2018: Excellent Year Sets Exciting Stage for 2019

2018 was a banner year for GIW Industries, Inc., in all aspects of the business. In over 125 years of serving its customers, GIW has never been better positioned to grow and reach new horizons. GIW continues to expand its capabilities with plans to add a 70,000 sq. ft. facility containing cleaning, shot blasting, heat treatment, machining, assembly, and painting areas later this year. With this expansion, GIW’s capacity for producing slurry pumps and parts in 2019 will grow significantly. The expansion is part of their ongoing commitment to serve the mining and dredging market as a premier and reliable slurry pump partner.

We sat down with Jonathan Samuel, VP of Sales & Marketing, to discuss 2018 highlights and hear his vision for 2019.

According to Mr. Samuel, “We experienced tremendous growth in existing and new business in 2018 — a trend that started in late 2016 and continued through 2018. Several things have served to build customer confidence and allowed GIW to grow: the performance of our pumps in some of the most difficult and aggressive duty conditions, our ability to innovate and develop new products, and the top-notch service provided by our teams and partner companies. We are proud to serve as a reliable partner for our customers and contribute to their successes.”

2018 Highlights

In 2018, one of GIW’s major customers needed very large slurry pumps for their expanding operations, and they entrusted GIW with the challenge of meeting this need. GIW will be delivering three TBC 92 pumps in 2019. These will be the largest hydrotransport pumps in the Canadian oil sands in Alberta.

GIW has been supplying colossal pumps to the dredging industry for the past three decades. When a world renowned dredging contractor located in Belgium decided to build the world’s biggest cutter suction dredge (CSD), they contracted GIW to design, test, and build three monumental, double-walled dredge pumps. GIW successfully designed, assembled, hydro-tested, and delivered the DWD 2500 pumps to the dredge builder in the Netherlands. The CSD was launched in November 2018. After outfitting and trials, the CSD is expected to go into service in the latter half of 2019.

It is a proven fact that slurry pumps, in highly abrasive services, last longer when the gap between the suction liner and the impeller is regularly adjusted. In keeping with our tradition of innovation, GIW introduced the Remotely Adjusted Mechanical Suction Liner (RAMSL) in 2018. The RAMSL, used primarily with our flagship mill discharge MDX pump, allows the operator to safely make precise and more frequent nose gap adjustments remotely, at the push of a button. More frequent adjustments translate to longer wear life and more uptime for our customers.

To further support our customers, GIW is pleased to introduce Web-Shop. This e-marketplace platform allows customers to order replacement parts online and have them shipped to more than 20 countries worldwide. Web-Shop increases GIW’s efficiency in managing orders — facilitating greater support to our increasing customer base.

Challenges

2018 was not without its challenges and obstacles. The significant surge in demand for our products stretched our manufacturing capacities to the limits. GIW rose to meet this challenge by working around the clock. We increased the number of employees by over 30% and added capacity to key areas. The investments made in expanding the foundry and distribution center, in 2015, helped tremendously. We continue to add capacity where needed.

As GIW grows, one of our primary objectives is ensuring that the right stock is available to support our customers when they need it. To meet this challenge, our sales team works closely with our customers to understand what equipment they are using, how they are using it, and how we can better meet their needs. This knowledge is then used to drive a forecasting system that will enable us to anticipate and meet customer needs.

We fully recognize that the slurry pump business is all about being a reliable partner. Our customers rely on us to add value to their mining and dredging operations. We do this by providing a technologically superior product, reliable parts supply, and sound technical support. This reduces the total cost of ownership of the equipment while increasing operational efficiencies for our customers.

GIW’s commitment in 2019 and beyond

According to Mr. Samuel, GIW is committed to providing the best slurry pumps, being the most reliable spare parts supplier, and delivering the highest-quality customer service and technical support in the industry. We value our customers, and we are dedicated to their success. GIW is a reliable partner that customers can count on now and well into the future.

[cta]We have the experience, capacity, and solutions necessary to meet your needs in every respect. If we can assist you in any way, please contact us at 1.888.TECHGIW (832-4449) or visit us online.[/cta]