About Us

Keogh's Marine – History
Keogh's Marine is not one of these companies who has just appeared overnight – far from it!  Once upon a time (way back in 1975) in a southern state far, far away (Sydney, NSW!) Mick Keogh (business owner and founder) finished his auto electrician apprenticeship.  From here Mick then did various auto electrician jobs in Sydney gaining experience on cars, trucks, boats and whatever else came his way.

In 1980, Mick saw the light and lifestyle of God’s country and move to the Gold Coast.  He started working for Micro Logic (a marine electronics retailer/supplier) as a technician/installer and this is where his love for boats and the marine industry began. In 1984, Mick started working at Runaway Bay Marine Electrics as a marine electrician and it was here that Mick gathered the essential experience for the founding of Keogh's Marine.

With his new (and current) wife and a new family imminent, Mick moved back to his Sydney Eastern suburbs roots and went out on his own and formed Keogh's Marine.  Basing himself around the prestigious Point Piper Marina, Mick established himself and earned a reputation as a quality marine electrician who could be counted on. 

In 2000 the lure of the Queensland lifestyle made Mick relocate back to the Gold Coast where he quickly built up the reputation as one of the best marine electrical firms on the Gold Coast – running up to seven electricians at its peak. By 2004, Mick had well and truly outgrown the office in his garage and moved to the factory unit in Brisbane Road, Labrador, from where Keogh's Marine still operates.

In 2007, Mick appointed a dedicated sales and marketing manager, David Edmondson, to expand the wholesale side of the business. That year also saw the early formation of the KME website www.keoghsmarine.com.au which has been a huge success for Keogh's Marine.

During 2008 and 2009, when the GFC hit and when many businesses in the marine industry were unfortunately struggling, Keogh's Marine’s wholesale side flourished. The company invested in a brand new showroom with a large working display of marine electronics and marine electrical products. 

What Keogh's Marine is and what we do

Keogh's Marine is a family owned marine retailer and wholesaler based at Labrador on the Gold Coast.  We specialise is the supply of marine electrical products such as: anchor winches; audio visual equipment (12 volt TVs, CD/DVD players and marine stereos); battery chargers and inverters; bilge and pressure pumps; cooking appliances; deck hatches and port lights; desalination systems; electrical parts; electrolysis and reverse polarity protection; electronics chart cards; game fishing accessories; marine batteries; marine barbecues; marine electronics; marine hot water heaters; marine LED lighting; refrigeration; VHF/MF/HF radios and satellite communications; mooring whips; solar and wind power; and trolling motors to name a few.

So what’s unique about Keogh's Marine?

• Dedication to service and high quality product
  After many years of experience as a marine electrician and running a service and installation business, Keogh's Marine has the unique advantage of knowing what products perform as per their specifications, have excellent reliability and should something go wrong, which products are backed up by their manufacturer or distributor.  One thing Keogh's Marine does not do is sell and forget. We understand that building, refitting and upgrading can be a stressful task both mentally and financially.  A boat for many people is a passion, a hobby, a means to unwind and a dream.  They are usually a long term proposition so a quality, reliable product which is well supported is all we sell.
   
• Personal, professional, passionate and above all extremely knowledgeable
  A boat is a complex animal with many working systems.  In order for these systems to work, the individual components need to be able to work together.  One of the things that we constantly see is boat owners are sold products which do not work or are incompatible with their existing system.  We like to take the approach of listening to what our clients’ needs are and what they want to achieve so that they get a product, which suits the owner and the boat.  System design is one of our specialities, so whether a client is building a new boat, refitting or just upgrading an existing system our experience and detailed product range knowledge enables us to provide products which work together in harmony in a system in order to optimise functionality and reliability.  When clients have major projects, Keogh's Marine can also provide Turbo Cad system drawing so that installation techs have a map to follow.  This also has the added benefit if a problem occurs in the future there is a documented drawing for reference.
  
  Our key staff are passionate boaties.   We own boats ourselves, we fish, we cruise and simply love boating just as much as the most avid owner.  Our extensive on water experience enables us to understand and relate to what our clients want which further adds to our confidence in getting exactly the right product for the application.
   
• Investment to increase client knowledge and satisfaction
  In 2009 Keogh's Marine made a significant investment into a brand new showroom at their Labrador premises.  Our showroom has the latest in a wide range of products including: chart plotters; fish finders; sonars; radars; battery chargers and inverters; marine stereos; CD/ DVD players; 12 volt HD TVs; LED lighting; marine AC and DC refrigeration; desalinators; anchor winches; deck hatches; marine barbecues; and cooking appliances.   The reason for this investment is to increase our clients’ knowledge and appreciation of how all these products actually function.
  
  Our showroom is fully functioning with all products working off a battery bank and being charged with battery chargers.   We do this for a simple reason, this is exactly how the products would work in a boat.  Isn’t it better to see how they run off a proper 12V system?  This also means we can show our clients exactly how much power the products use.  There are no wild salesperson claims, just real time facts right in front of your face! We have one of the largest, if not the largest electronics displays in Australia with working screens from 4.5” right up to 16”. 
  
  Overall, our fully operating showroom, enables our clients to come in and play, compare brands and models to help them make a confident decision on which product is right for them.
   
• Keogh's Marine website www.keoghsmarine.com.au
  We invest a lot of time into our website.   It contains our online catalogue which is updated daily.  We feature over 5000 products on our site and each product has detailed information listed.  In many cases, we have more information on our website than what most manufacturers do for the same products.  We also feature educational articles to help inform our clients in making the correct decisions. You will also find all the information you would need to make informed decisions, such as wiring diagrams, installation manuals, user manuals, technical bulletins and software updates. At keoghsmarine.com.au, we give our customers a website that not only offers great value on a professionally selected range of products, but also make available the information required to install and use the products. There are products we dont sell, and there is always a good reason.
   
• Pricing
  We understand people always like to get the best deal possible and as a result we will always try and give the best price.  On individual items, we will always try and beat a quoted price where possible.  We specialise in package deals and we can give even better discounts when people are looking at purchasing a complete system package from us.
   
• Technical Information and Educational Articles
  We at Keogh’s Marine have taken an keen interest in trying to inform readers to help make the correct decisions when building, refitting and upgrading boats.   Whether it is upgrading the electrical system, fitting new electronics or converting an icebox to a fridge or freezer, we have sought to cover all bases in all of our previous articles.  We have been contributing these articles since Bow2Stern first came to print.
  
  Look for the section in our catalogue for Articles - Technical Information and Know How Guides

Our main driver for doing this to assist boat owners to purchase the right product or application for their boat FIRST TIME.  Unfortunately, it is all too often an occurrence that we see boat owners who have been sold incorrect products for their application or products, which simply are not suitable for their boats’ system.  In most cases this ends up costing the client far more than they originally expected. 

Who are we?

As with every successful business, its people are the key.  Being a small close knit team we work together to constantly improve our business and our clients’ experiences. 

Here is a brief insight to our team:

• Mick Keogh
  (founder/owner/director, judge, jury and executioner)
  Mick is still the driving force behind Keogh's Marine, he brings his wealth of experience in marine electrics and running the behind the scene operations of Keogh's Marine.  Mick specialises in our electrical systems designs, electrical product application, audio visual products, marine electronics and communications and game fishing products.  When not at work, Mick can normally be found anywhere from 15 to 45nm east of the Gold Coast in search of blue and black marlin.  With years of game fishing experience and multiple tournament wins, Mick’s on water experience and fishing experience gives him the edge when setting up fishing boats of all sizes and boats planning on operating in rough and blue water
   
• David Edmondson
  David joined Keogh's Marine full time in early 2013 having worked on a project basis for the company over many years. David's background is based in the marine industry and small business management over 35 years. His experience in national marine product importation/wholesale/support, marine retail and vessel refurbishment/maintenance/refitting is based on a lifetime of work and play in the marine industry. David is also very knowledgeable on marine environmental issues and marine business requirements. This background has given David a very comprehensive technical and practical application of marine products in the marine environment. David has also built and owned vessels all his life... still does.

• Christie Keogh

Christie works behind the scenes in the area of web maintenance, system maintenance, accounts and admin. Christie joined Keogh's Marine in November 2009 after gaining experience working for an accountancy firm.   

Knowledge and Experience from Professionals - As we said, personal, professional, passionate and above all extremely knowledgeable

Until then safe and happy boating.