TROWEL PLASTICS is maintaining a strong presence in the market despite stiff competition and the persisting recession.
In fact, managing director H. Waldo Clarke said they were “aggressively” trying to maintain sales levels in both the residential and commercial markets but it was difficult in the global economic environment.
“Pursuing business is always done methodically with our team. So to say there has been a fall-off in one area, I would say no, we have not witnessed a drastic fall-off but we have seen a subtle slide on both fronts – the residential and commercial markets. But in order to get the business we have to go and get it,” he told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY.
“The market is very competitive. The market requires constant attention because one has to attend to the details and ensure that were there maybe loopholes or areas of vulnerability, you are able to understand what your consumers’ needs are and design programmes and strategies to place yourself above the competition,” said Clarke.
Besides a decrease in demand for some of their products, Clarke said one of the challenges was keeping staff motivated and letting them know their jobs are secure.
“I would say we are performing based on [our] budget. We have shown some areas where we have been slightly above budget and that is resulting from hard efforts, cohesive work and the ability to reach the targeted market.
“Although our capacity, in terms of our revenue line, may be lower than other competing [companies], it doesn’t preclude us from being . . . able to stand up and give the deliverables and [meet] expectations,” explained Clarke.
He added that one of the main factors which also determined if they remained in the local market was pricing.
“Pricing plays with margins but it also determines how we are going to be able to maintain a certain revenue stream. One thing that the company prides itself on is the ability to maintain and not compromise on quality. Businesses will always have challenges, but a challenge always allows you to examine where you have gone wrong and what you need to do to correct that problem and to ensure that the problem is not repeated,” he said. (MM)
