Pedders joins the Family Business Australia Association

At Pedders Suspension & Brakes we are extremely proud to have been an Australian family-owned and operated business for over 70 years. While we’ve come a long way since starting out as a single location shock absorber repair business, we remain extremely proud of our family roots and the fact that we remain an 100 per-cent Australian and family-owned business.

Pedders was founded in Melbourne in 1950 by Roy Pedder and from the outset it was always a family-orientated business with son Ron joining to help his father from the age of 16 years old. Ron learnt the ropes from his father, and in the early 1970s Ron took over just as Pedders took a major step in its growth by committing to manufacturing its own brand of shock absorbers after spending years modifying overseas designs. The Pedders shock absorbers were tailored to Australian vehicles and conditions.

This proved to be a master stroke as the Australian muscle car landscape began to boom! The business made significant progress as the go-to place for aftermarket suspension for Monaros, Toranas, Falcons and Valiants. Pedders soon introduced coil springs into its range with heavy duty and performance lowering springs available for a range of popular vehicles.

In the 1980s Pedders began to welcome more Australian families into its business by opening its first franchise stores.

Fast forward to the early 1990s and Roy Pedder’s grandsons – Ron’s boys Mark and Scott Pedder, – joined the family business. Mark began work on the tools as a mechanic, while Scott had a strong interest in marketing. Both brothers represented the family business in the Australian Rally Championship which proved to be highly successful.

Today brothers Mark and Scott run the business together, while their father Ron continues to play an enthusiastic role in Pedders. Scott’s wife Caroline Pedder also holds an integral position at Pedders as head of the Marketing and People & Development departments.

Pedders recently joined the Family Business Australia association which aims to support family business to harness their unique position in the Australian business landscape. Family businesses are a massive part of the Australian economy and the association works to connect family businesses of all shapes and sizes for the benefit of all members.

Family is one of the four pillars that Pedders stands by and these pillars drive all business planning and decision making. Given our rich family history, it was only logical for Pedders to join the Family Business Australia association. Pedders Managing Director Scott Pedder will be active within the association and we look forward to working with the wider family business community in the future.