Triumph from Tragedy
Bouncing Back: Elexon’s Recovery Strategy Following the Recent Blaze
Through setbacks, we are stronger, here at Elexon Electronics.
As most of you will know by now, a fire tore through our facility in August, reducing the entire building to rubble – a site we have called home for almost two decades.
Through tragedy has come triumph, though, a testament to our resilient team and the supportive community we are proud to be a part of.
“It has now been four months and while we have spent a lot of that time coming to terms with this tragedy, our priority from the very next morning has been establishing a path forward,” said Elexon Electronics CEO, Frank Faller.
“The only way up was to find immediate solutions for our customers as we removed tools and test gear we could salvage, searching for a temporary facility and a plan for our future operations.”
Relocating Nearby with the Help of Industry Partners
Just a couple weeks after the fire, we were lucky enough to secure a new facility just 1.5km from the old building, at 209 Leitchs Road in Brendale, offering more space to grow with its 3000sqm footprint.
Our team got straight to work at the new site, building a functional 1500sqm warehouse and temporary production facility. As it stands, we have just completed the electrical fit out and final works are on track for January.
We are also thrilled to announce the imminent arrival of replacement machines necessary for our operations, allowing us to continue offering the highest levels of precision and quality.
To have our new facility ready just four months after the fire is something we would not have been able to achieve without the help of trusted partners, clients and the community.
We would like to take this moment to offer our deepest gratitude for the support received from incredible companies like IntelliDesign, Crystalaid, Masters&Young, Extel Technologies, GPC, Diablo Tools and Entech. You helped keep us not only stay afloat but mainly fulfil our commitments to customers. It was also great to see that industry associations we are members of such as Defence Teaming Centre and AIDN reached out and helped through their network. We are particularly grateful for the vital help we received from Suba Engineering and HW Technologies who both assisted us by quickly securing the equipment we needed!
These tremendously generous companies helped us not only survive but thrive. This difficult period has been a heart warming reminder of just how special the Australian manufacturing industry really is.
“Getting an all-new facility up and running in such a short period of time has been a tremendous undertaking,” said Frank.
“It simply would not have been possible without the help of industry, government, partners and as we’ve spoken about before – even competing companies that stepped in to help!”
Indo-Pacific 2023 saw Elexon Back in the Game
With all of the help we have received, the enduring commitment of our staff, and of course patience and understanding from our customers, we have managed to kick goals through this difficult period. We were even able to attend Indo-Pacific in the midst of this period, a conference we had been looking forward to and did not want to let the fire rob us of this opportunity!
“Indo-Pacific was a turning point for Elexon Electronics, showcasing our bright new future to existing and new customers.”
“In November, we successfully started producing mining markers and beacons for our sister company, Elexon Mining, who’s been effected by the fire incident with us. We started manufacturing a new product, IoT devices for our new mining customer, and we also delivered a couple of exciting projects for defence customers,” said Mr Faller.
All this in such a difficult time – it’s really something we are proud of.
“To have achieved this just months after losing everything is testament to the entire team and community surrounding us, showing that Elexon are capable of just about anything!
Advancing Industry Standards
Following the devastating fire, Elexon Electronics has worked extensively with industry experts to develop safe storage and handling strategies for Li-batteries.
We will now be storing all li-batteries outside of the facility in a purpose-built 24-hour refrigerated container, as well as equipping the entire site with a special equipment designed for extinguishing lithium fires.
Thanks to being members of AIDN and part of the defence community, Elexon has also engaged with the Queensland University of Technology to support the advancement of legislation and standards for Li-batteries usage and storage.
Associate Professor at QUT and Director of the Energy Storage Research Group, Joshua Watts, stated “Elexon Electronics has taken its lithium battery safety mission one step further. Our research team will collaborate with Elexon to advance industry standards to help prevent catastrophes like this from affecting other businesses.”
A Christmas Message
From the entire team at Elexon Electronics, we would like to thank every customer, partner, and community member for their unwavering support and trust in us.
We look forward to making 2024 our best year yet and hope to see you join us on this exciting journey of recovery and triumph!
May your festive season be filled with love and cheer.
The Elexon Team
