ABOUT US
The Birth...
On the 5th February 2003 Simon Baldwin, Paul Dempster and James Smith resigned from their previous employment to pursue their motivation and idea’s which up to then had been ignored On 5th March 2003 it was agreed to ‘have a go ourselves’ and Genesis Timber Engineering – GTE™ was launched.
We prepared financial and operating budgets using a high street banks software for a meeting at their Gloucester branch. We were very disappointed with their indecisive & unprofessional attitude. Fortunately we spoke to friends who recommended Andrew Sekinger of HSBC Bank – Stroud and another piece of the jigsaw fell neatly into place. With the help of Andrew; budgets, cashflows, and finance options were prepared and agreed.
The next priority was to find suitable premises to operate from. Again we looked long and hard for these and fortunately met up with Bernard Humberstone & Jane Tooley of Quedgeley Urban Village Ltd. They were very ‘accommodating’ to our needs and provided ‘GTE™’ with an excellent facility and logistics location.
Identifying a market was integral to our development...
We were all well aware of how busy your average builder is and to be able to offer Roof Trusses on a 5 day delivery service, instead of 3/4 weeks, made sense to both ourselves and our customers – One less thing for the builder to worry about and enable him to book trades knowing the trusses will be there in 5 days latest - GUARANTEED. So the ‘FASTRACK™’ 5 Day Truss Delivery Service was born Tel No 01452 331 ‘555’.
We now had an unrivalled delivery service so we needed to establish a network for customers to realise this service was available - Builders’ Merchants were the obvious points of contact and they remain a very important business partner of GTE™’s with opportunities to supply further products and services always under negotiation. However GTE™’s customers range from private individuals through to National Building companies and everyone in between.
We also pride ourselves on design expertise based on ‘On site’ knowledge as well as software understanding. At the start up, GTE™ had over 50 years experience between the three directors, this allows GTE™ to find a better and more practical solution to a design problem than our competitors.
We offer an on site measuring service whereby for a small charge experienced personnel can visit site to offer solutions, record critical dimensions or inspect completed works.
Let GTE™ help you get it ‘Right First Time and Fast’!!
Marketing & Advertising
We needed to make a bold statement about our new identity and we did! We designed our own logo which really is fantastically eye-catching and actually shows what we do. This became the first registered trade mark of GTE™.
The local media have been very supportive with exposure in their free financial & building sections. A reasonable budget for marketing in our first year allowed a monthly advert to maintain our presence; a good relationship with the girls in the media has also allowed us on some occasions to capitalise on cancelled front page advertising for half price!!
We have developed a website that explains our services and products in plain English; we offer a very personal touch with experienced supervision and advice. We also up-date our news page for historical company milestones – visit it at here.
Greatest Challenges
The early days offered new challenges hourly!
First there was building confidence with our customers convincing them that we could be competitive and out perform the lead times offered by other suppliers – this is something we strive daily to enforce.
A supply chain was fairly important too!! Most of our suppliers were dealing with our ex-employers and were very wary of a conflict of interests. This meant we had to source new suppliers and build new relationships, usually resulting in paying up front for goods which, with a little strain on the cash flow, we managed to do. We quickly convinced our suppliers to extend our credit account facilities to Nett monthly and have become the type of customers that suppliers dream of. To maximise cash flow we endeavour to encourage our customers to Nett 30 day accounts.
All deliveries were made using hired transport until 2005 when we acquired our own operator’s licence and were finally able to purchase a purpose built 40 foot articulated trailer and 7.5 ton 24 foot rigid lorry, all decorated in corporate colours and logo’s – They are unmistakable!!
One challenge that is constant is to produce goods efficiently; we are able to do this by utilising the very latest design, production & logistics software packages. .
We were delighted to achieve the ‘Investors In People’ standard in November 2004, this is justification of our ‘Hands On Management’ techniques and demonstrates our understanding the impact a well trained, committed and inspired team has on our and our customers businesses. Sometimes the experience of previously working at a company that does it all wrong helps you get it right second time!
Expansion
GTE™’s manufacturing & storage facilities were initially in excess of 12,000ft2 and we hadalready extended our design office by 50% and designated a private room for client meetings etc… We have always tried to offer the client professional advice in inspirational surroundings.
In 3 Years GTE™ had outgrown its original birth place advancing to a larger and more central manufacturing facility in excess of 14,000ft2 with half an acre of open storage. Within this facility we have designed and built new, larger offices using our own timber frame structure but still maintain our private client meeting room!
Results so far...
With our first year budget set by ambition and inexperience we were very pleased to return actual sales well in excess of that figure!!
An even more ambitious sales budget was set for 2005 – 2006 and was again actually surpassed.
Our mission statement confirms our original goal, to be the very best at what we do. This means in expertise, quality and service.
It’s still early days and we all have learnt a great deal in these periods, but with an established reputation and the team we are building within GTE™ the signs so far are very encouraging & our future is well and truly in our own hands.
Genesis Timber Engineering Ltd are an independent company wholly owned by it’s two Directors. Please feel free to contact any of them, their details are listed below.
Simon Baldwin - Sales Director
Simon is a family man and has 6 children & 3 grand children.
When he used to have spare time he enjoyed playing rugby for a successful local club, Gloucester Old Boys RFC, and was club captain from 1990 - 1996. He also played for Gloucester and his pinnacle was playing for the county over 30 times and winning the championship at Twickenham.
Simon has been involved with timber all his life, when first leaving school he worked part-time at his Father & Uncles joinery business. After a few years he moved to Joseph Griggs & Co Ltd and learned various aspects of timber trading. He also worked as National Timber Engineering Sales Manager for Howarth Timber. He returned to Joseph Griggs to become the Sales Director. He has over 30 years experience within the timber engineering trade and looks forward to many more!! He is also a qualified visual stress grader & forklift operator.
Simon would be delighted to assist you with his experience and looks forward to being given the opportunity.
Contact Information
Direct Line: 01452 331253Mobile : 07766 821102
James Smith - Production Director
Since leaving school James has been working within the Timber Engineering industry covering all aspects of Roof Truss & Engineered Floor design and manufacture.
He also has a practical production management background, having developed from a designer to Production Manager at Joseph Griggs & Co Ltd gaining 15 years experience in design, estimating, manufacture, production, transport, and on site erection procedures. He has also achieved Institute of Wood Science qualifications to Certificate level.
Contact James with your enquiries or for any technical advice on all forms of timber engineering including Designs, Quotations and Deliveries.
Contact Information
Mobile : 07766 821104
Could This Be You?
Could you be the member to further enhance GTE's growing reputation for unbeatable service and excellent product quality?
Contact Us if you think you fit the bill!
Contact Information