Company History .....

Bardak Pty Ltd was established in 1982 by Dr Robert Booth and Susan Saunders, providing the foundation for the Bardak Group of companies that were formed in subsequent years. Initially trading as Bardak Energy Services, the company provided specialised advice on energy matters to companies in the energy industry, concentrating on long term predictions of electricity costs and on market studies for the renewable energy industry.

In 1983, a separate company, Suntron Energy Company Pty Ltd, was established to develop and market a broad range of small scale power supply systems for remote homes, communications equipment, lighting systems, cathodic protection and water pumping. These products used solar photovoltaic, wind and diesel based power supply inputs coupled with battery/inverter systems as required. The company developed sophisticated control and monitoring equipment to be incorporated in each power supply system. Susan Saunders was the Managing Director and founder of this company.

Over a fourteen year period ending in 1997, the Suntron Energy Company Pty Ltd, followed by other entities, Bardak Solar and Suntron Power Products Pty Ltd, specialised in the development of high efficiency motor drive systems for solar powered water pumps. Research and development activities led to the development of a complete range of competitive solar water pumping systems and associated products, which were then manufactured and marketed in Australia and overseas. At the end of 1996 , the Suntron business and technology was sold to Mono Pumps (Australia) Pty Ltd, a company with whom Suntron had had long association.

During this period, MacForce Pty Ltd, a temporary staff agency for Macintosh computers was established to cater for specialised graphic design and page layout services that were not readily supplied by conventional staff agencies at the time. This business ran for 6 years. In addition, Suntron Energy Company Pty Ltd was the Victorian distributor for the Western Australian manufactured, Unidata data logging equipment, over the whole period.

From 1997 onwards, Susan Saunders has been operating the management services and investment activities of the Bardak Group. In December 1999, Bardak Management Services Pty Ltd became the Western Australian distributor for Business Manager Software specialising in integrated computer based accounting and customer information systems. In 2000 and 2001, as Executive Director of Curtin Consultancy Services (the commercial arm of Curtin University of Technology, Perth), Susan initiated an organisational development program to break the organisation into a series of separate business units with improved accounting, management techniques and procedures. This work was completed by September 2001.

When Dr Robert Booth became Managing Director of Bardak Pty Ltd in mid 1992, Bardak Energy Services expanded its area of advice to encompass the whole field of electric power and energy in Australia and South East Asia. Bardak Energy Services subsequently developed a wide range of clients in large industry, industry associations, government and the energy distribution sectors.

This area of the Group activities was expanded extensively from that time with Bardak Energy Services becoming involved in several major energy projects, involving the construction of power stations and the building of long distance gas pipelines as well as other projects relating to power system improvements. Rob made a significant contribution to the design and subsequent criticism/debate over the various energy reform programmes in each of Australian States and with National energy policy. He was the author of many landmark papers and a renowned commentator generally on the power and energy industry in this period.

In early 2001, the activities of the Group were consolidated into Bardak Ventures Pty Ltd, trading as Bardak - Energy and Management Services. In late 2001 the company re-located to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and continued its consulting activities from that location. After the passing of Dr Booth in December 2005, the company trades only as Bardak Management Services, chosing to concentrate on management consulting to small and medium sized entities.

In 2008, Susan embark on a research programme towards a doctorate in Business IT with RMIT University in Melbourne. The consulting activities are in abeyance during this period.

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