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Quality assurance
and control is prominent throughout the entire GRW manufacturing process, from goods receiving to final inspection and sign off, this being achieved by strict adherence to the BVQI ISO 9001:2000 system. A nominated third party inspection body ensures code compliance by witnessing, reviewing and signing off all Quality Control Plans and Test Certificates. All quality control and third party documentation is scanned to CD and included in the customer's final documentation.
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While our local trailer industry meets growing demand from truckers within our borders and in other SADEC countries, how many actually export trailers off-shore? It seems not too many. In fact,
FleetWatch could only find one - Worcester-based tanker builder, GRW reports
Paul Collings.
The most obvious question to ask GRW is "what does it have that other trailer builders don't?"
According to Gerhard van der Merwe, managing director of GRW, "we are a specialised manufacturing organisation, building tankers to exact customer specifications. All our components are imported and comply with European quality standards."
With initial export contracts coming from military clients in the UK some years ago, GRW is now supplying commercial tankers to operators in the UK and the Netherlands.
"We started our export operation when we were approached to build an aircraft refuelling tanker for a UK customer. We continue to build these tankers as well as others for various military applications but have now entered the commercial market with general purpose chemical tanks and fuel tankers for leading logistics companies. It is a growing market and while we currently have an 80%-20% split between military and commercial contracts, this looks set to change in the future."
With an office established in the UK in 2006, GRW currently has around 350 units operating in the UK and Europe, says van der Merwe.
"It's a First World market and quality is a given. We are also very competitive as far as price is concerned, despite the shipping costs involved. Our support office also adds value to the relationship. I think it is for all these reasons that we are able to export. As a South African tanker builder we're unique - we have the quality, the customisation expertise and the marketing infrastructure to go global."
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