In 1974 a new chapter in the journey of one ambitious young man unfolded when he selected Perth, Western Australia, as his adopted home.

At 24 years of age, a spirited Terry Barclay stepped onto the thick black tarmac with the clothes on his back and $47 to his name.

Originally trained as a maintenance fitter he easily obtained employment with Fabricated Products a few days later. Terry planned to increase his resources without delay, so obtained a second job delivering the now highly sought after collectible soft drink crates.

After 6 months Terry decided to move on to join Sperry Vickers with a new interest; hydraulics. His aspiration to develop a highly successful business was easily sensed by anyone who spent even a short amount of time in his vicinity. Terry’s overwhelming aura of enthusiasm, driven by a profound inner dislike of failure, emanated through every thought, word and action he exerted.

Terry was approached by management with a considerable offer of promotion just two years later. Reluctant to make a commitment that did not clearly lead him closer to his premeditated goal, Terry decided to take a day to assess the offer before making a decision.

Arriving at work the following day he opted to decline the offer, conversely submitting his resignation with a goal to develop his own hydraulics business. In March of 1977 Terry obtained a loan to realise his dream thus Barclay Engineering was born.

Barclay Engineering was established as a one man hydraulics operation from a shared workshop in Willeton, Western Australia. Within a short time a business associate working with acoustics approached Terry with an intriguing enquiry; was he interested in submitting a quote for the soundproofing of a set of bulldozer cabs for Alcoa. Being quite conscious of the impact that all forms of pollution has on society and the environment Terry was invigorated by the challenge and completed the project with great success. Terry was amazed by the apparent potential of this application and decided to become a leader in the business field of acoustic engineering. Results of the necessary market research proved the demand for Acoustic Engineering services was clearly out-weighing the capacity of current industry supply.

This new field had opened up a niche market for Barclay Engineering. The following years would see Barclay Engineering establish a strong reputation as Western Australia’s leading sound attenuation company.