Electrical enclosures are protective housings that keep electrical components safe from the environment—and the environment safe from electricity. You’ll find them everywhere: on houses, in factories, on farms, at mine sites, and inside commercial buildings. They’re used to house everything from circuit breakers and terminals to advanced control systems.

What we’ve seen time and time again is that the enclosure can make or break a system. If it’s not suited to the application, it won’t last—and neither will the gear inside.

The Three Enclosure Types We Handle

When we’re talking about enclosure types, we typically work with three broad styles: junction boxes, control panels, and outdoor cabinets.

Junction boxes are the smaller of the two, usually fitted in walls or roof space. They have the responsibility of containing cable connections securely and excluding dust and vermin. They are simple but necessary, particularly in home and light commercial applications.

Control panels are slightly more sophisticated. These are the cabinets you find in factories, workshops, and office buildings. They contain items such as contactors, relays, motor starters, PLCs, and the like. We usually construct them with inner swing panels, top/bottom cable access, and unambiguous labelling for ease of identification in maintenance.

Then there are outdoor enclosures—designed to handle whatever the Aussie weather can throw at them. Rain, dust, UV, salt spray—you name it. These are often used for EV charging stations, infrastructure projects, and solar battery systems.

Material Matters: Mild Steel, Aluminium, or Stainless Steel?

Choosing the right material for your enclosure depends entirely on the environment and the level of durability you’re after.

We typically employ mild steel for internal switchboards. It’s durable, affordable, and easy to handle. When powder-coated, it provides fair protection against corrosion, which is ideal for clean, dry conditions such as offices, plant rooms, or workshops. However, if the location’s damp or coastal, mild steel will be at its mercy without further protection.

Aluminium is an excellent lightweight choice that works well in the field. It’s corrosion-resistant by nature and needs less coating or maintenance than mild steel. We tend to employ it for enclosures fitted into damp, coastal, or off-grid sites where weight and transport arrangements come into consideration.

If you’re operating in extremely corrosive environments—e.g., by the ocean or food-grade production facilities—we suggest using stainless steel. It’s strong, clean, and resistant to rust and chemical attack. We employ 316-grade stainless for best protection. It’s more expensive initially, but it will save you money in the long run in reduced maintenance and longer lifespan.

What About IP Ratings?

When we’re discussing enclosures, we’re always discussing IP ratings as well. This rating informs you as to how thoroughly the enclosure is able to prevent dust and water. For simple indoor protection, an IP20 may be enough. But for anything outdoors or moisture-exposed, we’re typically designing to IP66 or more.

Require an enclosure that can withstand full water immersion? We can provide IP67 or even IP68 enclosures based on your project requirements. The correct rating could be the difference between a system lasting years and one which dies in the next storm.

Our Standard and Custom Colours

And now let’s discuss colour. In some applications, the appearance of the enclosure is as important as its performance—particularly if it’s going to be installed in a publicly accessible area.

Our base colours are:

• – RAL 7035 light grey, which is crisp and contemporary and is suitable for most environments.
• – X-15 orange, which is high-visibility and ideal for safety-critical environments.

We also provide a range of special colours, including:

• – White – commonly used in medical, food-grade, or cleanroom applications.
• – Storm Grey N42 and Pebble Grey – excellent for commercial or architectural areas where a less showy finish is desired.
• – Serpentine Green, Wilderness Green, and Shire Green – perfect for rural or natural environments where visual impact must be kept to a minimum.

No matter what colour you need, we can typically make that happen. Just advise us to what your site or spec demands. A properly designed enclosure is more than an enclosure—it must be simpler to install, use, and service. That’s why we incorporate useful features such as gland plate removal, swing doors, gear trays, and mounting features specific to your application.

We also consider security. For public or exposed locations, we can include tamper-proof locks, padlockable latches, or even internal fasteners.

Heat management is a biggie too. Components produce heat, and if that is not controlled, it can reduce the life of everything within. We can add vents, filters, or fans—at times even thermostatic control, depending upon the circumstance.

Each application is unique, so we will work with you to ensure the features align with your particular requirements.

Where You’ll Find Our Enclosures

You’ll find our enclosures nearly anywhere. In buildings, they house meters and main switches. In factories and warehouses, they supply machines and automation equipment. On farms, they regulate irrigation pumps and lighting. In the renewables industry, we enclose inverters, batteries, and monitoring gear. And in public infrastructure—think traffic lights, EV charging stations, and utility sites—we offer the weatherproof, tamper-resistant equipment that keeps it all running.