One of the well known tenets of successful marketing is knowing your market position and its competitive edge.
This comes from deciding which customers you serve the best (instead of trying to please all people in all ways – in other words having a defined segment of the market) as well as finding your place in the competitive landscape (and how your offering fits within what your customers think your offering ranks).
At Design and Build we asked ourselves: when all things are equal (or should be) how does the market support its players? Or in short – How do you compete?
This thought got us to the doorstep of one of the many construction service companies that operate successfully in these Islands within the current growth climate.
This is how Swaey Bros replied to our question!
We go the extra mile to ensure that our client is fully satisfied,” said director Anthony Vella, adding that “Our Vision is to strive for continuous improvement.” Swaey Bros – which provides a variety of services including Crane Lifting, Boat Handling, Crane Repair, Hydraulic Equipment, Demolition Equipment and Lifting Equipment – was established in 1981 as a partnership between brothers Paul and Anthony both of whom already had significant experience in the crane services and construction segments. It is through this vision and experience that Swaey Bros’ rapid expansion was instigated; by 1983, Swaey Bros was registered as a limited liability company and relocated to their current premises in Mosta. The first two small 12- ton cranes were followed in quick succession by a 30-ton,a 25-ton, a 50-ton and then an 80-ton crane. And as the company’s reputation grew, so did the resources and workforce to cater for this growth.
Nowadays, things are very different to the way they were back then. “Our largest crane is 180 tons and with the wealth of experience we have gained over the years, we can handle a wide variety of lifts. Safety has also become extremely important. Correct procedure requires lifting plans, regular testing of crane safety instruments, qualified drivers and certification of slings and lifting gear in accordance with the standards,” said director Anthony Vella. He proudly mentions that the very delicate removal of the Tritons from the Floriana square just outside the Valletta City gates, was left in their safe hands since it required quite a bit of experience to complete. The Tritons were then moved to their premises where they were prepared as instructed by the restorers overseas and then shipped in a container. They obviously then had to place them back on the fountain on their return.
From the outset it was clear that quality and honesty would be the driving forces behind Swaey’s success. Anthony says that he is more comfortable working in today’s environment than in the past. “Most of the work we used to miss out on was because we were always safety conscious and were never willing to compromise on safety by exceeding our capabilities while some of our competitors would get away with working in an unsafe environment at a cheaper price. With today’s far stricter standards and controls, a level playing field has been created, ensuring that safety is never compromised to gain a competitive edge. Safety and quality of service are the very least that every customer deserves. We believe in this so much that we have recently obtained our ISO 9001 certification.”
This ISO 9001 certification means “a lot to us and to our clients”, he explained. “It means that our systems are up to international ISO standards. To achieve this, we had to prove to the certification body that we are capable of achieving and retaining these standards.” Obviously this involves periodic checks and audits of their processes (such as crane maintenance schedules, spare parts stocks, all documentation and books, operators manuals and workshop manuals to name a few). He added that “everything needs to be up to date and available. This gives us the foundation to continuously improve and keep striving to always serve our clients to the highest levels of quality.”
“As I already said at the start of this interview, our Vision is to adapt and invest to keep up with the times and always remain a step ahead. This drive helps us keep providing our customers with the best service possible. And, as part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we have recently invested in a Grove GMK5180 in order to better serve our clients” he added.
SALES AND HIRE
Swaey Brothers has been selling and hiring cranes since 1983. The company has a vast range of experiences in many small to large-scale projects. Apart from other services, Swaey Brothers is also the sole agent of hydraulic equipment parts of many renowned brands.
With today’s far stricter standards and controls, a level playing field has been created, ensuring that safety is never compromised to gain a competitive edge
Anthony Vella added that “We also specialise in the lifting, transport and storage of marine crafts. With over 20 years of experience and the necessary equipment, Swaey Bros can help boat owners lift and store their boats safely.” Swaey Bros have partnered with some of the leading international organisations to provide the best service to clients. These include Chicago Pneumatic, PZBand HS Penta, Fox srl, Fabercom, SAGA Industrial Remote Control, Yoke,Difast, Brevini, OMD Depalo srl, Corimag, Techno Belt, Gear Pump Distributors Ltd, Pat-Krüger, BPE Electronics, Okada Hydraulic Breakers, All-kor Hydraulic Breakers, Construzione Machine Marconi and Pakelo among others. The company therefore also specialises in the tracking of spare parts which are hard to find in order to provide a complete service to our clients.
The GOVE GMK5180 has an impressive maximum boom length of 210 feet and a maximum jib length of 59 feet. Its TWIN-LOCK system ensures that locks can hold in situations with extreme vibration or dynamic loads, making it the perfect system for a crane on the jobsite.
DEMOLITION
In the area of demolition services which may interest some of our readers more, Swaey Bros specialise in a wide range of demolition equipment including hydraulic breakers, rippers, jiggers, jackhammers and any type of breaker tool for any type of hydraulic breaker. “We offer sales and can repair any type of hydraulic jackhammer or other hydraulic demolition equipment,” added Anthony Vella.
When it comes to Hydraulic Breakers, the Vella brothers are also highly renowned for their vast experience in demolition equipment. Swaey can offer a wide range of hydraulic breakers to fit any type of excavator from the smallest to the biggest excavator in the market. It is a one-stop shop concept. At the same time “We represent and cater for the full range supplied by Chicago Pneumatic. We can provide and repair any type of specialised pneumatic equipment such as jackhammers and jiggers. We supply chisels for the majority of pneumatic breakers and jackhammers and stock various spare parts’” he said, adding that they can supply twin headers for excavators ranging from 1-ton to excavators in excess of 50 tons. Swaey can also offer cutting tools and tool holders and can also do repairs on hydraulic motors.
“I have always loved this type of work. I am very mechanically-minded especially where it comes to hydraulics and other mechanical problems. My hobby has become my work” Anthony Vella, Director
LIFTING EQUIPMENT
Anthony underlined the fact that they also install winches on high-ups, boats or wherever necessary. These are adapted to the load required and to the strength of the crane itself. Swaey import various types of winches and install them on the crane with all brackets, valves and other necessary parts as required. “And where it comes of slings we also offer a wide variety of chain slings, wire-rope slings and nylon slings for all one’s lifting needs.
“We represent GAIN Electronics for remote controls which are mainly installed on tower cranes. We supply a retro-fit unit with handheld transmitter and receiver which can be combined with various crane systems to allow the crane to be operated remotely. Tow trucks, hook rotors, tipping trucks – wherever you need to operate equipment from a distance – we can install the appropriate system” he added.
At the same time, Swaey also represents Fabercom locally and can also provide proportional radio controls which allow certain continuous motion which would otherwise be very difficult to achieve. Naturally all these products are also being used on their own cranes, lifters and other machinery for a greater efficiency for the client.
SYNOPSIS | CONCLUSION
Company director Anthony Vella stated their position clearly in our interview, and why this is so: “Our motto is that we are available any day, any time…. Client satisfaction is our utmost priority. We go the extra mile to ensure that our client is fully satisfied. Our Vision is to strive for continuous improvement.”
He added that “we were always safety conscious and were never willing to compromise on safety by exceeding our capabilities… Safety and quality of service are the least that every customer deserves. We believe in this so much because we know it means that our systems are up to international ISO standards. ……so much that we have recently obtained our ISO 9001 certification.” Anthony Vella concludes that “Our Vision is to adapt and invest to keep up with the times and always remain a step ahead.” It seems to us that their constant Consolidation strategy is synonymous with both the company vision as well as with the needs of the industry.
We started this interview commenting on the fact that one of the well known tenets of successful marketing is knowing your market position and its competitive edge. It is pretty obvious that Swaey Brothers are well aware of how to meet this philosophy; that Mr Vella and his Swaey Bros team have grasped the essence of doing good business both for themselves and for their clients.
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