"Why would we use anything else?"

A trade that runs in the family

Les Riches started his apprenticeship in 1953, at the age of 15. Back then, much of the country around Colac was still being connected to the grid for the first time — homes, dairies and sawmills that ran on steam engines and generators were only just going electric.

“A lot of the areas around Colac were just getting the power on,” Les recalls. “We were taking out steam engines and putting in electric motors.”

From those early jobs, Les built a business — and then he built a team the way regional tradies always have; by bringing the next generation up through it. He apprenticed his two sons, Russell and Peter, who run Les Riches Electrical in partnership to this day. Together they brought Les’s grandsons, Jack and Sam, up through the trade.

“I started when I was 17, when I left school,” says Russell. “A good job is your first job — so just grab it and go with it. And I’ve been here ever since. And loved doing it.”

Today, Les Riches Electrical is five family members strong and known across the district and well beyond it for quality industrial and commercial work, from dairies and quarries to irrigation and automation.

“We’re a third-generation business, and we’d like to continue it. It means a lot to us to uphold the name.”

— Jack Riches

Built for the bush

For a business servicing remote sites across the southwest, reliability isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the whole job.

“Most of the work we do is in factories, or farming and production,” Jack explains. “Our clients rely pretty heavily on service and maintenance. When production stands still, we need to get the part down here and get it back in service as soon as possible.”

That’s where the trust in Sprecher + Schuh was earned, one job at a time.

“It’s a good, trustworthy product” says Russell. “It’s reliable — you can install it, walk away, and know it’s going to hold up. A lot of the other stuff we’ve had in recent times just doesn’t make the cut.”

“Sprecher + Schuh is such a high-quality brand. We’ve been using their products for 20-plus years, and it’s very rare that we have any issues. Whenever we do, we’ve always got fast, reliable backup. As far as we’re concerned, they’re the best on the market.”

— Jack Riches

From dairies to quarries — one range, every application

The Riches team puts Sprecher + Schuh to work almost everywhere they go. Irrigation pump control boxes. Automation on quarry plants. Feed systems and machinery in the dairy industry. General machinery across commercial and industrial sites.

“We can almost use it for any application whatsoever — in the dairy industry, the commercial industry and the industrial industry,” says Russell.

Sam, who handles much of the motor control and switchboard work, rattles off the range: "Circuit breakers, contactors, soft starters, selector switches, push buttons, associated equipment — a huge range, with great availability."

And for a regional contractor, that last word — availability — carries real weight.

“One of the big things we value with Sprecher and NHP as a partner is availability. It’s not very often that we go to order and it’s not there. Sprecher and NHP have stood strong through a lot of hard times, when supply in this industry can be very random and sporadic.”

— Sam Riches

Evolving — but always reliable

The trade has changed enormously since Les wired his first farmhouse.

“It’s gone from simple mechanical work into electronics — it’s digitised a lot,” says Russell. Through all of it, the need for dependable motor control hasn’t changed — and that’s exactly where Sprecher + Schuh sits.

Sam sees the same thing from the next generation of the business.

“They’re still bringing out new products and keeping up with where the industry’s going,” he says. “But they’ve maintained that reliability and robustness you need in the field.”

He points to a recent job at a meatworks as an example.

“We pulled out a competitor contactor there recently — it failed after about six months. We replaced it with a Sprecher + Schuh of the same rating.”

“It’s got stronger metal mechanisms and components inside — you can just feel the difference in build quality.”

For Sam, that’s what keeps them coming back.

“When you’ve used a product for a long time without issues, you’ve got confidence in it. You’re not second guessing it on site. And that’s how we like to present our business to our clients.”

— Sam Riches

Passing it on

For Les, now well into his eighties and still in the shed by quarter to seven most mornings, the brand’s story is woven through the family’s own. He taught his boys the trade, and they put Sprecher + Schuh to work on every job they touched.

“Peter used it wherever he went. Russell used it wherever he went,” Les says.

His grandsons carry it on now — and one day, perhaps, a fourth generation will too. Sam, a father of three, doesn’t rule it out. “I’d love to give my kids the opportunity to join the business at some point. If that’s what they’re interested in,” he says. “It’s there for the next generation — to keep it strong.”

The relationship with NHP goes back four decades, to when a couple of reps drove up from Geelong, and the family started dealing direct. It’s lasted because it’s never given them a reason not to.

“And we’re stuck with it.” “Why?” “Because it’s a good product, and it’s easy to get spare parts quickly when you need them. Why would we go anywhere else?”

— Russell Riches

Les Riches Electrical is a Sprecher + Schuh and NHP customer based near Colac, Victoria.