GET IN TOUCH
Meet Kevin Donnelly, our Director at Electric Technics Ltd. With a career that began with hands-on electrical work at just 16 years old, and a passion for innovation that’s never faded, Kevin brings a unique blend of technical expertise, leadership, and curiosity to the business. From wiring refrigeration systems in his early days to leading cutting-edge projects in power quality and automation, Kevin’s journey is anything but ordinary.
Background & Role
How did you get into the industry?
“Electricity fascinated me from the early age of 6 when I learned how to connect a size C battery to a torch filament light bulb. WOW, that was it, HOOKED!”
Kevin started in the Electrical industry working from the age is 16 when he enrolled at Tamworth collage on a YTS scheme. The YTS, or Youth Training Scheme, was a UK government program introduced in the 1980s.
During the YTS scheme, Kevin had a work placement with “W.E.D” Electrical working in the Refrigeration Industry wiring large industrial cold-rooms, Cellar cooling and Supermarket Refrigeration Systems.
Kevin stayed in the refrigeration industry for many years, expanding his knowledge and working internationally for the Aviation In-Flight Catering industry.
In 1999, Kevin formed Electric Technics Ltd. This allowed the company to expand their knowledge into all aspects of Electrical installations while still heavily involved in Refrigeration Control, Monitoring and Energy Optimization systems.
What does your role involve on a day-to-day basis?
“I actively oversee the different departments of the business and still enjoy getting my hands dirty!”
What do you enjoy most about your job?
“Amongst the day-to-day activities, there is always a passion inside me for R and D, the more I learn, the more I realise how much I don’t know”.
Company Vision & Values
What do you think sets ET-L apart from others in the industry?
“It’s difficult to say definitively and what specifically sets ET-L apart from others, however, several factors generally stand out. Specialization.“
“With the business been heavily involved in the Refrigeration and Gas Detection Industry we have developed and withheld the skills to assemble Installation, Commissioning, and Service teams as well as providing Technical Support. Because we multi-skill our engineers, this allows the business to deploy the same professional ethos to all the other parts of the industry such as the Hotel Sector, Power Quality Sector, Building HVAC and Management Systems. For sure, our Panel Building department has had a major influence on this, each new engineer first grows their development and skills in this Dept for at least 6 months before we release them into the wild.”
What are your main goals for ET-L over the next few years?
“We are being asked more and more about providing turnkey solutions for automating processes for our current customer base. As we also have a PLC programming team, I can see the need to expand this department”.
“High Delivery Electric Vehicle chargers, we recently installed some 300 Kw HGV chargers from Kempower even with the onset of Hydrogen Powered Vehicles (which produce electricity), Climate change is not going away and the more charging stations available the better for everyone.”
“We also have recently returned from Denmark from a weeks training with Shneider Electric with regards to Power Quality Fundamentals and Harmonic Mitigation. This is going to be the next big challenge for not only the electrical industry, but this also effects every industry with regards to Equipment life expectancy and Energy usage. Businesses are spending an incredible amount of funds installing Electrical equipment in their processes, not realising the detrimental influence this equipment can have to the companies ROI and the other electrical items such as the Power Transformer at the origin, right down to the phone chargers we use every day. I think I’m getting a bit technical now, so I’ll leave it there 😊”
“Call Me 🤙“
How would you describe ET-L in three words?
“Hmm, I don’t think three words is enough but besides the obvious ones, Inquisitive, Thorough, Supportive”.
Leadership & Challenges
What has been your biggest challenge as a director so far, and how did you overcome it?
“The industry we work in is the easy part. Without question, finding the right people and training is the challenging part. I think the business has been extremely lucky to employ some talented engineers over the past 26 years or so, these people are still shining through with their talents and similar passions to mine as well as having their own ideas of how to steer the business in different directions in this ever changing and developing industry. Keeping up with legislation and regulations is not only is a financial challenge but also an educational challenge. Teaching old dog’s new tricks, so to speak”
“I don’t think any business can completely overcome these challenges, just keep doing what you do, if its not working, be willing to change.”
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone stepping into a leadership role?
“Don’t Do it!” “Joking 😂. Be professional, That’s it. If you follow this step, you will influence others in the best way possible.”
Personal Insight
What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?
“Well, it doesn’t come through immediately but I’m somewhat dyslexic. (Please don’t ask me the spell it😊)
When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time?
“I have a passion for Race Cars and Rock Music and anything to do with them. I used to race Formula Ford and GB4 (and still do time to time).
If you can’t find me, just visit the local racetrack or Rock Concert”
