Alvey Reels
Alvey Reels is an Australian manufacturer of fishing tackle, primarily known for fishing reels and rods. It was founded by Charles Alvey in Brisbane during 1920 making it one of the oldest family owned fishing companies in Australia.[1][2]
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1920 |
| Founders | Charles Alvey |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bruce Alvey |
| Products | Fishing reel's |
| Website | Official website |
On 20 July 2017 the company announced that it would be closing. The managing director Bruce Alvey, great grandson of the founder, said the company had "suffered a dramatic drop in sales, particularly in the last six months."[3] In mid 2019, Alvey was saved from closure and is still producing reels.
History
The Alvey reel is accepted today throughout Australia, and in many overseas countries, as the most efficient and reliable reel marketed. It has achieved this popularity wholly on a faultless performance in the angling field. In competition fishing, often under very adverse conditions where gear must be reliable, users of Alvey reels built such an impressive record of championship wins that the superiority of the Alvey soon became well established.
To trace back the history of production, it started in 1920 when Charles Alvey, an English migrant, saw the need for a fishing reel that was easy to use, easy to cast, simple to maintain, and solidly constructed to give many years of trouble-free angling.
Working on the basic principle of the Scottish Malloch reel, he designed a reel which allowed the body of the reel to be turned sideways when casting, permitting the line to strip freely from the edge of a specially shaped spool. This took away the problems of backlash and overrun common to users of the multiplying type of reel. When the reel was returned to the fishing position, it afforded the best positive direct rewind of the centrepin reel, which lost favour only because of difficulty in casting. So, the Alvey reel came into being, combining easy casting and forceful rewinding. While it was revolutionary in its early stages, anglers came to recognise the advantages of using this type of reel.
The original factory was a small shed without electric power in the Brisbane suburb of St Lucia, whereby using a treadle lathe, Charles Alvey painstakingly produced about twenty reels per week. His work was so meticulous that anglers called the Alvey ‘The reel you cannot wear out’.
By 1923 the demand had become so great that Charles Alvey's son Ken, a qualified pattern maker and draftsman, joined the business and a partnership was formed. Together they steered the company into the 30s, pouring all available profits back into new machinery and taking on more staff to increase production. By this time about 25,000 reels were being produced annually.
The year 1939 brought the second world war and an abrupt halt to Alvey production. Machinery was converted to assist the war effort by producing vehicle and aircraft components which were to be so essential over the following six-year period.
It was not until 1945 that efforts could be turned again to the manufacture of fishing reels. Also, in 1945 Charles Alvey passed away, leaving behind a devoted family to carry on the business that he had lived for.
Ken Alvey's son Jack joined the firm in 1946 after obtaining his qualifications with a local engineering works. Jack also was a keen fisherman and champion distance caster, able to further the strong liaison already established between the firm and many of the top anglers of the day.
This association kept Alvey in touch with the ever-changing trends and brought about quite a few modifications to the reels which were suggested by the end users. In return the Alvey Company always has maintained a strong involvement in the promotion of the sport of Angling, giving support to the National, State and Divisional organisations, as well as individual clubs and such projects as the Junior Anglers Association.
The post-war demand for the product created a constant struggle to cope with necessary production. Buildings were erected and new machinery was installed, with every bit of available space used. Even with a staff of fifty people automatic machinery was introduced, and methods of production became more streamlined. By this time, overseas orders were starting to come in, adding further pressure on top of the domestic production requirements. In the early 1970s it became an absolute necessity that some future plans be made to move to larger premises, as no further expansion could be made at the St. Lucia factory.
Ken Alvey died in 1973 after leading a full and successful life. He was spared the anguish of the disastrous flood early in 1974 which caused havoc in Brisbane and severe damage to the Alvey factory. Enormous effort was required to bring manufacturing back on line two months later. The clean-up was a dirty job but members of the public and many fishing club supporters donated their time and efforts to assist the Alvey family and staff in this horrid task. This temporary setback delayed the company's expansion plans; however, they were postponed, not put aside.
Around this time, Jack Alvey's eldest son Bruce completed an Engineering course and joined the company. With this union, the Father and Son partnership was re-established.
In 1976 the initial design for new factory and office premises appeared on the drawing board. From this point many months of consideration were given to the layout of all machinery to achieve optimum efficiency. Early in 1978 the dream started to become a reality when land was acquired in the Industrial estate at Carole Park, and tenders were called for construction. From this point things happened very quickly, and by September the building had been completed and the major shift had been accomplished.
In 1987 a major expansion of the Carole Park plant was executed, taking the buildings to the maximum size allowed on the area of land. Plastic injection moulding machines were installed, and a new range of products using the latest technology emerged.
This machinery allows the latest fibreglass, carbon and graphite materials to be used in the manufacture of the Alvey reels. With the purchase of the tooling for the fishing tackle items in the ‘Capstan’ range of products, Alvey became fully involved with the production and marketing of a wide range of fishing accessories such as hand casters, bait traps, bait buckets, tackle boxes, and other plastic items. This list will continue to expand in the future as we provide the anglers of Australia and around the world with value-for-money functional and reliable products.
In 1988 Jack's youngest son Glenn joined the company, bringing with him computer, management and administration skills. The Alveys acquired the property next to theirs on the Carole Park industrial estate in 1990 to ensure the company's expansion in the future is never held back by lack of space.
During the 1990s decade there was a major change in the methods of construction of our most popular reels. In the early 1990s the first graphite back/fibreglass 4” (100 mm) reel was designed and manufactured. An ‘Easy Cast’ system based on a very early 1930 system was developed and by using tough strong injection moulded plastics a new range of economy reels was started.
The 4” (100 mm) and 5” (125 mm) models incorporating the Easy Cast system certainly proved to be what the market wanted with tens of thousands of these models being produced.
Larger models in the 6” (150 mm) and 6 ½” (165 mm) were added to this range in the 1997-98 era. To retain the reputation of indestructible it was decided to retain the metal Ferguson style side cast on the larger series married with an ultra-light yet ultra-strong graphite back which literally bounces off the rocks or concrete.
In 1997 a fully vented graphite blue water saltwater fly reel was added to the Alvey range in place of the older heavier metal and fibreglass SWF reel. This was well received by the market and reels were exported to USA, NZ and UK.
The year 2000 saw the release of the vented 6500 series reels followed by the 6000 series in mid-2001. These reels offer anglers a lighter sportier looking reel with a substantial investment by the company into new tooling to produce these.
Sadly, in June 2001 Jack Alvey passed away after a long battle with cancer. Jack was widely respected throughout the fishing community and the Queensland Manufacturing businesses. In 1999 Jack was awarded an OAM for his efforts in promoting recreational fishing and strongly supporting junior anglers wherever possible.
Late 2001 saw the release of the first graphite vented 825 series boat reels. This used a graphite back and vented spool to keep weight down but still offered the angler a powerful low maintenance reel for deep sea fishing.
The 825BCV Model also incorporated a rapid retrieve handle plate system. This is simply done by have the handles at different centre distances which can give you approximately 30% increase in recovery rate by using the small handle. No gears No bearings No problems. This system has now been adapted to several models with great success.
In 2008 the Turbo Cast System was developed. This injection moulded component stands the reel slightly further off the rod to increase the line flow during casting which will improve distance. Being made from nylon the turning action for casting is extremely smooth and has a nice feel to the operation. This system is now available on both the 600 and 650 series of reels.
2011 saw the importing of the first ever overseas made reel. The specialist CNC machined aluminium reel float fishing reel has been very well accepted into the market. This beautiful little reel runs on dual stainless-steel ball bearings and works as well as it looks.
Since 2000 Alvey have built their range of imported fishing rods to 16 Models in 2012. These cover children's rods through to surf models and now a specialist blackfish Rod. These also include 2 Telescopic rods to suit the ever-growing numbers of grey nomads who love fishing and need an easily transportable rod.
2014 saw the release of the Model 6000C8 reel. This had the traditional rolled Stainless Back with a laser cut fishtail cross and a CNC machined Anodized Alloy spool made in China for us. It also incorporated a large single plate clutch with a Carbon clutch washer.”
Despite the level of popularity enjoyed by Alvey, in July 2017 the business had to make the decision to close due to a drop off in sales. However, the overwhelming public reaction to this decision provided an influx of orders which has kept Alvey thriving to this day.
In mid-2019, Alvey Reels was sold to a prominent business consortium but with members of the Alvey family still continuing in senior positions in the organisation. The new business will continue to embrace the 100-year heritage of Alvey whilst introducing new technologies, products, manufacturing techniques and innovations into the range.
References
- http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/carole-park-factory-owners-cry-foul-over-ipswich-council-rates-increases/news-story/65b0848f1f1b796dd6ef31e1d536a3a4
- http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/queensland-business-monthly-alvey-reels-in-the-years-as-iconic-manufacturer-keeps-anglers-hooked/news-story/f0d7feea6a5eed42ba6de777a84d16f8
- Binnie, Kerrin; Vujkovic, Melanie (20 July 2017). "Alvey fishing reel company to close after almost 100 years in business". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 July 2017.