Message from the Director

As we approach the end of yet another year, we are also in the middle of what looks like yet another financial crisis.  The current debt issues that are plaguing both Europe and the USA do not seem to have an easy solution and this is affecting local business confidence as our share market rides a rollercoaster with 2-3% swings becoming the norm rather than the exception.
In the construction industry we have also seen the market hit with reductions of some 20% in the Volume Housing sector alone.
At Intrax, we are using this time of market turbulence as an opportunity to improve the serviceswe provide to our clients  and ready ourselves for future growth, by doing such things as:

• Ramping up the training to our clients in areas such as the new AS2870 standards (Please let us know if you are interested in such a presentation)
• Hiring freshly minted graduates, providing them with an opportunity and us with the ability to invigorate our organisation with fresh talent.
• Investing in new computer technology for our geotechnical field staff so that we can improve both the quality and timeliness of our soil reporting.
• Increasing the training to our engineering team, enabling them to provide our clients with more innovative solutions.
• Improving the end to end service provision to our clients so that they can deal with one interface rather than many. That is: Building services (Electrical/Mechanical/Water engineering), licensed surveying and Land development.
• Introducing an account management group whose job it is to maintain relationships with our clients and ensure that we are delivering to their requirements.
• Introducing a client Board room lunch series where we will discuss issues of the day and share information. (Again please let us know if you are interested in attending future events)

Our thanks goes to all that participated in our client survey.  We had an excellent response rate and your feedback was very helpful.  Some of the initiatives mentioned above have come about as a direct result of your feedback.
Running a business in times of uncertainty is not easy and with most economists predicting a slow 2012, we are likely to see a continuation of current conditions for some time.  I will leave you with a few points from a recent article I read,  that were listed as core in maintaining a healthy business in turbulent times:

• Maintain a strong cash position
• Understand, and do what you can to manage your risks (this includes bad debts)
• Do your best to manage using quality data and metrics, that help you look forward and not just backward (which is the risk when you only look at financials)

We at Intrax would like to thank you for your continued support and trust and wish our best to all for the festive season.
 

Warm Regards,
Barry