Made Local: How Paint is Manufactured in Australia
You may know it as Haymes Paint. But did you know it's a fourth-generation family-owned Australian paint company?
Way back in 1890, Thomas Jefferson Haymes hung a shingle outside his paint contracting business and electrical supplies store in Ballarat, Victoria. Forty-five years later in 1935, his son Henry started his own company manufacturing paint in the same town. And 20 years later in 1955, he won the tender to supply paint to the Victorian Government.
After Henry’s untimely death, in 1967 the company passed to his son David, who had to work his way up as a warehouse storeman to managing director. It was David who secured the contract for Haymes to become the major paint supplier of the National Trust. When David retired in 2009, the fourth generation of the Haymes family – Tim, Matt, Belinda and her husband Rod – was well placed to take over operations. Here, we look at how this family-owned company continues to manufacture in the same town it was founded in 87 years ago.
After Henry’s untimely death, in 1967 the company passed to his son David, who had to work his way up as a warehouse storeman to managing director. It was David who secured the contract for Haymes to become the major paint supplier of the National Trust. When David retired in 2009, the fourth generation of the Haymes family – Tim, Matt, Belinda and her husband Rod – was well placed to take over operations. Here, we look at how this family-owned company continues to manufacture in the same town it was founded in 87 years ago.
Charaka Lelwala and Marzia McCormick check for durability.
The laboratory was responsible for the development of Haymes Paint Expressions, an interior paint range. The multi-year process developed and delivered a low-VOC, highly washable, stain-resistant interior paint.
The laboratory was responsible for the development of Haymes Paint Expressions, an interior paint range. The multi-year process developed and delivered a low-VOC, highly washable, stain-resistant interior paint.
Across the way, in the 2600-square-metre Haymes Paint plant, is where paint is made.
The raw materials that go into making paint – including resins, polymers and powders such as titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate – are weighed using a set of industrial scales.
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The raw materials that go into making paint – including resins, polymers and powders such as titanium dioxide and calcium carbonate – are weighed using a set of industrial scales.
Thinking of repainting? Find local painters on Houzz, browse images of their work and read reviews from previous clients
Each ingredient is weighed and measured by hand to ensure precision and specificity. About 40 team members are based at the factory, which means key steps in the manufacturing process are done by humans rather than machines.
About 30,000 kilograms of raw materials (excluding water) pass through the Haymes Paint factory each day.
A team member then uses a vacuum lifter to move raw materials into one of the industrial mixers.
A team member then uses a vacuum lifter to move raw materials into one of the industrial mixers.
Once the paint is mixed, it is transferred to coloured tanks known as Let Down Tanks.
These hold bulk finished paint until it is approved by Haymes’ Quality Control department, which calculates the weight of product required to fill the correct volume.
These hold bulk finished paint until it is approved by Haymes’ Quality Control department, which calculates the weight of product required to fill the correct volume.
When the paint is released by the Quality Control department, it is released into individual tins.
While most tints (also known as ‘colourants’) are added in-store, some popular colours are manufactured in the factory. It is these tints that give the paint its colour.
Browse beautiful images of Australian living rooms featuring pops of colour
While most tints (also known as ‘colourants’) are added in-store, some popular colours are manufactured in the factory. It is these tints that give the paint its colour.
Browse beautiful images of Australian living rooms featuring pops of colour
Tints are made from a range of strong colour pigments that are dispersed into water to form a paste.
They can be a mixture of earthier, oxide colours, through to very clean and bright blue, green, yellow and red colour pigments.
They can be a mixture of earthier, oxide colours, through to very clean and bright blue, green, yellow and red colour pigments.
Haymes Paint is available in 500ml, 1-, 2-, 4-, 10-litre tins and 15-litre plastic pails.
Thirty 15-litre tins form a pallet, which is wrapped in plastic to ensure safety and avoid spillages during transport.
These are moved into storage awaiting shipment using a forklift.
On average it takes eight hours for a tin of paint to be manufactured from start to finish at the plant, but this varies depending on the type of paint being made.
Quality control technician Ben Shipham is responsible for testing batches of paint.
Tests for each batch vary, but common tests are coverage (opacity), viscosity (how thick the product is), gloss measured over multiple angles, tint strength and alignment, drying times and the weight per litre of the product.
And here’s the final product on the shelf at one of Haymes Paint’s shops, where tints are added and mixed into the base paint according to customers’ requests.
Your turn
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More
See another great Australian manufacturing story with this Made Local: How an Iconic Mid-Century Stool is Being Revived
Your turn
Do you love learning about how things are made in Australia, and have a suggestion for a story? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images for inspiration, like this story and join the conversation.
More
See another great Australian manufacturing story with this Made Local: How an Iconic Mid-Century Stool is Being Revived
Long before cans of paint roll out of the nearby factory floor, work takes place in the Haymes Paint Laboratory.
Located within the same precinct as the head office in Ballarat, Victoria, the laboratory tests all paints to ensure the reliability of products… which is important, given that Haymes Paint produces more than 12 million litres of paint every year in Australia.
One of the primary tests conducted by the laboratory is checking paint durability. For exterior paint, this includes applying product on an exterior ‘test rack’ and then monitoring for adhesion, cracking, flaking, peeling, colour change, chalking and gloss change.
Interior coating products are tested by looking at the wash and stain resistance, polishing resistance and scrub resistance of the paint.
Experts also examine a range of properties, such as a paint’s adhesion to a wide variety of materials, viscosity, and application properties by brush, roller and spray.