Third generation tradie breaking tradition

Since starting Pure Electrical and Air five years ago, Alex and his business partner have “gone against the grain” to create a business structure that affords the team autonomy and flexibility.

So flexible is the structure that Alex has been working from Uluwatu, Bali for the past 18 months. It’s certainly a change of scenery for the Master Electricians Australia Electrical Industry Excellence award winner.

“My life has been quite different over the last two years because I now work remotely,” Alex said.

“I do a lot of the back-end work, so I can do anything that requires an internet connection. I’m still involved every day and communicating with the team but not physically onsite.”

Alex returns to Australia once a month in what he described as a “reverse FIFO role”.

It’s a long way from his grandfather’s workshop, where Alex spent much of his childhood helping with little projects. His grandfather built a successful electrical company which was passed down to his son, Alex’s uncle.

“Grandad would fix everything and we’d just do little projects so I think I always knew from a young age that I was going to do something in the trades,” Alex said.

“We did a lot of little woodwork projects together and he’d help me make little things. He even set me up with a little wood lathe, so I was turning things out of his shed.

“That was where I knew I was developing these hand skills and was going to get into the trade back then. As I got older, having that skill and an uncle in the business it was easy to continue the family tradition.”

With the trade skill in his DNA, it’s little wonder Alex’s career in the industry would see him named Electrician of the Year (National) in 2021 and Electrician of the Year in 2022 in the Master Electricians Australia Electrical Industry Excellence Awards.

“Being named Electrician of the Year felt like a transition point for me because I’ve never felt like a true leader in the industry,” Alex said.

“But when I got that I thought maybe there is more of a chance for me and now I need to trust in myself and pass that on to the people that are coming up, especially in my business.”

Pure Electrical and Air started with Alex and has now grown to a team of nine servicing the Perth area.

“It’s very scary and very hard to make the jump into your own business,” Alex said.

“A lot of it is just finding the confidence in yourself and taking the risk and doing the work that it takes to set yourself up in business.”

Alex is passionate about company culture and has created a business model that is “transparent from top to bottom” to provide the team with a good understanding of the operational side of an electrical company.

“We try to look after them as much as we can – if that means not focusing on profit but rather a good company culture, we’re focusing more on that,” Alex said.

“We believe the team makes everything more so than the people at the top of the business. It’s more about the team as a whole.”

In a true career pivot, Alex and his Pure Electrical and Air business partner and another colleague have taken the bold leap into the fashion industry, creating a line of workwear to address the challenges they faced in decades on work sites.

After two years conducting market research and testing samples on worksites, Two3rds range of workwear launched in December.

 

“It was an idea the three of us had while having a beer – everyone has a good business idea after a few drinks – but this one we actually decided to chase up,” Alex said.

“The workwear industry had a need for style and we thought if we’re going to take something else on it has to be something we believe in and are passionate about.”

While he admits he doesn’t miss “being on the tools”, Alex is dedicated to the electrical industry and grateful for the recognition he received from Master Electricians Australia (MEA).

“It made me realise I’d been recognised – they (MEA) are telling me I’m good in a professional environment and I shouldn’t take that lightly,” he said.