November 2008
The end of WWII marked the beginning of Boom Time in Australia - the Baby Boom, the Migration Boom - and, one of the biggest of all, the Housing Boom.
A huge population increase, which nearly double our population over a generation, gave rise to the pursuit of a new Aussie dream: to own a home in the suburbs.
Stephen Lovegrove, General Manager of 19 years and Founder Ken Brown - People are still the priority.
KEB founder Ken Brown was one of those returning servicemen who came back from service in the Royal Australian Navy to pick up the threads of life in a country transforming itself into the Lucky country as it emerged from a lingering Depression followed by the biggest war in history.
However, the boiler making trade skills Ken Brown learned in the Eveleigh railway workshops before going overseas were in keen demand and it wasn't long before his ingenuity and lifetime dedication to doing a good job were called back into service.
"I was working for a company making ice chests, which was a big thing in those days, when it was luxury for a house to have a refrigerator' he says.
"But after a couple of years, the company decided it might have to close, because their equipment was failing. "They gave me the chance to take the company over in 1948, and fix the engineering problem to get them out of the hole. I did that and as we got the company back on the rails, we found there was a big demand for anything to do with houses. We were making gates and fences too when we were asked to make a little metal enclosure for the very simple type of switchboard you might find on a fibro dwelling or the little returning servicemen's houses they built in those days."
As the business grew, the young and industrious proprietor grew with it, showing the resilience and application of the man who, now in his eighties, still turns up for work at 7.30 most days (and this fully 60 years on from founding KEB on February 1, 1948).
"Actually, the business almost ended before it properly began, because I came home and got very crook one night after having some ice cream and beer after a game of footy. They dragged me off to hospital and found that my appendix was burst.
"But of course I survived and we went on to progress from making enclosures for little switchboards to making whole units, then bigger units, and ultimately some of the most sophisticated switchboards in the country,' said Mr Brown, whose customer list grew along with KEB's reputation for quality, innovation and customisation backed by the best trained people.
"People were always the key - they still are. Without good people you've got nothing.
"You teach them to listen very closely to what the customer needs - and give them the skills so they can translate the need into a reality, one that will deliver the best result and keep doing it over time. Quality, customisation and innovation are what keep people coming back - you listen to what they need, and you aim to exceed their expectations," said Mr Brown.
KEB today provides custom-engineered low-voltage switchboards to companies as diverse as BHP Billiton and IBM; ABN Amro and Bovis Lend Lease; CSR and AMP; Sydney Water and Woolworths; Telstra and EDS; Leighton Contractors and Coles; McDonalds and Optus Vision; and some of the country's leading hospitals, hotels, telecoms and banks.
