Motion’s Nick Kerwin and Stephen Forbes reflect on the legacy, leadership and loyalty behind two of Australia’s most respected industrial names.
Two of Motion’s best-known legacy businesses, CBC and Hardy Spicer, celebrated milestone anniversaries in 2024: 70 years and 75 years respectively.
For Motion, these anniversaries are more than a celebration – they represent the foundation of Motion’s ongoing commitment to local expertise, customer partnerships, and technical innovation.
Founded in Sydney in 1954 by J.J. Martin-Weber, CBC established itself through a customer-first strategy.
“Martin-Weber worked harder than anyone else,” Motion Asia Pacific executive general manager Nick Kerwin said. “When CBC teams visited remote mine sites or sugar mills, they’d arrive on the weekend, ensuring they were first through the door on Monday morning. That mentality became embedded in our DNA.”
One defining early move was CBC’s aggressive acquisition of bearing stock from a British company, outmanoeuvring a major competitor and accelerating CBC’s expansion. From a single Sydney outlet, CBC grew to a network of over 120 branches nationwide, becoming one of Australia’s largest distributors of bearings and power transmission products.
“Our competitors today have 25 to 30 branches,” Kerwin said.
“CBC was five times that size. And it wasn’t just stock on shelves – we invested heavily in technical people and engineering expertise, offering customers full solutions to improve uptime and performance.”
Hardy Spicer’s journey, meanwhile, stretches even further back. Originating in Birmingham, England during the First World War and expanding into Australia by 1949, Hardy Spicer began as a manufacturer of complete driveline components, serving the burgeoning agricultural and automotive sectors. Initially part of the Repco group, Hardy Spicer’s Australian branch built a strong reputation for manufacturing quality and reliability.
“Drive shafts and hydraulics are fundamental to so many industries – mining, rail, agriculture, waste management, and even ski lifts,” Motion Asia Pacific executive general manager Stephen Forbes said. “If it moves, Hardy Spicer can support it.”
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Through the decades, Hardy Spicer evolved from pure manufacturing into a broader service-driven business, incorporating hydraulic hose solutions alongside its core driveline expertise. Strategic acquisitions in the 1970s and 80s helped build the hydraulic side of the business, while ongoing investment expanded its branch network nationally.
“People sometimes ask why we offer both drive shafts and hydraulic hoses. The answer is historical,” Forbes said. “Those capabilities came through strategic acquisitions – and over time, they became central to our value proposition.”
Hardy Spicer was acquired by the Inenco group (and later by CBC’s parent company) in 2002, setting the stage for its eventual integration into Motion. Today, Hardy Spicer operates 14 branches nationally, supporting customers with local service centres capable of building, repairing, and customising drive shafts and hydraulic solutions.
“Each service centre is a front door to our capabilities,” Forbes said. “They’re equipped to offer technical advice, assemble products, and deliver rapid support across the industries we serve.”
These capabilities have allowed Hardy Spicer to build deep relationships across Australia’s heavy industries, supporting not just everyday operations but critical infrastructure projects and specialised emerging sectors. From renewable energy projects to recycling operations and heavy vehicle electrification, Hardy Spicer continues to evolve alongside the industries it services.
Motion’s acquisition of CBC and Hardy Spicer did not signal the end of their brand stories – rather, it marked a new phase of growth. Both brands continue to operate within the company, bringing together decades of technical knowledge with Motion’s capital strength, expanded national footprint, and shared systems.
“The cultural fit was strong from the start,” Kerwin said. “The Martin-Weber family, who ran CBC, had a long-standing relationship with Motion in the US. They knew Motion would support their legacy, their employees, and their customers for generations to come.”
Forbes echoes this sentiment, noting that the integration has brought tangible benefits across the business.
“Motion gives us the ability to scale, to access capital, and to invest in better systems and safety standards,” he said. “It also helps us innovate – whether that’s through upgrading our hydraulic testing equipment or investing in technologies suited to industries like wind energy and recycling.”
While the Motion brand will become more visible across branches over time, the values that defined CBC and Hardy Spicer remain unchanged. Local knowledge, technical expertise, and a genuine commitment to helping customers succeed continue to drive the business.
“We’re seeing it in action already,” Forbes said. “New opportunities are opening up across emerging sectors. Whether it’s advanced hydraulic solutions for solar panel installations or custom driveline engineering for heavy electric vehicles, our legacy brands are powering the future.”
As Motion moves forward, it is doing so with a clear view to preserving and enhancing the strengths that made CBC and Hardy Spicer trusted names in the first place.
“While our long-term intention is to bring all of our offerings under the one Motion brand – we will ensure the legacy of all our brands endures,” Forbes said. “What matters is that the service, the expertise, the reliability – that remains. And it’s getting stronger.”