Characters of the North: Bayswater Radiator founder Bob Thompson reflects on rewarding four decade career

When your radiator runs into problems, there’s a good chance you’ve run into Bob Thompson’s radiator shop. After 40 years, he might be slowing down – but he’s not done with this iconic NQ business.

Bob Thompson, will soon be celebrating Bayswater Radiators 40th Anniversary. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Despite easing back on his workload four decades after he founded Bayswater Radiators, Bob Thompson still pitches in with his family business, which plays a positive role in supporting many people in the community.

A local since he was six weeks old, Bob Thompson has grown to become a well-known and respected character within Townsville’s business community since launching Bayswater Radiators with his wife Debbie at 369 Bayswater Rd in 1984.

Whether its trucks, agricultural, earthmoving, machinery, industrial, mining, marine, or anything in between, if your internal combustion engine’s radiator has leaked or overheated, there’s a good chance you may have visited Mr Thompson seeking a solution.

“If you had a radio or windscreen wipers fail, you could still drive the car, but with a failed radiator, the car is immobile, so there’s always demand to get them turned around quickly, especially if it’s heavy machinery … because downtime is very expensive,” Mr Thompson said.

Committed to innovation and customer satisfaction, where they treat people they way they want to be treated, the Thompsons have built a loyal following, despite the continual challenges and evolution within the industry.

“It’s been a struggle. Every year it gets harder and harder in business. There’s increased competition, even from our customers, like the motor trade. They might be able to go to a rep and get spark plugs and oil filters and things like that, and they’ll order a radiator,” he said.

“These importers now keep them on the shelf, whereas before, traditionally, 40, 30, even 20 years ago, you’d come to a radiator shop and buy it.

“So we’ve had to put more focus on the retail public, and educate them … if they’ve got a cooling system problem, come to a radiator specialist.”

He said it took a lot of financial discipline, where you needed to be conservative handling business investments and keep debt to a minimum.

Bob Thompson is the owner of Bayswater Rd Radiators has a passion for hotrods and has acquired an impressive collection over the years.

A savvy marketer, Mr Thompson’s career has seen him constantly finding innovative ways to create business awareness and exposure, be it through prominent business locations, a Beach Boys inspired radio jingle, claiming prized newspaper advertising space, or other means.

During the late 1980s, when desktop computer use was in its infancy, he helped develop a national radiator part number database called EZI-RAD.

He loaded up his car with computers and visited radiator businesses throughout the country where he demonstrated the program’s effectiveness – with a significant uptake.

Flashback to 2004 when Bob Thompson from Bayswater Road Radiators checks pressure on a 4WD radiator.

“I noticed that the RACQ didn’t have radiator repairs listed as their approved repairer listings, so I lobbied them and they finally agreed to include radiator shops … so I was the first one appointed as an authorised radiator repairer in Queensland … around 1989,” he said.

Their success continued in the 2000s during a stint as Natrad’s franchisee, with Bayswater Radiators named as Queensland’s, then Australia’s franchise of the year.

In 2008 Natrad Townsville Bayswater Road Radiators won a national franchise award. Front; Bob and Debbie Thompson. Back Damien, Ben, and Aaron Thompson.

Nowadays located a modern showroom at the corner of Bayswater Rd and Duckworth St, Mr Thompson has handed the business’ reins over to his son Aaron, who continues the family’s innovation tradition with an expanded range of complete exchange heavy duty upgrade truck radiators for popular models including Kenworth, Western Star, and Mack.

Aaron Thompson has taken the lead at family business Bayswater Radiators. Picture: Shae Beplate.

The business repays the community’s support through donations and sponsorships for multiple local junior sports, field days, automotive shows, and charity fundraising events, as well as the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute for cancer research, and son Damien’s Chimera Legacy Foundation, which supplies VR Virtual Reality headsets for long term hospital patients.

Grateful to have such a rewarding career here in North Queensland, Mr Thompson wished to thank his regular customers and the wider community for their support.

For more information, visit: bayswaterradiators.com.au.

Originally published as Characters of the North: Bayswater Radiator founder Bob Thompson reflects on rewarding four decade career