Martin Law Managing Director | SMEC Power and Technology
When I started SMEC Power & Technology just over twenty years ago, it was a small one-person (me!) operation run out of the back shed at home, where I was manufacturing electrical starting panels with limited space and resources.
Today, we’re an over 100 strong team, operating from a 4,000-square-metre facility in Kalgoorlie, Jandakot and Bibra Lake in Western Australia, dedicated to custom fabrication and manufacture.
It’s a growth story I’m proud of. One built on persistence, teamwork and the support of our ever growing team. And, on a personal note, my family is equally proud … and very relieved to
have their backyard back.
Alongside building the company over the past two decades, I’ve always been drawn to challenges that test endurance and resolve – like riding a motorbike over 30,000 kilometres from London to Cape Town and swimming the 20-kilometre stretch from Perth to Rottnest, a swim I’ve completed solo six times. The tenacity and perseverance needed to complete adventures
like these are the same qualities that have underpinned the growth of SMEC Power & Technology: keeping going when the road is long, finding strength in preparation and pushing through when conditions are tough.
Twenty years on, we are now a leading provider of electrical products and services in Australia and overseas. Our solutions are custom-designed and fit for purpose, providing both financial and environmental benefits for our customers.
I often get asked what makes us different from other options in the market and, honestly, there are a few stand-out things that make me proud to share the answer.
Firstly, everything we do is in-house. We don’t just design the drawings – our drafts people bring them to life in 3D, and we handle the laser cutting, the fabrication and the powder coating ourselves. Buying our own metal fabrication plant about ten years ago was a real game changer. It gave us control at every stage of the process and, more importantly, the ability to stand behind the quality of every solution that leaves our workshop.
From a customer perspective, it not only means you’re assured of the quality of the product that we’re delivering, but even more than that, you know that all the finer details of the solutions have been thought through properly before the job even starts. The end result is a better product with greater longevity. Our roots in Western Australia shape the way we design and manufacture. Everything we build is tested against the tough realities of Australian conditions, and that makes our products robust and dependable, especially in the underground mining environment and in remote Western Australian locations.
It’s why we’re trusted by miners across the country, from major tier one operators to juniors. It’s also why our work now extends to other industries, like tunnelling projects in Sydney and Melbourne, distribution systems for charging stations, and to overseas markets in Asia and Africa, where project managers know if it’s built for Australian conditions, it’s built to last.
It’s that reputation for quality that means our products are made in Australia, but sold to the world.
SMEC Power & Technology is also the only company inAustralia to be manufacturing a 1000V Variable Speed Drive (VSD) locally. In a nutshell, this technology provides the ability to vary the speed of fans and pumps, creating significant efficiencies and energy savings, especially when it comes to underground mine ventilation. The VSD has been shown to save up to 50% of underground ventilation energy consumption which, given underground ventilation is typically 50% of total project energy consumption and up to 10% of total project cost,is a significant cost saving.
I’m proud of what we’ve built over the last 20 years at SMEC Power & Technology. However, the best part isn’t necessarily the equipment or the facilities, it’s the people we’ve had the opportunity to meet and support along the way.
It starts with apprentices. Over the years, we’ve trained more than 200 apprentices in our electrical and metal fabrication workshops at SMEC Power & Technology, and it’s been great to watch these young men and women grow into skilled tradespeople and valued members of our team.
Many of our lead electricians today actually started out with us as apprentices, and even those who move on often stay in touch – and send work our way – because they know the quality and reliability of our products and the continuous expert support we provide across all aspects of the mining industry.