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Our History

W M Bamford and Company Limited (or Bamford as we are more commonly known) was established in 1952 by William Martindale Bamford.

William was a naval officer and navigator during the second world war. Post war, he purchased an agency for wool gauze and a licence to import from the UK – an agency that Bamford still holds today, albeit under a new name and for a much-modernised product.

In 1978, William’s oldest son, Alaister, joined Bamford. As a trained engineer and ex Unilever, Alaister grew the business, taking on new agencies and successfully building the family business over the next 37 years. In 2011, Alaister’s youngest son, Alex, joined Bamford. Finance and economics trained with experience at Ernst & Young as a consultant, Alex is now the General Manager and leading the company into the future.

Although now semi-retired, Alaister still maintains an active role in the company in his position as Governing Director.

So, three generations later, the Bamford team has grown from 1 to 20 and the offices have moved 4 times to keep up. Still Wellington based, but with Auckland and Christchurch offices and warehousing, Bamford has transitioned from being a purely indent stockist to one of New Zealand’s most successful Medical Device Distributors and Medical Logistics Providers.

Bamford – keeping it in the family with products that have supported the New Zealand Healthcare industry for over 65 years.

Where we are going

We will continue to identify, import and distribute medical products from companies around the world. We have our existing international network of suppliers and manufacturers from whom we can readily source products which will add value to the New Zealand healthcare market. Or, as needed, we will locate products from new suppliers to ensure our customers have access to product that best suits their needs. We aim to continue to expand on our own portfolio of manufactured products (soft packs, basic dressings, general consumables, etc.) This allows us to have direct control over the manufacturing process ensuring we make products that are specific to the New Zealand market and the end user. This also means we can manufacture products in smaller volumes and streamline the supply chain. Most importantly, this results in time and cost savings to our customers.

We currently successfully partner with a number of international medical device companies to provide them with a direct presence into the New Zealand market through back office and customer service support, stock management and distribution. We aim to continue to grow this part of our business offering international companies a cost-effective entry point into the New Zealand healthcare market along with a local support team who understands New Zealand’s healthcare customers and logistical demands.