Greg Columbus 

While it might cost millions investing in sophisticated and complex machinery to extract gas out of the ground, it’s a simple barbie at work that pulls Clarke Energy Australia together.  "And yes, it is a gas barbie,’’ laughs Greg Columbus. The managing director of Clarke Energy has a relaxed, easy style, synonymous with his leadership of the Adelaide-based company, a market leader in gas- and diesel-engine-based power plants.

When Greg joined the company more than a decade ago, with just seven colleagues and a $4-million turnover, the name Jenbacher was unfamiliar to the Australian industry. Today, Clarke Energy, as the sole distributor of the GE gas and diesel engines manufactured in Austria’s picturesque town of Jenbach, captures 70% of the market, boasts a $140-million turnover, and employs 160 staff.

Barbecues over boardrooms

However, while managing millions of dollars, the complexities of safety measures and enough technical jargon to make your head spin, Greg instinctively brings the conversation back to basics — good, honest language which resonates. And that’s where the barbies come in. The concept evolved, Greg explains, from an overcrowded boardroom. As more and more staff joined the team, trying to pull a chair up to the table became increasingly difficult. Another venue was called for and what better way to do business than while cooking with gas?

"Having our monthly catch-up with our staff over a barbecue works; they’re a great way to relax and communicate," Greg says. "We’ve always been transparent with our staff and welcome their input. You can knock about with the guys in suits, knock about with the guys in jeans and polo shirts, and with the site staff in safety workwear. We had the end of year dinner for the whole team and their families to celebrate the end of last year, and while I’m not big on speeches, I made sure to thank all the partners of our staff for putting up with us. Without them, we couldn’t operate."

Family is core

In fact, family is core at Clarke Energy, with a strong family culture stemming from headquarters in Liverpool in the UK where Executive Chairman Jim Clarke founded Clarke Energy 27 years ago. He and his son Jamie, Group CEO, oversee operations in 25 countries manned by 1,100 staff and nearing a turnover of $500 million.

"You can knock about with the guys in suits, knock about with the guys in jeans and polo shirts, and with the site staff in safety workwear." – Greg Columbus

"They’re very hands-on and we’re very much a family-based business," Greg explains. "I think we do things completely differently from other companies who rely on large HR departments; we still operate on a family-caring culture. We’re family through and through. If we do everything we promise to do, and you do what you’re meant to, you really have a job for life."

Being old school, Jim’s modus operandi was always doing business with the shake of a hand. His word was his honour, and that’s still key to his and Jamie’s character, whether it’s internal or external agreements being made. "We do what we say for both our staff and customers," he says.

Punching above its weight

Australia competes keenly within the group with France to achieve the second-highest turnover for Clarke Energy worldwide, the UK remaining at the top. "It’s a little socially awkward in the Australian economy to talk about because there’s a bit of doom and gloom around, but we’re actually achieving double-digit growth each year," Greg says. "We feel privileged to be in this place, but we do have a fantastic team that works really hard. When we come together, we come up with innovation that we’d like to think nobody else is thinking about, and this demonstrates how we can add value for our customer. We just continue to find a little niche in the market and continue to punch above our weight."

Then, of course, there’s Adelaide itself. Location, location, location. "This little pocket of Adelaide is the best-kept secret," Greg admits. "It’s got that big country town feeling, a sense of community sometimes lacking in other big cities, great weather, fabulous wineries; and when there are events on, the whole town gets together to celebrate."

Small town, big talent

Another closely guarded secret appears to be the wealth of talent emerging from this sizeable country town. Clarke Energy has seemingly become just as expert at unearthing human assets as it is at extracting gas. And it’s a resource Greg considers to be just as valuable.

"One of the original reasons we moved the business to Adelaide from Melbourne was for the core talent," he explains. "Sure, it’s a smaller pond to fish from, but the talent is equally capable as any from the east to the west coast. Yes, as the company continues to expand, the challenge lies in still finding that elite talent, but we’ve always resisted relocating people from interstate. You can often be stuck with settling issues, and if they don’t settle,
it becomes quite disruptive. Sometimes you may not be employing the best candidate locally, but as long as they have enthusiasm, we can overcome any shortcomings with training, and we spend an awful lot of money on training."

In 2016 alone, Clarke Energy invested more than $1 million in training staff, ranging from teaching leadership skills to group and personal accountability — and, of course drilling in safety measures. "We’re super vigilant on safety training," Greg says. "Generally, everything works as it should; however, sometimes things fail, break or leak, creating a hazardous environment. But even in routine checks, we don’t allow complacency.

"We just continue to find a little niche in the market and continue to punch above our weight." – Greg Columbus

"Our training is all about awareness, to know what you’re looking for before you go in. And we don’t take any risks. Our staff will always have the right personal protection equipment, gas detectors and monitors, and always be thinking ahead. We’ve had everything from snakes to red-back spiders in engine enclosures. They have to be attuned to the environment they’re entering, because you never know what lies behind a door."

Ready with the next idea

Complacency is also not negotiable when it comes to business, even with GE Jenbacher’s class-leading market share. Greg is under no illusion that the market space is crowded with large and small players in the field all vying for the same patch. "That market dynamic just continues to push us to be increasingly innovative and add value to the customer. That’s virtually key to us," Greg says. "Yes, we are the benchmark; but don’t forget, every time you innovate, you only have the advantage once, and once that’s over it’s time to reinvent and go forward with the next idea. Finding a way is part of our DNA, which is why we’re growing year on year," Greg says. "Up to 70% of our business is still very much traditional and led by the customer who presents opportunities to us, but we’re progressively going out and creating the opportunity ourselves. We found one in Adelaide for a customer where we saw some change in market dynamics, and that’s going to be a fantastic little deal which will be iconic for South Australia."

One stunning innovation introduced to the industry by Clarke Energy was developing a 3D model to demonstrate the functionality of a plant. The company was bidding for a tender for Territory Generation to build a new state-of-the-art power station for Alice Springs and expand a small one at Tennant Creek. "That’s about a $90–100-million project for the Territory government, and we wanted to show the level of investment we’re willing to make even if we didn’t win the project. So we built a 3D model to take all the stakeholders, the Board members, and technical supervisors on a virtual reality tour of the plant."

Clarke Energy is here to stay

Once a deal is agreed with Clarke Energy, an ongoing relationship for decades is often launched as customers seek service, parts and regular maintenance. "Some customers don’t even touch our equipment. We carry out our regular maintenance and give them the report of the service, while others do the lower-level service work themselves, leaving the more complicated work to us," Greg says. "Very few do the majority of the work, and they still need us for parts and spares. So we have a fingertip on the product in some way or another for the remainder of its life."

Last year was a big one for Clarke Energy, with the business launching in mid-west US, expanding into Papua New Guinea, and securing a new contract for the Northern Territory. The organisation’s mix of family values, a reliable product, and innovation is clearly paying off. But there’s one burning question, and perhaps it’s a silly one: Will we ever run out of gas? "Ever is a long time,’’ Greg says. "I don’t believe we will, given the reserves we know of today. The challenge will be continuing to make it economically viable to get wherever these reserves are to market. Gas, after all, is found in some amazing places."