About Us

Mal, born and raised around Sydney’s famous surf beaches, had been working as an electrician in the mines around Perth, but was underwhelmed by the flat beaches. Further south, though, the beaches are more reminiscent of those he grew up with. Fifteen years ago Mal bought his business in Albany and has been living the dream ever since, with the perfect blend of lifestyle and business opportunity. Mal owns and runs Foundation Electrical, established under a different name in 1963. When he bought the business, Mal had four staff but today that has more than doubled to nine, including his 19-year-old son who has just started his apprenticeship. “The expansion has been due to focusing on the specialty areas of water pumping and filtration. Our philosophy is to do it properly and really deliver for customers. We take a tradesman’s approach, looking after projects from start to finish,” he says. “We are especially suited to larger customers who need us to just give them what they need and get it done properly. They trust that we are reliable and knowledgeable and they feel confident to take our advice.”

“It’s a well known brand and knowing it’s an Australian company that manufactures locally is hugely important to me,” Mal says. Foundation Electrical creates customised solutions for a diverse region that includes agriculture, industrial and domestic customers, and the business is split 50:50 between sales and servicing. Mal and his team not only do ‘off the shelf’ sales, but also specialised build multi pump sets with customised control methods. Being licenced electrical contractors they can manage the entire process in house from design and construct, through to installation and commissioning. Mal and his family have become big supporters of the local community, where they love to surf, sail, fish or head out on their motorcycles. Mal has been part of the local chapter of Rotary for the past few years, and every Christmas the business contributes to a community lunch for 300 people, helping set up all the electrical equipment on Christmas Eve before heading back on Christmas Day to pack up.   “It’s important to us to give back to this community. We love it,” he says.