Mr William (Bill) Cornish founded Cornish's in 1935.

His great success in the Tamworth area led to expansion into surrounding areas, namely Gunnedah, Quirindi, Wauchope and Walcha.

Unfortunately after the death of Mr Cornish in 1975, the impact of his death and ensuing hard times eventually led to the closure of the Quirindi, Wauchope and Walcha branches.

In 1978 the revival of the business took a giant step as Pat McGarry and later Robert McNaughton became the company directors.

Keeping with Cornish's commitment to the man on the land, Robert and Pat relocated the Gunnedah branch to the Mullaley Road in 1981.

Later seeing the demand for their services in the Quirindi district they employed a local resident to service the area. The results spoke for themselves as in 1997 Cornish's Quirindi re-opened.

The demands on the business were ever increasing, hence the expansion of the Gunnedah branch in 1998: and Doug Upcroft: the Gunnedah Branch Manager, becoming an equal partner in the business.

Continuing their growth in 1999 Cornish's expanded their reach further by purchasing Millers Machinery in Gilgandra.

Cornish's purchased the assets of Fitms group in early 2005 enabling it to supply service, parts and machinery throughout the Central-west and North-west of NSW.

Cornish's has become the largest Case IH dealer group in Australia after buying the financially-troubled Orange-based Farm Implement, Tractor and Motor Company (FITM).

The February 2005 take-over has resulted in the Tamworth-based business doubling its branch numbers - from four at Tamworth, Gunnedah Quirindi and Gilgandra to now include Condobolin, Parkes, Narromine and Orange.

The take-over will allow Cornish's to make its already familiar name in the north known further south, moving into the area stretching from Bathurst to Broken Hill previously serviced by FITM. Cornish's now employs almost 100 staff across the eight branches.

"We've now doubled our customer base to about 10,000 customers across NSW", Robert McNaughton said. "And we also intend to make the business even bigger and better with guidance from the expertise of chairman of directors, Mark Edwards, and partner, Pat McGarry."

Case IH NSW business manager, Rob Quinn said the 70-year-old Cornish's had shown a deep rooted commitment to the agricultural community. "The fact they are expanding at a time when many others are simply walking away from country towns in the face of drought, local industry closures and population shifts is a testament to the dedication of the farmers in north and central western NSW", he said. "It is encouraging to note that almost all the staff at the dealerships that are now part of Cornish's have been retained." "For our customers, this means a familiar face at their local dealership, coupled with the confidence they are now supported by a dealer group that is progressive, stable and growing."

As a result of the recent branch changes, several new staff appointments have been made, with positions for sales staff having opened in a number of areas. Company co-director, Doug Upcroft, who moved from his position as dealer principal for the Gunnedah branch to Dubbo to become the sales manager for the eight branches, said the company's strength lay in its reliability for service. "Cornish's has built its name on service and we will continue to specialise in sales, service and parts," he said. "Our expansion means, for example, a contract harvester can work their way from southern Queensland to southern NSW and have their machinery serviced by the one company the whole way."

According to machinery sales analyst firm, Agriview, Cornish's outsold all other competitors for tractors above 30kw (40hp) market in 2004.

The Cornish's group of 8 branches situated in Gunnedah, Tamworth, Quirindi, Gilgandra and now Orange, Parkes, Narromine and Condobolin are in the best possible position to provide a level of quality service second to none in the industry.

Move into the 21st Century with Cornish's 'providing power to the farmer by providing power to the land'.