In Kalgoorlie in the 1930s Charles Warman started what went on to become the Warman International Company, when he invented the Warman slurry pump – which remains one of the most important innovations in global pumps today.
During the 1940s and 1950s the Warman slurry pump was manufactured and sold out of Kalgoorlie and at one point accounted for up to 90 per cent of the West Australian pump market.
The company continued to manufacture and revise the pump design over the years and establish outposts all around the world, manufacturing and selling the pumps into global mining markets.
The Warman International Company was acquired by the Weir Group in 1999, and the final part of the old Warman business in Africa was ultimately taken over by Weir early in 2008.
