Our History
Built on Trust. Grown with Purpose.
The doors to ATOM’s first industrial supplies store opened in Darwin, Northern Territory, in 1978.
Originally known as ATOM Supply, the name came from Aqua Terra Oil Mineral — reflecting our early focus on supplying to land‑based industry and the oil and gas sector. From the beginning, a small founding team played a hands‑on role in establishing the first branches and earning the trust of customers across Northern Australia.
Those early relationships set the standard for what ATOM still stands for today: reliability, practical expertise and genuine service. It didn’t take long for the ATOM name to become synonymous with quality industrial hardware, safety equipment and specialist oil and gas products.
From Humble Beginnings to a National Network
Over the decades, ATOM continued to grow — steadily and purposefully — expanding our footprint to support customers wherever they operate.
More than 40 years on, ATOM now operates a national network of warehouses, including Australia’s largest Industrial Walkthrough Warehouse. We’re proud to employ over 300 people, affectionately known as ATOMites, providing meaningful employment opportunities to local communities across Australia in a wide range of roles.
While our scale has grown, our mindset hasn’t changed. We still believe that locals serve locals best, and that strong relationships are built by showing up, knowing our customers’ operations, and doing the little things well.
Milestones That Shaped ATOM
Our journey has been shaped by a series of deliberate steps to better support our customers as their needs evolved.
2010 — ATOMic Services
ATOMic Services was established to help customers transform how they manage industrial consumables. By introducing advanced tracking, reporting and onsite inventory solutions, ATOMic brings products closer to where work happens — improving productivity, reducing waste and lowering total cost of ownership.
2017 — ATOM Safety
Recognising a gap in the market for truly independent safety expertise, ATOM Safety (originally ATOMise) was created. Our safety specialists provide credible, unbiased advice through comprehensive workplace risk assessments — helping customers improve compliance, reduce incidents and lower the cost of managing safety.
ATOM Community Engagement (ACE) Fund
One of our proudest milestones has been the creation of the ACE Fund. We contribute 1.5% of sales from WIRRA and Bibbulmun products to support initiatives in Indigenous education, youth‑to‑work programs, health and community wellbeing, and men’s and women’s cancer prevention and care. Supporting the communities that support us is something we take seriously.
Strategic Growth Through Acquisition
As ATOM continued to grow, we welcomed several like‑minded businesses into the group to strengthen our capabilities and regional presence:
- 2007 — Geraldton Industrial Supplies (GIS)
- 2014 — Express Industrial Supplies, expanding our footprint in New South Wales and Victoria
- 2019 — Workforce Clothing, strengthening our offering in South Australia and beyond
- 2024 — Hillcock Industrial
Each acquisition was driven by a simple goal: bring better service, broader capability and deeper expertise to our customers.
Where to From Here?
We’re just getting started.
ATOM’s focus remains on bringing our suite of capabilities and hundreds of thousands of products closer to where our customers need them most. With new warehouses planned and continued investment in digital procurement, inventory control, safety and uniforms, we’re building a platform designed to support Australian industry long into the future.
To follow our journey, keep an eye on our LinkedIn page or join our mailing list for the latest ATOM updates.