Gate-A-Mation (the sister company to Solar Autogates) started out as a part time business in early 1990, run by Ron Fergusson.
In 1992, demand for gate automation products had increased sufficiently for Ron to start retailing gate automation equipment full time, and the name Gate-A-Mation was coined to identify the company’s core business.
One of the early slogans Ron used was “Our prices are always the dearest – that’s why we have so many satisfied customers”.
In 1994, dissatisfied with varying standards of installation work from sub-contractors, Gate-A-Mation entered into negotiations with Advanced Home Systems Pty Ltd (AHSPL), an electrical contracting firm founded by Tom McCurdy, to be the sole installers of Gate-A-Mation products.
From 1994, AHSPL continued to work alongside Ron until his retirement in early 2006. Because of the longstanding arrangement between the two companies, it was decided that AHSPL would purchase Gate-A-Mation outright.
In 2014 it was felt that our marketing for solar powered autogates was being misconstrued by many of Gate-A-Mations’ customers, so we decided to focus our solar side of the business under a name that could convey the purpose of the business, and be centred for marketing in the rural regions where our products can be used to the fullest. The core focus of Solar Autogates is now the Barossa, Riverland and Adelaide Hills regions.