A family-run business founded on firsthand experience in the baking industry, with the goal to provide bakeries the innovative choices that were once missing from the market.
Every great business starts with someone who refuses to accept ‘good enough.’ For Vanrooy Machinery, that someone was John Van Rooy, a man who grew up around baking, understood its demands better than most and decided Australian bakeries deserved better tools to do their job.
John’s father, Paul, had learned the baking trade back in Holland before migrating the family to Australia after the Second World War, setting up a small bakery in Hampton, Melbourne, called Red Mill Cakes. John followed in his footsteps, expanding into a large-scale wholesale operation, but quickly ran into a problem every baker in the country was facing: the equipment available locally simply wasn’t good enough.
The best commercial bakery equipment, backed by 40+ years of genuine industry knowledge.
Drawing on his European heritage, John knew there had to be better options overseas. In the early 1970s, he travelled to one of the biggest bakery trade shows in Europe and found exactly what he was looking for: rack ovens, a genuinely new technology that Australian bakeries hadn’t yet seen.
He imported the first two rack ovens into Australia, installed one in his own bakery, and sold the second. It didn’t take long to realise he wasn’t the only baker with this problem and that there was a real business opportunity in bringing world-class bakery equipment to Australian shores. From that single decision, Vanrooy Machinery was born.
Fast forward more than four decades and Vanrooy Machinery has grown into a fourth-generation, family-run company and the number one supplier of food equipment to the industry across Australia and New Zealand. Today, current CEO, David Van Rooy, leads the business alongside his two sons. continuing a legacy that started with his grandfather’s bakery bench.
As David puts it, the business has never been complicated:
"At the heart of our business is a commitment to supplying the right equipment and solutions, and building lasting relationships with our customers. We don't overcomplicate things. We're a family business, we do things a little bit differently, but that's what a family business does."
“I love working with the people that we work with. I love the honesty and integrity of the industry. It’s certainly a very great industry to be passionate about.” – David Van Rooy
Being run by people who understand baking from the inside, not just from a sales perspective, shapes everything about how we operate. Our philosophy, rooted in integrity from the very beginning, means we look at every piece of equipment the way a baker would: not ‘can I sell this and move on,’ but ‘will this be reliable at 2am on a Saturday morning when a bakery genuinely needs it to work.’
That’s why our focus has always extended beyond the initial sale to genuine service and technical support, because that’s what keeps bakeries, patisseries and food manufacturers running.
As David Van Rooy explains:
"Our mission has always been clear: to provide world-class food equipment with expert technical support, so that our customers can produce the highest quality products with great efficiency."
That mission is guided by four core values that have defined the business since John Van Rooy’s first import all those years ago:
Finding the right people who share our passion and philosophy.
Continually sourcing the best commercial bakery equipment.
Making decisions the way a baker would, not just a salesperson.
From the local corner bakery producing one item at a time, right through to major national manufacturers like Woolworths producing thousands of units a day, Vanrooy Machinery works across every scale of the industry. Our equipment range includes:
This makes us a genuine one-stop supplier for bakeries at any stage
of growth.
Watch the below interview with Vanrooy CEO, David Van Rooy
If you’re searching for the best commercial bakery equipment backed by genuine industry knowledge and decades of hands-on experience, Vanrooy Machinery offers something most suppliers can’t: a business literally built by bakers, for bakeries. From humble beginnings importing two rack ovens to becoming the trusted equipment partner for bakeries big and small across Australia and New Zealand, our story has always been about one thing: helping bakeries do their best work, efficiently and reliably.
Vanrooy Machinery supplies equipment from 40 leading brands, including Salva, Merand, Chocolate World, Fortuna and Tekno Stamap, among others — spanning bakery, patisserie, chocolate, gelato and food processing equipment. You can browse the full range on our Brands page.
The Vanrooy warehouse is located in Victoria, Australia, at 14 Brindley Street, Dandenong South VIC 3175.
