Gibbens Family celebrates 100 years in spring business

George Gibbens, son of founder Matthew George Gibbens, moved the family spring making business to West Gosford in 1970 so that it could expand and grow. Since then, his two sons Greg and Craig, and now their sons, have taken the business to new heights and, as well, have become major investors in the Central Coast region.

In the late 90s, to accommodate their growing family interests, brothers Greg and Craig Gibbens split their business interests and established Protective Fencing, giving each family the opportunity to further diversify and expand.

Today Gibbens Industries Pty Ltd operates in the spring manufacturing industry based at West Gosford while Protective Fencing Pty Limited has built a new state of the art factory at Somersby which they moved to in 2006.

But it all started one hundred years ago when Matthew Gibbens was apprenticed at the first spring making factory to be established in Australia. In those days springs were made by hand and it would take a mechanically minded son, George, who followed his father into the trade, to think that springs should be machine made.

In 1937 the family decided to start their own spring manufacturing business and imported the latest automatic spring making machinery. However, as demand grew through the years of the Second World War and increased in the years following, George saw that spring production could be increased and quality improved with a better spring making machine. He turned to inventing his own machines and started building and supplying Australian spring manufacturers. Within a few years he found that he needed a separate factory to manufacture the “Gibbens” brand machines. By 1959 “Gibbens” automatic spring machines were being sold overseas.

During this time a major mattress manufacturing company approached Gibbens to design and build a machine that would automatically make springs for inner-spring mattresses. To this day Gibbens are recognised internationally as among the world’s leading manufacturers of machines and springs for this product.

By 1968 it was time for George Gibbens’ two eldest sons, Anthony and Gregory, to join the business, which they both did – starting from the bottom as apprentices and learning their trade from a master spring maker. Later, in 1974 George’s third son, Craig, would join the business and commence his apprenticeship in engineering.

The late 60s saw the Gibbens factory at Camperdown in Sydney under pressure with nowhere to expand, so the family bought a five acre lot on Manns Road at West Gosford and built the first stage of their new manufacturing facility. By 1971 their whole operation had been relocated from Sydney.

During the mid 1970s, demand for chain link fabric fencing in the Australian market was increasingly being met from imports.

Protective Fencing was formed in 1975 with a new factory and machinery to manufacture chain wire fencing with son Craig taking charge of the new venture. In the years that followed both companies grew side by side.

Gibbens Industries were to become a major and highly regarded supplier to the United States auto industry during the 90s. In 1993 the company had established a second plant at Morningside in Queensland and a third plant in Detroit to service the major motor car manufacturers.

In recent years, due to the downturn in the US auto industry and the high Australian Dollar, Gibbens Industries withdrew from the US market as a manufacturer though their springs continue to be produced under licence.

Today Gibbens Industries remains a highly respected manufacturer of compression springs, extension springs, torsion springs and wireforms for specific applications as well as their revolutionary, award-winning mattress support systems.

Meanwhile, Protective Fencing, under the guidance and ownership of Craig Gibbens experienced strong growth and expanded to new premises at Somersby in late 2006. This facility, representing a multi-million dollar investment, has given the Protective Fencing the opportunity to focus on new production efficiencies to position it for future growth.

Fourth generation taking over
In 1995 Greg Gibbens’ two sons, Scott and Matthew, joined the company and today Matthew runs his family’s business interests as Group General Manager. In 1999 Craig Gibbens’ son James joined Protective Fencing as an apprentice engineer.

Investing in the region
The Gibbens Family are long term investors in the region and are responsible for some of retail developments around Gosford. At present, under the guidance of Matthew Gibbens, a new major investment at West Gosford on the family’s property holding is taking place.
Riverside Park West Gosford will become an iconic development to be built over 90,000sqm fronting Manns Road and stretching back to Narara Creek (see story: Moneywise signs for Riverside Park West Gosford).

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