuing the family involvement in the Company since its inception.

More than anyone before him, Bob has left an indelible mark on Hills and its people.

In March 2008 David Simmons retired and was replaced by Graham Twartz. Graham had been Finance Director of Hills for 16 years before his appointment. Graham is only the fourth chief executive in the history of the company. 

 

TOWARD A NEW CENTURY OF PROGRESS

Hills long term success depends on the high quality of its products.  That is why research and development are such important aspects of Hills' manufacturing operation today.  It is commitment, innovation and advanced technology that will take the company into the new century, and into a new era of progress.

 

AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTS FOR AUSTRALIANS TO USE EVERY DAY

While Hills is a household name, many Australians do not realise how much the company has grown, or how diverse the Hills product range has now become.  The acquisition of prominent Australian companies such as Bailey, Mote Kennett and Oldfields ladders, Kelso wheelbarrows, Homeguard Screen and Security doors, Direct Alarm Supplies, Vicam CCTV Systems, Pacific Communications, K.Care and Woodroffe Industries and diversification by investment in companies with activities complementary to Hills like Fielders, Orrcon Steel and Korvest has broadened Hills interests into a wide range of areas, in addition to our traditional base.

See how many Hills' Group products you can recognise:

Hills products: 

• Clotheslines
• Laundry Trolleys, Ironing boards and Clothes Airers
• Garden and Household Sprayers
• Security Screen Doors

 

• Hand Trucks and Trolleys
• Ladders: Domestic and Industrial  
• Trestles and planks   

 

• Shower Commodes
• Bathroom Toilet Aids
• Bedroom Furniture
• Mobility Equipment
• Adjustable Seating
• GrabRails
• Patient Lifter
• Flexi-carts
• Shower Trolley
• Ward Equipment
• Theatre Equipment
• Laundry and Cleaning Equipment
• Physiotherapy Equipment
• Mortuary Equipment

 

• VHF/UHF Television Receiving Antenna and Ancillary Equipment  
• Microwave Antenna
• Satellite Antenna and Receivers
• Guyed, Winch-up and Free-standing Towers
• Amplifiers and MATV Equipment
• Domestic and Commercial Electronic Security Equipment
• Closed Circuit Television Equipment and Systems  

 

• Steel Tubing Round, Square, Rectangular and Oval Sections
• Steel Flats and Angles
• Steel Fence ans Sign Posts
• Roll Formed and custom made metal building products
• Door Frames
• Centenary Carports
• Endurance Sheds 

 

• Hot Dip Galvanising
• Ezy Strut cable and pipe support systems
• Indax guarding and handrail system  

 

• Water Storage Tanks
• Chemical Storage Tanks
• Septic and Holding Tanks
• Troughs
• Smartbars
• Pontoon Systems
• Aquaculture Tanks

 

 

• Australian Monitor audio products
• Beyerdynamic Microphone and Conference Systems
• Lab Gruppen Power Amplifiers
• MediaMatrix
• Mipro Portable PA and Wireless Microphone Systems
• Misco Ceiling Speakers
• Peavey Architectural Acoustics
• Rane Signal Processors and DJ Mixers
• Soundsphere Speaker Systems
• Sabine Feedback Exterminators and Wireless Systems
• Turbosound Loudspeaker Systems
• Touchpanel Media Centers
• Touchpanels
• Wall-Mounted Touchpanels
• Wireless & Handhelds
• Keypads
• Control Solutions  
• Audio Distribution
• Video Distribution
• Intercoms
• Tuners
• Digital Home Theatre
• Lighting Solutions & Shade Control
• HVAC & Humidity Control

 

  

USING THE STRENGTH OF TOUGH AUSTRALIAN STEEL 

Every year many thousands of tonnes of steel goes into making Hills products........many million metres of steel tube every year.  Hills subsidiary Orrcon, have their own tube making plants at O'Sullivan's Beach, South Australia and Salisbury, Queensland, where the steel arrives as huge coils of flat metal, each coil weighing about 10 tonnes.  The coil is cut into strips, which are then rolled into shape and welded to form round tube.  The tube is then shaped into its final appearance as round or square tube, and is delivered daily to Hills and many other manufacturers where it is turned into the products you will see in the stores tomorrow.

 

USING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TO ADVANCE AUSTRALIA 

Hills have their own laboratories where they conduct research into new technologies that will improve their products or assist in the development of new products.

Hills have established a test site to test their antennae and subject them to conditions typical to those they will experience in intended use, while Hills factory research and technical department puts each Hills consumer product through intensive product testing.

From testing production materials such as paint and components to ensure they are up to standard, to testing product performance to ensure continued product quality, Hills attention to detail safeguards the quality of every Hills product.