Murray Kerr has lived and breathed the electrical trade for over 50 years. Initially as an electrical apprentice and for the past 33 years as the owner, along with his wife Cheryl, of Auckland-based Electrical Importing Company, a supplier to New Zealand’s industrial electrical sector.
EIC imports products from Europe and Malaysia and where necessary modifies and manufacturers these into customised solutions for plants around the country. Murray says EIC has remained nimble in the face of a dwindling customer base – the number of NZ’s industrial sites has dropped by 90 percent over recent times.
The company is considered an alternative supplier, Murray says. It is the only NZ owned and independent ‘David’ up against multi-national ‘Goliath’ competitors.
Having “horrendous stock levels” with an ever-increasing stock range meant that during last year’s Covid lockdown, EIC was seeing new customers who couldn’t source what they needed from those larger competitors.
Murray thinks that having developed solid relationships with overseas suppliers for over 30 years stood EIC in good stead. Getting supplies off the wharves in Auckland and Tauranga in a timely manner proved a bigger challenge than sourcing products.
That said, Covid took its toll on the company’s finances. In April, EIC did a third of its normal business, increasing to two-thirds in May. Being over 70, Murray got sent home and only a skeleton staff remained to supply service to essential operating plants around the country. Working from home was not very effective, he says.
“We’ve been struggling to catch up to the last financial year but being positive, we’ve reinvested a considerable amount of our personal funds to extend our product lines and appoint a new marketer, and over December, January and February, it’s paid off,” Murray says.
He does acknowledge that the extensive stock levels gives business advisor, Moore Markhams director
Atul Mehta some concern. “But we can’t sit and do nothing. When it gets tough, the tough get going.”
Murray says he’s from the old school camp and realised years ago that he wanted more accounting expertise than he had or wanted to learn. He describes the business as a pyramid with the bottom two-thirds being operational, and the top third being the accounting portion. This top third is handled directly by Moore Markhams led by manager,
Murray Tuck.
“The result is fantastic,” says the senior Murray. “I get full reports each month that show me where we’re going. I feel very confident that I can drive the company in the right direction. They give me advice and while I don’t always agree, I am the person at the top after all, I get a range of options that I consider carefully then make my decisions.
“We’ve run this way for years and years and it works. I don’t lose my innovation or direction. I can be entrepreneurial and have ideas because I’m not bogged in doing the financial work.”
And as far as Murray is concerned, he and Cheryl will continue looking for new ideas and ways to keep EIC moving forward in the years to come. “Retirement is not on the cards.”
https://www.eicnz.com/