About Us

The Barlow pump is no longer produced and in fact there are no longer any Barlows in the business, but 80 years after opening its doors, the operation is still going strong. Today it is under the leadership of Geoff Jacobs, who has been at the helm 28 years. “The business is actually the same age as the Davey Water business, and we’re pretty proud to have been around so long,” Geoff says. Geoff started out as an accountant but was semi-retired when his family bought first a bait and tackle shop and then, six years later, Barlows. Today his two sons, his wife, his daughter-in-law, and his daughter-in-law’s brother all work with him. “The business started in our in a little shed with its own slipway. Now we’re in a big industrial warehouse. We must have grown about 10,000% in 28 years!” he says.

Barlows is a hardware merchant store that sells a huge range of nuts, bolts, fittings and other hardware needs as well as offering Davey pumps, which account for about 20 per cent of the business.” That Davey customer base is about 50:50 domestic and agricultural. Geoff installs a lot of bore pumps, FireFighter pumps, pressure systems, irrigation and watering, mainly for rural households, plus some swimming pool products, and pumps for properties raising livestock. Being located in an area with some of Australia’s best-loved beaches, Geoff has a lot of demand for spear point pumps. “Lots of customers need spear point pumps to suck water out of sand in beachy areas. Davey has a special spear point pump which is very well regarded.” Geoff says customer confidence is the key to his business, and Davey inspires confidence. “Customers know we have a wide range of products in stock and we only sell and service the best quality products, and that’s why they come to us. Davey is reliable, well-known and good value.”