Toowoomba • Darling Downs • Regional QLD
Supplying and Servicing Regional Industry Since 1952
Supply, service and repair of industrial electrical equipment, from Toowoomba, since 1952.
Donaldson Electric Works has been servicing and repairing electric motors, generators and machinery on the Darling Downs and across regional Queensland since 1952: in feedlots, cotton gins, rural properties, mine sites and industry. This is the short account of how a rewind shop became a specialist supplier of industrial electric motors and generators.
Where it started
Established 1952
Angus Donaldson founded the business in 1952 and it has carried his name ever since. In its early decades Donaldson’s was primarily a rewind and repair house with a large workshop team, back when everything got repaired, from industrial motors and equipment down to small domestic items.
In the decades since, Donaldson’s has remained a family business, loyal to its specialised team and its long-standing customers. That period has seen the business evolve and adapt to what its customers actually need, which is a different thing today than it was in 1952.
How it changed
From repair house to equipment supplier
The economics of industrial electrical equipment have changed, as they have in most industries. Modern equipment is more efficient and more advanced than what it replaces, and it is now often more viable to replace a piece of equipment than to repair it. Donaldson’s has kept a skilled technical team regardless, and where replacement is not practical, that team and Donaldson’s supply network can still provide a repair solution.
That evolution has produced a supply-led business: new WEG electric motors, Himoinsa silenced generators, Powerlite portable generators, Tsurumi pumps, and WEG starting and automation controls, in stock in Toowoomba. When replacement is the right option, a quick turnaround keeps the operation running.
Behind the stock sits the part of the old Donaldson’s that never went away. Qualified electrical technicians who service, repair and commission the new equipment Donaldson’s sells, and who repair the specialised equipment that is not readily available off the shelf.
The business now
The business today
Plenty of businesses sell generators, and plenty sell electric motors alongside a hundred other products. Donaldson’s is a specialist, with a primary focus on electric motors and generators. The sales team sells, sources and identifies customers’ individual requirements every day.
Donaldson’s customers are rural producers, feedlotters, industrial businesses, mining and gas service providers, manufacturers and intensive livestock operations, along with the electricians and service providers who support them. The majority of the equipment stays within the region, but Donaldson’s supplies to Mount Isa, Thargomindah, the Northern Territory, New South Wales and anywhere its customers are or have operations.
Why customers buy from Donaldson’s
Right gear, expert advice, local backup
Donaldson’s is here to save you money by keeping your operation running, and running efficiently. The equipment and the service are competitive, but the more important thing is that the team has the experience to offer the right option for your application, and to reduce the risk of a delayed shutdown caused by the wrong motor, an incorrectly sized generator, or a repair that takes too long.
The right product, first time
Most people do not know the frame size, shaft size, poles or starting method of the motor that has just failed, and they should not have to. The sales team has the technical knowledge to work through it with you, identify exactly what is on site, and hand over a unit that fits back into the application without modifications or a second trip.
Stock and speed when it matters
Depth of stock in Toowoomba means breakdown turnarounds that other suppliers cannot match. When a unit is not on the shelf, Donaldson’s arranges priority freight out of Brisbane, or sets you up to collect direct from the warehouse the same day.
Local backup, when it counts
When something fails on a Sunday, an online seller is a form and a city warehouse is a voicemail. Donaldson’s has opened the shop on a Sunday morning and handed over a motor so a feedlot could feed its cattle that night. That is not a service tier or a premium package. It is simply what a local business can do when it knows the application, knows the customer, and treats a Darling Downs breakdown as its own problem to solve.
Trust signals
Licensed, accredited, authorised
Talk to the team
1/207 McDougall Street, Wilsonton, Toowoomba. Or pick up the phone, a person answers.
