About Us

The Beginning

It started with Magic Hotplate Restorer more than four decades ago, with Rubbedin’s founder, Dr Donald Lakeland BMet (Hons) PhD, in 1979. Born in 1936, he worked hard to become a doctor of metallurgy by the age of 29 while being a devoted, loving family man with four children who lived well into his 70s. His daughter Donna fondly remembers his practical jokes. 

In the late 1970s, Dr Lakeland’s sister-in-law asked Don (as he liked to be called) to make something to fix her rusty solid hotplates on her stove. This was the perfect challenge for the doctor of metallurgy. The solution worked so well that she kept coming back for more. So, he patented it and got the Magic Hotplate Restorer ready for market. Rubbedin, the brands Magic and Firewise were born. 

At first, Dr Lakeland ran Rubbedin from under his house. Then, in 1985, he negotiated to rent a shed at Tingalpa. Soon after, he chose to go back to lecturing at the University of Queensland, and his son ran the business. Unfortunately, his son passed away in 1989, when his daughter Donna rose to the challenge. She loved every minute of the next 15 years before her father decided to retire and sell Rubbedin. 

Rubbedin grew until the shed at Tingalpa was not big enough. In 2003, the family decided to move to a premises in Capalaba, where it exists today.

A New Era

In 2005, Ian Smits immigrated with his family from the UK and purchased Rubbedin in June. It was the perfect fit; Ian was passionate about the values Dr Lakeland instilled in manufacturing his products. Ian’s mission was to continue developing and manufacturing environmentally friendly Australian Made and Owned cleaning and surface protection solutions.

Ian continued with Firewise and relaunched the Magic brand with a modern look, innovative packaging, and an expanded range, adding a stainless steel cleaner and protector, spa bath cleaner, and oven and rangehood cleaner. Next was the Go Green-Go Clean brand in 2008, which evolved into the PuraChoice range in 2014 and InvisiGarde in 2021. PuraChoice was the first brand to encompass allergy and asthma-friendly and eco-friendly ingredients. InvisiGarde uses surface shield technology in disinfectants and sanitisers to provide surface protection.

Magic cleaning products soon became a household name when Ian successfully ranged several of the Magic products in major supermarkets. Firewise saw Soot-Loose become Australia’s #1 selling chimney and flue cleaner, and the legacy continues.