Doug Brooks

When 23-year-old Doug Brooks saw an opportunity to hire equipment to the mining industry in 1979, he knew he had to pursue it. Doug scrambled together every dollar he had to purchase two disassembled compressors, settling the remainder of the bill with Bankcard. This was the beginning of Brooks Hire Service, with Doug hiring out his compressors from a tin shed in the remote Western Australian town of Eneabba.

Doug built a business based on first-class customer service, and an attitude of doing whatever it took to keep his machines working for his customers. As the business grew, Doug moved his operations to Perth, and by 2009, new Brooks Hire branches opened around the country. In 2019, after celebrating 40 years of success, Doug diversified his business to include divisions in transport, access equipment, equipment sales, and air travel. Today, Brooks Hire Service is one of the largest privately owned equipment hire business in Australia with 20 branches Australia-wide. Doug is a commercial helicopter pilot, and private fixed wing pilot with a keen interest in the aviation industry. Much of Doug’s success can be put down to his relentless focus on the customer, his hardworking, down-to-earth approach, and his generous, charitable nature.

What started as two compressors on hire, has now turned into over 1500 pieces of machinery on hire. And Brooks Hire Service sparked the Brooks group of companies including Brooks Hire Service, Brooks Transport, Brooks Access, Brooks Equipment Sales, and Brooks Airways. True to his nature, there are no signs of Doug slowing down – he is still firmly hands-on in the daily operations of his Australian-owned, family-run business.