Turbocharger technology has been around for over 100 years now, and Garrett has been a massive part of the push to develop and expand on what is known about forced induction. The Garrett name is the first name you think of when turbocharging pops up in a conversation and their turbochargers are found underneath the hoods of all sorts of production cars. Nissan have worked extensively with Garrett, as have Saab, Mercedes Benz, Peugeot, and BMW. Locally Ford have employed the expertise of Garrett to develop turbo charging systems for their products. An example of this is the recent BA XR6 Turbo Falcon.

The aftermarket is also a big proponent of Garrett turbo chargers with many a drag/circuit/drifter/rally car bolting a Garrett branded hair dryer onto their engines. Yet it seems that many people are actually unaware that Garrett's presence has been in Australia for quite a long time. In fact some people simply think the turbos they buy from Garrett are made and assembled in the United States of America .

Garrett has a long and rich history in Australia starting from the early 1970's. Based in Victoria at Airport West what is now known as Garrett was part of Normalair Garrett Mfg. The turbocharger section of the facility was used to repair and overhaul the turbochargers that were found on aircraft such as the Cessna, Piper and other such light aircraft.

After some research was done, Sydney was deemed a better market for growth and expansion, particularly into diesel powered road transportation, marine and earthmoving equipment. In 1977 the company relocated to Moorebank, NSW. The bean counters were correct in their assumption of growth and by 1982 the company had outgrown their Moorebank facility and headed to Unit 4, 14 Alfred Road in Chipping Norton where they still operate from to this day.

While Garrett was designing, building, and supplying turbochargers to planes, tractors and boats, they were also very active in the performance car scene. The 70's and 80's featured a whole fleet of performance turbocharger kits. The 161, 173, 186, 202 six cylinder engines and 253 and 308 Holden motors were spiced up with some boost. These were all available in the aftermarket, with some of these being sold through dealerships across the country. Certain Ford engines also coped some air including the 4.1 litre 6 that was common-place in Falcons of the era. Mitsubishi and Garrett worked together to develop the GH Sigma Turbo also. The development of these performance kits have established a strong foot hold in the Australian horse power scene.

Allied Signals bought Normalair Garrett Mfg in the late 1990's. This was significant because the US based company opened the flood doors to a vastly superior range of information which was not available to the Australian contingent over the previous years. The technology and financial resources now available allow Garrett to stay at the fore front of turbocharging technology. 2001 saw the merger of Allied Signals and Honeywell. Honeywell was the better known company of the two, so now the turbocharged side of the company is globally recognised as Garrett Turbochargers by Honeywell Turbo Technologies.

The most recent performance car collaboration for Garrett Turbochargers is the Ford XR6 Turbo. Garrett builds and supplies the monster turbos which are fitted onto the XR6T engines, and they also build and supply the quality intercoolers that are used in this application.

Garrett is going from strength to strength and in 2005 a re-evaluated performance network was established with one nominated distributor in each state. GCG Turbochargers (NSW), MTQ Engine Systems (QLD, SA, WA) and Rotomaster Distribution (VIC) are all part of the Garrett distribution network which cater to the ever growing demand for quality Garrett turbos. This new distribution network is specifically designed to cater for the performance aftermarket. Garrett's old distribution network which caters to all the other turbo demands still exists and is as strong as ever before.

Garrett is supplying not only their performance products to the aftermarket scene, they are also supplying know-how and decades of expertise with their new found sponsorship deals. Early in 2005 a sponsorship deal was negotiated with the PAC Racing MX6. Rocky and George Rayhem now have a developing relationship with Garrett that has grown in strength during 2005 and will continue through 2006.

The Garrett name is synonymous with cutting edge, hi tech, quality turbo charging, yet a large portion of people do not realise that Garrett has been working and dealing from Australian shores for a very long time. Their long rich history in this country and their strongly accelerating performance in recent times is a testament to their commitment to excellence and their ability to forge a name in the aftermarket automotive industry.

Garrett Innovation Timeline:

• 1936 - John Clifford Garrett started it all
• 1955 - Caterpillar D9 sported the first Garrett production turbo
• 1962 - The world's first turbocharged production car was a 1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire Turbo Rocket
• 1967 - The John Deere Tractor was the starting point for what was to eventually become the legendary TO4 turbo unit.
• 1977 - The TO3 turbocharger was first found on the Saab 99 Turbo
• 1977 - This year was also important because the first turbo diesel production car in Europe was released, namely the Mercedes Benz 300TD
• 1979 - The Peugeot 604 Turbo of this year came equipped with the first integral wastegate and silicon moly turbine housing
• 1987 - The Buick Regal Grand National GNX was the first turbocharged car to have a ceramic turbine wheel
• 1990 - The first VNT (Variable Nozzle Technology) turbo on a production car was found on the Chrysler Dodge Daytona Shelby Turbo Z
• 1993 - The Jap-Spec Nissan Silvia was equipped with the first ball-bearing turbo in a production vehicle
• 1999 - The BMW 7 Series was the recipient of the first REA (Rotary Electric Actuator) VNT (Variable Nozzle Technology) in a production car
• 2000 - The first EGR and dual axle VNT turbo on a production vehicle was found on the Nabi bus
• 2003 - The Kenworth Truck was the first ACERT engine to utilize Garrett's dual stage turbo charging system
• 2003 to Present time - Compressor wheels have been upgraded. Garrett was the first to release a boreless compressor wheel, and are continuing to evolve the wheel design. Garrett are also working on the e-Turbo, which is an electrically assisted turbo to reduce lag. Rumours are circulating that the next GTR will be equipped with this technology.