1965: The Early Days
April 25, 1965
The year was 1976, and Stephen Suckling, the company founder, loaded his Ford Fairlane with engineer’s files and vices and set off on his first sales trip. The family business had started!
The company moved from strength to strength over the years, slowly incorporating other numerous agencies to help New Zealand with every need in the engineering, manufacturing & construction industries.
1982: Joining The Ranks
January 25, 1982
Miles Suckling, the start of the second generation, joins up and adds new talent and drive to the company. Responsible for introducing the HILTI brand into New Zealand, he has an eye for quality and innovation that results in performance and profitability.
1997: An Idea Hatched!
May 6, 1997
We were approached by a floor coating manufacturer to source a mixer to mix three bags of material to improve application consistency. After extensive research, we found nothing to meet industry requirements.
1998: In The Mix
August 7, 1998
We started developing a custom-built mixer with the original prototype of the first Hippo being manufactured and tested.
1999: Released To The Wild
May 3, 1999
The first mixer completed and released on the market as the Hippo PMH70. This model was a five bag/70-litre mixer that allowed efficient mobile mixing and pouring for the first time in history!
2000: First Migration
March 14, 2000
Australian floor-layers embrace the change, and the first units exported to Victoria.
2002: Second Migration
August 22, 2002
The United States of America floor-layers jump onboard with Hippo’s heading to New York by the container load.
2003: Third Migration
July 17, 2003
The Brits, not to be outdone, step up and adopt the increasing trend with Hippo’s migrating into the United Kingdom.
2004: Strength In Numbers
January 6, 2004
With the third generation joining the business, Gerry and Eddy Suckling bring fresh innovation, drive and energy to the Portamix brand.
2008: Hippo’s Break Records!
July 24, 2008
Two PMH70 Hippo’s successfully install the largest resin floor coating application ever done in the United Kingdom at that time; 25,000 square meters of DegaFloor compound in a food processing plant.
2010: Stealing The Show!
March 31, 2010
The Portamix Hippo is awarded the Most Innovative Concrete Equipment Award at the global World of Concrete (WoC) show.
2010 Most Innovative Product Awards| Concrete Construction Magazine
2012: Hippo Evolution
July 18, 2012
The Hippo family expands to include the new Mega Hippo. This 80-litre/six-bag beast takes laying self-levelling compound to a whole new level of speed and efficiency.
2015: New Bird On The Block
September 17, 2015
The efficiency of the Mega Hippo demanded an additional transport option to allow the mixed compound to be delivered and poured out, allowing Mega Hippo to mix continually. Welcome, Pelican Transport Cart!
2018: New Attitude
August 8, 2018
Completing a brand refresh, the Portamix Mega Hippo and Pelican take on a bold and assertive new attitude, determined to help our self-levelling floor-layers achieve better performance and profitability.
2019: The Celebration Of Separation
April 1, 2019
The 20th anniversary of the Portamix brand marks the forming of Portamix Limited. The company now 100% owned by the original Portamix Hippo product developer, Miles Suckling and his sons.
2019: Say? Is Portamix Going British, Old Boy?
July 11, 2019
Portamix opens a branch in the United Kingdom with a full-time sales and customer support team.
2020: Survived COVID-19
December 31, 2020
The Portamix Team hunkered down through various lockdowns and assisted flooring teams globally to keep pouring floors due to the single-man, social-distancing benefits of the Mega Hippo.
Today: Business As Usual – NEVER!
May 4, 2021
The Portamix team are pushing boundaries and breaking down borders with live online demo’s and product training globally – any time of the day or night!
We are determined to help our self-levelling floor-layers achieve better performance and profitability by introducing and demonstrating the Mega Hippo’s and Pelican wherever you are.
Join the rapidly growing crowd of Portamix fans and keep up to date with our pending exciting developments.