Club Clipsal has reached a major milestone marking 20 years since the club was first formed in Perth, West Australia.

Originally intended as a social venture for electrical contractors and Clipsal employees, the club has evolved to be the industry’s leading networking, education and professional development group, with more than 7,000 members across the country.

Director of Apollo Electrotech Jack Grego was one of the first members of the industry-based group, his membership now spanning 20 years thanks to the networking and learning opportunities it has provided.

“Networking and communicating with other electrical contractors is a fundamental part of Club Clipsal and its one of the many reasons I have been involved with the club for the last 20 years,” said Jack.

“Being a business owner can be very lonely, so to be able to talk to someone else who is in the same position as you is very important. While it is true that sometimes we compete against each other for business, most of the time we are all dealing with the same issues. Being able to express these experiences with others who are going through the same thing has been invaluable.”

In its 20 years of operation, Club Clipsal has also proven to be an invaluable testing ground for Clipsal by Schneider Electric with many new products being trialled with the group to gauge opinions before releasing to the market.

“Over the years Clipsal has solicited our opinion about many of the products that have been in development and we have given our feedback honestly so that the product could be improved or adapted for the industry. It has been a privilege to have been brought into these discussions, and to get an insight into what is coming in the future that could benefit our business and the industry,” said Jack.

Vice president, Clipsal and Schneider Electric Partner Business David Gardner said the club has been instrumental not only for the support it provides contractors and Clipsal’s product development, but for the impact it has had on the broader electrical industry.

“Club Clipsal has worked to improve the electrical industry by championing certain industry issues, working to not only educate members, but to develop an outcome the whole industry can adopt. For example, we ran a campaign on awareness of non-compliant electrical accessories in the market. These sessions assured that contractors and electricians were aware of the problem, and able to address it before there were serious consequences.”

Club Clipsal membership is open to electrical contractors Australia-wide and offers up to date product news, industry updates, business advice, networking and social functions.