A five-day emergency truss delivery service offered by Gloucestershire-based Genesis Timber Engineering (GTE) has proved a godsend for busy builders.
GTE is among the small handful of truss rafter manufacturers in the country to offer the service which was the brainchild of company founders Simon Baldwin, sales director; James Smith, production director; and Paul Dempster, technical director.
Mr Baldwin explained: “We were all aware of how busy your average builder is, and to be able to offer truss rafters on a five-day delivery service, instead of three to four weeks, made sense to both us and our customers.
“It is one less thing for the builder to worry about and enables him to book trades knowing the trusses will be there in five days at the very latest.”
GTE was launched in March 2003 by the three founders who had all worked together previously.
Builders merchants
Mr Baldwin said GTE had an unrivalled delivery service for its “emergency trusses” but needed to establish a network of customers to help spread the word that the service was available.
“Builders merchants were the obvious point of contact, not only for their client base but also as a limited credit risk facility,” he said. “We also pride ourselves on design expertise based on ‘on site’ knowledge as well as software understanding.
“We offer an on-site measuring service whereby, for a charge, experienced personnel can visit a site to offer solutions, record critical dimensions or inspect completed works.”
GTE decided to make a bold statement about its new identity and designed its own logo. The company has also created a website at www.gte-uk.com which explains GTE’s products and services in plain English.
Mr Baldwin said the early days of the company presented new challenges on a daily basis.
“First there was building confidence with our customers, convincing them that we could be competitive and outperform the lead times offered by other suppliers – something we strive daily to enforce.”
Transport fleet
Last year the company was able to purchase its own purpose-built 40ft articulated trailer and 7.5 ton, 24ft rigid lorry, both of which are decorated in corporate colours and logo.
Mr Baldwin said: “The ability of the 7.5 tonner – which will make its TV debut on Property Ladder this month – to get in to almost any site is priceless as it saves both us and the customer valuable time in not having to carry products too far.”
GTE began its life on a former RAF camp in Gloucester, but the site has become too cramped and the company is soon to move to a newer, more central manufacturing facility in excess of 14,000ft², with half an acre of open storage, in the local area.
Mr Baldwin said: “Our mission statement confirms our original goal – to be the very best at what we do. This means in expertise, quality and service. We would also like to make some money!
“It’s still early days and we have all learnt a great deal, but with the team we are building within GTE and the encouraging signs so far, our future is well and truly in our own hands.”
