Our story

In 1920, H.J. Reece started out by selling quality hardware supplies from the back of his truck in Victoria, Australia. Later that year, he opened the first Reece store in Caulfield, as the home of exceptional tools and expert advice. Coincidentally, on the other side of the world, three Texans had a similar vision of supplying plumbers with everything they needed to carry out essential work.

Solid foundations of reliable products and superior service shaped the blueprint for the Reece Group, which today spans Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Since joining Reece, the Wilson family name has become synonymous with our way of doing business.

In 1969, the same day that humans first stepped onto the moon, the Wilson family became majority shareholders. They committed to leading the Reece business to long-term success, with our customers, and our people, placed firmly at the centre of our business.

Pictured L to R - Alan Wilson, Executive Director and Peter Wilson, Reece Group CEO

We introduced complete bathroom and kitchen displays to our stores in 1986, a first for Australian showrooms.

Now, we give our customers the opportunity to create better bathrooms with our exclusive quality products via interactive displays, virtual tools and in-store advice.

The Reece System, our one-stop shop for data that allows our people to deliver on our customer promise, was introduced in 1990. Known as TRS, this system has continued to evolve and remains the backbone of our business.

Today, it is complemented by a suite of digital tools and platforms that make our customers' lives easier. One of our newest tech innovations is the maX app, which lets customers order and track goods wherever they are.

We cemented our culture of continuous improvement and opened our first training centre, equipping our people with the capabilities they need to help improve the way we do things.

Fast forward to 2020 when we launched our first digital blended learning platform, LXP, which helps our people achieve greatness by learning when, where and how they want.

In the same year Reece became a $1 billion business, we expanded our operations to New Zealand with the acquisition of LG Carder.

Today, Reece has grown into one of New Zealand's leading distributors for plumbing, bathroom and HVAC-R products. We're proud to support both commercial and residential customers out of 38 branches and showrooms across both the North and South Island.

In 2014, we moved beyond plumbing, welcoming Actrol and Metalflex to the business. This saw us create new strategic business units, supporting the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration industry for the first time.

Today, the HVAC-R network stretches across more than 100 branches across Australia and New Zealand, with a growing presence in the United States.

In 2017, we expanded our waterworks business with the acquisition of Viadux.

As Australia’s largest local distributor and solutions provider, we capitalise on our end-to-end model, market-leading products and technical expertise to collaborate with future-focused partners to deliver major infrastructure projects.

In 2018, we acquired MORSCO to create a platform for future growth, and bring the same customised service to the growing Sun Belt region of the US.

At the start of 2022, after three years of learning and growing together, Reece and MORSCO made the decision to retire the MORSCO brand and launch Reece USA, a symbolic step forward in our shared pursuit to be the most valued partner of our customers.

In March 2022, we officially moved into The Works – our new headquarters. A symbolic step forward for the business as we work towards achieving our 2030 strategy.

We also launched the Reece Foundation, an independent charity dedicated to partnering with the trade to bring clean water and sanitation to those who need it most.

We’re now well over half way through rolling out the Reece brand in the US, with over half now trading as Reece. Each branch is getting a refreshed look and feel as the Reece brand is introduced. It is already having a positive impact on our team and being well received by our customers.