Geoff Bartlett is the second-generation head of Melbourne family business, Bartlett Transport Improvements. With more than 50 years in the business, he could no doubt claim one of the longest uninterrupted stints of leadership in transport equipment manufacturing.
Geoff has helped the company rise to a position where it is now synonymous with high quality towing equipment. After spending the best part of his childhood in and around the family business, Geoff reached expert status in the field of vacuum braking technology before he had even finished Tech School. Soon after joining the business full-time in the early 1960s, he designed a heavy-duty ball coupling so sturdy it has been produced for half a century without any substantial change of the original design - the ‘Bartlett Ball’.
The Bartlett Ball aimed to provide better towing characteristics and comfort for operators tired of using traditional military style ‘hook and eye’ couplings. The design has of course stood the test of time well and was the catalyst for Bartlett’s move into development of proprietary product lines. Current Managing Director, Allan Bartlett directly recalls a meeting between founder Norm Bartlett, Geoff and himself in the early 1990s where based on the success of the Bartlett Ball new product development would need to become the priority over and above the activity in the workshop. Since that time, multitudes of new towbars, safety chain systems have been produced, all benefiting from Geoff’s sound engineering oversight.
“What Geoff has, you can’t bottle,” says Allan. “Much has changed due to the power of the computer, which has fast-tracked the design process. Computers can predict the stresses of a towing design, even how its parts will fatigue.” “It used to be done on the run, and as Geoff would put it ... you built the thing and saw how it worked.” Allan concludes that, “I am convinced that having Geoff’s intuitive sense of ‘what works’ founded on decades of practical experience at the front end of all the new technology has paid massive dividends for the business and continues to be a defining characteristic of our design and engineering.”
BARTLETT BALL 1960s
BARTLETT BALL 2019
“What Geoff has, you can’t bottle.”
Allan Bartlett managing director
Officially in semi retirement, Geoff now lives on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula and spends his time restoring vintage cars and travelling to all parts of Australia with Helen and the caravan. That said, he still (naturally) remains instrumental in overseeing new and existing product and engineering requirements for the family business.
Decades of practical experience lie at the heart of everything we do.
