NEWS
THIS MONTH
THE STORIES TO READ , THE PODS TO LISTEN TO AND THE MEDIA TO GET STUCK IN TO .
THE VIEW FROM HERE
GEMCELL ' S TRACY BENNETT PROVIDES AN INDUSTRY UPDATE .
With lockdowns in many parts of the country it is a challenging time for most . Almost everyone I speak to is being affected in some way , be it loss of trade , adapting to the ever-changing world or just a general lack of mojo . For those who are able to work the highlight is on WHS and ensuring sites , staff and customers are all Covid-safe .
Consistent with our message from last issue , manufacturer price rises are continuing to come . We are seeing supply shortages in some product areas so make sure you work closely with your Gemcell member wholesaler to ensure you can get what you need .
On a positive note , many of our supplier partners are ready to roll out new products so you and the homeowner will have more choice than ever . Connected technology is front and centre .
We ’ d like to take a moment to honour the recent passing of Henk Plug . Henk was one of the five founding members “ the fist ” of Gemcell Electrical Group or Gemcell Australia as it was then .
Five quickly grew to eleven and so on , flourishing over the years to become the highly successful group of independents we know and love today .
Born in Rotterdam , Henk worked as a bell boy and had sailed around the world five times by the age of 20 . From the age of 12 he had started boxing , winning 142 out of 146 amateur fights and was selected to represent his country at the 1960 Olympic Games .
After emigrating to Australia , Henk started Leichhardt Electrical with his son Arie . Due to his surname , Henk was affectionally nicknamed “ 439 ,” after the three-pin plug . Henk ’ s love of boxing endured and he hired , sponsored and mentored a young up- and-coming boxer , Danny Green , who went on to become a four-time World Champion . After spending his retirement in the Whitsunday Islands , Henk passed on 8th September . We thank him for his contribution to the industry and this group , and offer our condolences to his family .
NO CHARGER ? NO WORRIES …
Pretty much everything we seem to have these days needs a charger . From mobile phones to battery-powered screwdrivers , we need our chargers handy at all times . Boffins at the University of Tokyo have turned a whole room into a wireless charger – with electromagnetic exposure not exceeding human safety guidelines . Wireless charging ’ s nothing new , of course , but it currently only works at very short range . However the Japanese researchers turned an entire metal room into a wireless charger using electromagnetic fields generated by electrical currents , and it can charge everything in it . While it ’ s not expected such tech becomes mainstream any time soon , it could be used in the future to charge devices that are embedded in the body and cannot be accessed by wires .
GEMCELL – PROUDLY PART OF IMELCO
Gemcell is part of IMELCO , the global independent wholesalers network . For 30 years , IMELCO has stood for sustainable devlopment of its associated companies . It now operates in 22 countries through more than 1100 wholesale businsses .
ESTABLISHED :
1991
1100 ASSOCIATED WHOLESALERS
MEMBERS :
16
5500 POINT OF SALE
COUNTRIES :
22
FROM THE ARCHIVES : HERE COMES THE ROBO-HOME
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2014
Seven years ago we were wondering what the ‘ sci-fi- home from the future ’ would look like – and a lot of those things we proposed have certainly come to fruition . From home automation hubs to lighting technology , motion sensors to smart-phone controlled security systems , the future is here !
8 GEMCELL . COM . AU OCT – NOV 2021