Braemar by Seeley International

The Braemar brand is applied to a range of evaporative cooling and gas heating products sold in Australia and New Zealand. The evaporative cooling product range varies in size from household units to extremely large industrial coolers. The gas heater range is predominantly used for household applications.

Braemar is the oldest of Seeley International's brands. Braemar commenced operations as a manufacturer in 1938 in Abbotsford, now an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Australia. The name Braemar is believed to have been taken from a postcard at the time of registration. Founded by Harold Brennan and Alfred Capp, its operations were centered on the manufacture of wood or briquette fired hot water services.

A new factory was established in Noble Park around 1945 to increase production. Realising the need to provide quality after sales service, Braemar also established its own service division using motorcycles and sidecars as the first service vehicles. The first gas fired hot water services were introduced in 1948 providing the foundation of today's outstanding gas products.

The company's operations were purchased by Davelco Ltd. in the 1960's. Manufacturing concentrated on continued expansion of hot water products and the introduction of evaporative air conditioners along with gas & electric space heaters. Around 1972 Braemar was purchased by National Consolidated, a division of Adelaide Steamship.

This era was one of massive growth for the company. By 1971, products manufactured included hot water services, evaporative air conditioners, water softeners & filters, industrial valves & lubricating equipment, heating appliances, solar panels, conveyors, elevating trucks and stainless steel sinks. Manufacturing plants were established in N.S.W., Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia and the company was supported by a strong dealer network.

The 1980's was a decade of rationalisation for Braemar, becoming a publicly listed company in 1984 through the acquisition of several smaller companies. The manufacturing operations were then centralised at Springvale in Victoria and concentrated on heating and cooling products. In April 1990 Braemar Industries Pty Ltd was formed and purchased the manufacturing operations, thus returning the company to private control. The operations were relocated to Albury, Australia where they remain today.

Realising a mutually beneficial market and product synergy, Seeley International negotiated and acquired Braemar Industries in the mid 1990s. This acquisition assured the continued growth of the Braemar name, marketed on a range of gas wall furnaces and ducted heaters produced at the Albury plant, and ducted cooling products produced at both the Albury and Adelaide plants.

In 1999, the fruits of the combined business shone through when the LCA series coolers were introduced. These coolers broke new barriers in terms of performance and quietness in axial fan cooler design, combined with the all-polymer, corrosion-free construction pioneered by Seeley International. A specially modified version of this series is also sold as the Breezair TBA series in many parts of the world.

In 2003, the Braemar Ecostar ducted gas heater range was introduced with Australian energy efficiency ratings of up to 5.4 stars. The Braemar Ecostar literally extracts almost as much heat as is possible from combusted gas whilst safely venting exhaust gases to the outside air.

Braemar medium and high capacity industrial evaporative coolers have long been sold throughout Australia. These coolers enjoy such a renown reputation for quietness, performance and reliability that they have now been taken worldwide under the Breezair brand name.

Today, Braemar remains one of Australia's most recognised and trusted brand names. Braemar products maintain unique design features and character from other Seeley International products and many former Braemar employees still work for Seeley International to ensure the projection of around 70 years of tradition into the future.