Penrite celebrates 100 years

Ford Australia was founded at Geelong in 1925.

The following year, some several hours’ drive east in a Model T, St Kilda youngster Les Mecoles was making himself busy after school by blending oil on his mother’s kitchen stove. Les would then load the finished product into the family wheelbarrow and deliver it himself to customers.

That was how Penrite Oil started, and so just as Ford Australia celebrated its centenary of operations last year, 2026 marks Penrite’s 100th birthday.

In 1979 the company changed hands to John and Margret Dymond. The Dymond family remain at the helm at Penrie today, and so for all of its 100 years Penrite has been Australian family owned and operated. Penrite manufactures its products here in Australia at its plants in Dandenong in Victoria and Crestmead in Queensland.

To celebrate the 100th milestone, the company opened the gates to its Dandenong South headquarters to host its own Penrite Cars & Coffee event.

The family-friendly event attracted more than 1000 automotive enthusiasts, motorsport fans and families for a morning celebrating car culture, performance and community – more than 250 attendees brought and displayed their own vehicles.

The event also saw the unveiling of this year’s special 100-year celebration livery on the Penrite Racing Mustangs that will compete in this year's Repco Supercars Championship. The rollout of the Penrite 100 years logo will start in coming months, appearing on Penrite’s product packaging, marketing materials and communications.

Naturally, Penrite Racing Supercars drivers Matt Payne and Kai Allen (along with enduro co-drivers Will Davison and Tim Slade) were in attendance, taking part in fan engagement activities including a live Q&A and signing session.

“This event meant a lot to everyone at Penrite,” said Penrite Oil events manager Ryan Lednar. “We’ve been Australian owned and made since 1926, and launching our 2026 Penrite Racing livery as part of our 100-year celebrations felt like a powerful way to honour where we’ve come from.”

Penrite Oil brand manager Jarrod Harding paid tribute to the support and loyalty of the company’s customers:

“We have workshops out there that have been with us since the start, going through several generations of owners. This commemorative logo represents our gratitude, resilience, and continued commitment to delivering the very best.

The company’s head of strategy and customer engagement, Priscilla Robb, said the event reflected the values that have underpinned Penrite Oil for nearly a century.

“By evolving our traditional fan day into Penrite Cars & Coffee, we were able to celebrate our history while welcoming families, fans and car lovers to be part of the next chapter,” she said. “Penrite’s story is deeply Australian, and that sense of pride was felt throughout the day.”

“Unveiling the 2026 Penrite Racing livery at a community-focused event like Cars & Coffee captured everything we stand for - heritage, performance and people - as we begin celebrating 100 years since our founding in 1926. We were honoured to have Margaret Dymond in attendance, and we proudly recognise that without our customers and fans, Penrite would not be the brand it is today after 100 years.”

Margaret Dymond, matriarch of the Dymond family which has been at the helm of Penrite Oil for close to half a century, poses with the Peter Brock Trophy which Penrite Racing won in the Bathurst 1000 last year.

The Penrite Cars & Coffee event marks the first of several initiatives planned as Penrite celebrates its 100th year in 2026.

For more on the Aussie oil company's 100-year journey, including Mark Larkham's take on the 2025 Repco Bathurst 1000, check the Penrite website: https://penriteoil.com.au/about