Electrical Connection Winter 2015

E L E CT R I C AL CONNE CT I ON

W I NT E R 2 01 5

EDITORIAL

his edition of

Electrical Connection

marks our 20th year publishing

magazines for electrical contractors

and electricians. That’s a milestone that very

few other publishers have achieved and one

that we are incredibly proud of.

It’s also given us a chance to look back

at the birth of the magazine and how it has

evolved over the past two decades, and a

chance to speak to some old friends who

helped to launch it back in 1995.

Check out page 22 for a peek at where it

all began.

But, this editorial is bittersweet. While we

celebrate all things

Electrical Connection

, we

need to speak about the ginger-haired middle

child in our electrotechnology family,

Cabling

Connection.

Back in 1998, the communications and

data cabling sector was on the cusp of a

new era thanks to regulatory change and

significant investment from global suppliers.

In fact, so active was the market that we

launched a magazine targeting the guys

and gals on the tools, with the aim to help

them to navigate the technology and

business worlds.

Working closely with the ACMA and

its five Registrars – ACRS, ASIAL, BICSI,

TITAB and FPAA –

Cabling Connection

did

incredibly well. It grew and grew, and it

became a talking point in the industry.

Then the global financial crisis happened.

Overnight, the market came to a standstill

and cautious suppliers – most of which

were based in the US – stopped all

marketing initiatives.

It was a hard slog, but we persisted in

printing the publication. The increasing

overlap between the electrical and data

sectors meant we could combine C

abling

Connection

with the larger

Electrical

Connection

publication – first as a ‘flip-style’

magazine and then a few years ago, when

we redesigned the magazine, incorporated

into the magazine.

The readers of

Cabling Connection

have

always been a vocal bunch, which made

writing the magazine easier than many

others. And the work they perform has

always been incredibly interesting.

But the electrical and data sectors

have continued to overlap, and suppliers

increasingly want to target both markets

with their marketing initiatives. It’s a brave

new world for contractors, who must now

offer both services to their clients.

For those reasons, it’s now time for us

to stop printing

Cabling Connection

as a

standalone section.

We will still be running articles about

the communications sector in

Electrical

Connection

and we will still work with the

ACMA and its Registrars to educate and

inform the market. We will also regularly

update

www.cablingconnection.com.au.

To everyone involved in keeping

Cabling

Connection

in print in the past few years,

especially our contributors and CITT, TE and

AFC Group, who have continued to support

us with advertising dollars, I say thank you.

But for now, be sure to check out the

website and register for our newsletter.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the

magazine.

Until next time,

The dawn of a new era

Paul Skelton

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Jeff Patchell

jeffpatchell@build.com.au

GENERAL MANAGER

Jeremy Sweet

jeremysweet@build.com.au

EDITOR

Paul Skelton

03 9542 9016

paulskelton@build.com.au

EDITOR –

ACROSS THE TRADES

Paul Skelton

paulskelton@build.com.au

STAFF WRITERS

JacobHarris,Kate Jordan

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Kylie Mibus

PRODUCTION TEAM

Sam Elliott, Gail Dwyer

CONTRIBUTORS

PhilKreveld,ChrisHalliday,DavidHerres,GaryBusbridge,

GeorgeGeorgevits, JohnKonstatakopolous,BobHarper,

BradFallon,BrianSeymour,SteveArthur,Anthony Igra

ADVERTISING

1800 063 371

SimonClark

0428733248

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1800 623 214

New Zealand

613 9542 9000

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03 9542 9090

By mail, please write to the address below

PUBLISHED BY:

Connection Magazines Pty Ltd

Unit 2/18-22 Lexia Place,

Mulgrave, Victoria 3170

AUSTRALIA

ISSN1839-2288

Disclaimer:

Theopinionsexpressed in thismagazinedonot

necessarily reflect thoseof thepublisher.Although

allmaterialsarechecked foraccuracy,no liability is

assumedby thepublisher forany lossesdue to theuseof

maybe reproduced,stored ina retrievalsystemor

transmitted inany formorbyanymeans (electronic,

mechanical,photocopying, recordingorotherwise)

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CONNECTION

ELECTRICAL

Thanks to CNW Electrical Wholesale and

Energy Solutions Clayton for its assistance in

creating this edition’s cover.