Professional Tool & Equipment Mounting Solutions
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Hi Alec, as GSF’s Export Director you must have been to some pretty interesting places recently.
Yes, as a matter of fact I’ve just come back from Northern Italy, around Milan and I am going to the US this month to the world’s largest Fire Trade Show.
And how important are these new markets?
Relative to the UK, Europe and the US are the biggest. There are some pretty large players out there. Whilst in Milan I met with Iveco. Iveco manufacture a broad range of light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, off-road trucks as well as a wide range of specialist vehicles such as fire trucks and civil defence vehicles. They produce vehicles all over Europe, as you can imagine they are very important clients for us.
How receptive are these markets to GSF?
In general, there is a great deal of interest in GSF’s products. We are progressively building a large European client base and steadily getting where we want to be. We are established distributors to ZHT in the Czech Republic and our products are being used throughout France, Belgium and Italy.
And why are GSF Slides having such a positive impact? European companies want high quality products and they know that GSF can supply the best. It’s about safety and effectiveness. All of our products are purpose designed, precision engineered and guaranteed for the life of the vehicle. They are resistant to shock, vibration, corrosion and we are confident that if a vehicle is in an accident our products will endure. Our customers respect these qualities.
We’re not the cheapest on the market but we don’t compromise on quality and our experience in is invaluable when it comes to fitting and usage. Our products stand the test of time and stand out against the competition. But it’s not just about engineering quality it’s also service quality. All of our products are in stock and manufacturers know that they can make an order and get it in 2-3 days.
What about Pro Mount?
We are the sole distributors of Pro Mount in the UK and Europe and our customers are becoming more aware of these mounting brackets. The Pro Mount system complements our existing range of high quality slide drawers, ladder gantry systems, telescopic slides and slide and tilt systems. The safe stowage of tools and equipment is paramount and our products prevent damage to the vehicle, to the tools themselves and most importantly the personnel operating them.
Can you tell me about other emerging markets?
Both the US and Europe are ongoing. As I said earlier we’re going to the FDIC on the 23rd – 25th April for the second year in a row, you can find us on Booth No.8052, and we’re taking a number of established products including our slide and tilt, and drawer slide products. Our products are fully field tested, featuring high strength components and providing maximum health and safety benefits for the fire operators. These are the qualities that make GSF such an important supplier and as new users become more convinced about the merits our products can offer we know that they will start calling for more and more GSF products.
Hi Tony thanks for coming down. I just want to find out more about you and GSF. So what’s your role at GSF?
I am the Product Sales Manager for GSF and I’ve been with them for five years, before GSF I was working with another slide company called Widney which is where I met Jeremy and Jon.
So you know your slides them?
You could say that, I’ve certainly got a lot of experience of slides and it’s my job to pass that experience to our customers. I get approached by lots of people who need a slide solution for their application I offer my expertise and look at the customers’ needs so that we can develop a product that can solve their application issues.
You must have been involved with some interesting projects?
We supply anyone with stowage and accessibility issues. I’ve been involved with some quite strange builds over the years. From wheelchair manufacturers to defence contractors, I’ve helped vehicle builders solve a variety of issues from space and storage to movement and accessibility.
Can you give me some examples?
Well, a few years ago we worked on a project called New Dimensions. New Dimensions was a defence project involving the containerisation of specialist equipment. Each container carried an array of equipment including generators and specialist tools anything and everything to deal with a massive catastrophe. The kit needed to be accessed quickly and efficiently and some of the equipment, generators and so forth, were particularly heavy. I was able to recommend a four beam slide solution which is exclusive to GSF. This slide system was more expensive than other slides on our range but it allowed an over extension enabling better access. There’s not another slide on the market that could have provided this solution.
You must have a lot of confidence in your product.
What can I say, our reputation is recognised. We have an extensive range of quality products which can be relied upon and our products are constantly being developing ensuring that we can provide even more solutions for more applications. When I meet clients I know that I don’t have to compromise.
Hi there, what’s your name?
My name’s Jeremy, I am the Sales and Marketing Director for GSF Slides.
Where are you now?
I’m on my way back from a client meeting.
Was it a good meeting?
Very good! As you know our experience has always been mainly focused in the blue light industry, but over the years we’ve been building relationships with vehicle builders across a number of key sectors.
What kind of sectors?
Local Authority vehicles, shipping, trains, offshore, you name it our telescopic slide and linear motion systems are used throughout numerous industry sectors. The meeting I’ve just come from was a big defence contractor.
Defence?
It’s a huge market for us, but by the nature of our products design and the steel we use means they are extraordinarily hardwearing; perfect for the defence industry. Also our latest product, the PAC TRAC Tool Mounting system, has been specifically designed for military use and is being installed throughout the US army and Navy.
What about emerging markets?
When we first started out twenty years ago we were supplying very much to the UK markets, nowadays we are expanding into Europe and America – actually we have just signed our first contract in the US recently.
Why do you think uptake for GSF Slides is increasing?
I think it’s a number of things. Firstly we’ve a great product, which makes believing in it a whole lot easier, but also our experience across varying sectors has given us the knowledge to offer the right solution. But also it’s the GSF team as a whole, for example if a client needs a part at short notice or there’s an order query, everyone comes together and helps deliver it. I think it’s the attention to our customers and the quality of our product that makes GSF different.