Business View Oceania | September 2022

61 62 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 9 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 9 Since 2018, GRI has been advancing its Sri Lankan tire production plants and compound mixing facilities in parallel to expanding their global distribution and service operations in key countries such as Australia, Spain, Germany and the US. Having recently surpassed the milestone of the phase-II construction of its state-of-the-art pneumatic tire facility, GRI has once again reaffirmed its position as a specialty tire manufacturer in the global market, while never losing sight of their devotion to environmental sustainability. The expansion of this facility commenced in 2021 and included some eight new tire building machines and 17 curing presses for production optimisation. This milestone has facilitated an increase in their pneumatic tire output capacity by almost 100% and is intended to support the growing demand across key markets for agriculture, construction and pneumatic material handling tire solutions. “To have received encouraging levels of customer acceptance for our radial and bias agriculture tires through our GREEN XLR and GREEN EX brands is an honour we are humbled by. Furthermore, as a responsible corporate citizen, this venture provides us the opportunity to create employment and generate much needed foreign earnings and export revenues for Sri Lanka, at a time the country needs it the most.” explained CEO Dr. Mahesha Ranasoma. Led by their commitment to sustainability, this significant production increase and the entire project has been supplemented through production initiatives, with GRI continuously maintaining focus on environmental preservation. With the installation of solar panels generating some 1.2Mw, bio-mass boilers, water reclamation systems and new initiatives in the tire design themselves, GRI have their sights set on even higher ambitions as it welcomes the future. ...... GRI Australia & NZ 1300 919 095 sales@gritires.com.au GRI’s Material Handling Tire Production Facility in Sri Lanka. CHADWI CK FORKL I FTS Cliff adds, “It’s important to note that we attribute a lot of this recent growth to our winning of the HRIA Rental Company of the Year award. Since being crowned in 2021, we’ve taken the opportunity to fuel more and more investment. We haven’t taken it for granted- it’s certainly not a tokenistic achievement for us.” Despite the massive growth Chadwick Forklifts has experienced over the last year, the team have remained true to their values and positive working culture. Staff pride themselves on their commitment to respect, professionalism, mutual growth, and positive relationships. Cliff continues, “My wonderful wife, Melissa, actually performs regular checks on our staff, during which she just gives them a call and touches base to see how they’re doing. This is a great example of our culture here at Chadwick Forklifts, and again, it’s not a tokenistic thing. It’s very genuine, and all of our staff appreciate it.” The importance of modern, reliable equipment on building sites is paramount, Cliff says. “The sites our assets are placed in are very demanding. We are required to provide a current risk assessment and recent service history, along with safety equipment like wheel chocks, reflective tape, estops, lockable battery isolators, and more. There are so many requirements, and our customers expect the assets that come out of our yard to enter their yard or site in immaculate condition and ready for immediate deployment. We have purchased around 160 brand new machine in the last two years to keep up with demand and make sure we are meeting all industry obligations.” Shane adds, “Customer expectations have certainly changed alongside industry regulations. No longer can a company cut costs or throw an outdated machine onto a work site. Everything has to be of the highest standards in safety, efficiency. It means that a lot of unsafe industry practices have been cut out, and generally the industry is safer and more reliable. And we aren’t just investing in new equipment- we are making sure we can support that equipment. It means