With the end of the financial year, I thought it worthwhile to provide a reflection on the last 12 months, as well as our vision and plans for the immediate future.
It is interesting to note that this time last year, there weren't enough hours in the day to achieve all the things we wanted to do. How things have changed for everyone!!
One of the first challenges we faced last year was the impact of the Varanus Island gas explosion on our industry. Our initial thoughts were that we would be largely unaffected, however, one of the consequences of the explosion was a new "Gas Bottle" rationing policy instituted by the main suppliers. This made things particularly challenging given our growth of investing in additonal welding equipment co-incided with a large number of businesses deciding to stock up on additional gas bottles "just in case".
Just as the gas situation came under control, the engineering industry was affected by a severe shortage in steel stock of various descriptions. This became a new challenge for a lot of businesses like The Centrix Group to plan and manage to ensure production delays were minimised.
Then the Global Financial Crisis ("GFC") hit.
The most dramatic impact of the GFC was the speed at which it affected everyone in our industry. Virtually all engineering companies have been severely impacted by the GFC, however, The Centrix Group has faired better than most other organisations.
We believe this is due to two main reasons. Firstly, given our diversification, we are not exposed to anyone particular product, service or industry. Secondly, Centrix has a low debt/equity ratio thereby ensuring we don't have the same finance pressures of other companies.
Although the GFC is of concern to companies like ours, in some respects it has also had a positive impact on the business. We have no choice but to look at all operational aspects of our business to identify and implement improvements as required. When things are going well, there is a natural tendency to breathe a sigh of relief and become complacent. The GFC has meant that many organisations such as Centrix needed to review their operations to ensure they remain competitive and/or identify additional opportunities that present themselves.
In addition to the positive aspect of the GFC, The Centrix Group was also able to achieve the following goals during the last financial year:
- We introduced our new website that arose as a result of a consolidation of two former websites. The current website has added more functionality and we have received positive feedback concerning the layout and ease of navigation;
- New wireline winch products were developed and Centrix continues to gain worldwide recognition of our range of wirelines as well as related products and services;
- We successfully developed an automation solution for our wireline products. This has ensured our wireline range have become more powerful and the incidence of damage to equipment caused by human error is reduced;
- Centrix designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned electro-refining equipment in Queensland, our first outside Western Australia;
- We finalised the development of our modularised industrial safety fencing system. The fencing system incorporates a number of features not present in other fencing systems including making installation easier;
- We invested in equipment and systems associated with our steel wall framing division as we continue to improve our entire manufacturing process;
- Centrix entered into an alliance with Goldfields Steel Framing to offer a wider range of steel wall framing product and services through more locations; and
- Centrix continues to undertake Research & Development in a number of areas to identify operational efficiencies and new products.
We remain optimistic about the future and we have seen an increased level of activity in June that was not present in earlier months.
Our immediate focus is to continue working on the operational aspects of our business to identify and implement improvements. We also plan to continue to cement existing relationships by providing support in these difficult times and develop long term relationships with new clients to broaden our client base.
What I personally feel is that organisations coming out of the GFC will be better off for the experience.
John Miniello
Managing Director
The Centrix Group