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Ernest Barlow

Merchant and company founder

By South African Index Editorial Desk · Published · Updated · Last reviewed

Historic Barloworld facility used as a representative image for founder Ernest Barlow
A Barloworld facility around 1970. No verified open-licence portrait of Ernest Barlow was found.: Caterpillar · Source. Resized and converted to WebP for this site.

Ernest “Billy” Barlow formed Thomas Barlow & Sons in Durban in 1902. [1]

Founder record

The trading name honoured Thomas Barlow, while official company history identifies Ernest as the founder. [1]

The business later adopted several names before becoming Barloworld. [1][2]

Key contributions

He established the South African agency from which Barloworld traces its operating history. [1][2]

Life and career timeline

  1. Formed Thomas Barlow & Sons in Durban. [1]

  2. Died from wounds suffered during the First World War. [2]

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ernest Barlow?

He was the founder of Thomas Barlow & Sons, the business that became Barloworld. [1]

Why is the company called Thomas Barlow & Sons?

That was the trading name. Barloworld’s history identifies Ernest Barlow as the founder. [1]

Related people

  • Punch Barlow — Company builder who secured the Caterpillar dealership that shaped Barloworld’s equipment business.

Associated organisations

Related research

Sources

  1. Barloworld, Offering circular: history of the Barloworld group, 2004-10-18. Original source. Accessed 2026-11-14. ↩
  2. Barloworld, Integrated report 2022, 2022-12-13. Original source. Accessed 2026-11-14. ↩