'Australian-ness' a key marketing tool

Olex is Australia’s largest manufacturer of power cables and its innovative products are renowned around the globe. The business continues to invest heavily in its two Australian state-of-the-art factories and has spent more than $23 million since 2002 ensuring the manufacturing sites remain world leading.

In the billion dollar domestic market, Olex holds an impressive 46 per cent market share, and while the share of importers has grown, it hasn’t been at the expense of Olex.

“Our products are designed, developed and manufactured in Australia. We are globally competitive, but it is really the quality and the innovation behind the products that give us an edge. We are staying in Australia and believe that we can compete in both global and domestic markets. Our continued growth and increased market share prove it,” explains National Marketing Manager, Tony Kiernan.

Used in anything from flying Commonwealth Games trams to windmill farms and buildings, the powerful cables are some of the most technically advanced in the world. Tony Kiernan has little doubt that Olex’s innovative and quality minded approach is the key to the business’ success.

“I think the only way to compete in a global market is to take the quality product route. We can’t make our products cheaper than our Asian competitors. What we can do, however, is to offer our customers the best products and the highest level of service. We offer our customers technical support and short lead-times. We have a relationship with our customers and a distribution network that our Asian competitors will never be able to match,” says Tony Kiernan.

Olex uses its ‘Australian-ness’ as a key marketing tool. The green and gold Australian Made triangle features prominently on all products, in brochures, advertising and on Olex’s website.

“We are proud to be Australian Made and we think that it gives us a competitive advantage. We use the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo as much as we possibly can. We want to tell the world that we are Australian made and by using this highly recognised logo that message is communicated very easily. We have found that the logo is extremely effective.”

For more information about Olex and its products, please visit www.olex.com.au or call (03) 9281 4444.