A Few Reasons our Customers Continue to Work with General Fabricators

I can say, without hesitation, that most of our customers come back time and again because we do what we say we’re going to do, when we say we’re going to do it.

Now we all know that “stuff” occurs along the way of all projects. It really doesn’t matter who’s decisions cause delays in a project. The true character of our company shows when we do everything possible to bring everything back on schedule as quickly as possible. Sometimes that cost is absorbed by us, sometimes it’s split between our customer and us, sometimes it’s passed on to our customer, with backup documentation and fair billing to both sides.

With all that said, there are so many “little” things that our customers appreciate about working with General Fabricators, Inc. Little things that they may not even realize are being done specifically for them, but none the less they are being done.

Most people don’t realize what goes into making a Project Document, we do. That process begins when the project is assigned to a Project Manager, from the start of the project. Our Document Control Specialist begins that data package the moment she assigns a job number to your project. These documents are being copied, scanned and placed in a document binder every step of the project. MTR’s, delivery tickets, shipping manifests, equipment data, weld maps, welding procedures, painting data sheets, and the list goes on. Most Document Data Books are delivered with each shipment of pipe we send to the field. Then at the end of the project a Final Data Book is completed and submitted to our customer when we finish the project. No delays, so you have everything on hand for your customers. Our data packages are some of the best I’ve ever seen. We send out electronic and printed copies, depending on what our customer requests.

Document control is a critical aspect of every project and our document controls specialist is diligent in her work and is one of the best in the industry.

A job well done is a job we only have to do once. Thank you Jamie.

Over the next few months I’ll be bringing up different departments in our company and share how they are working hard for our customers, YOU!

Our Business is Based on Our “Customer’s Success”.

When we’re preparing a proposal there are so many situations, circumstances, clarifications and assumptions that need to be made, contemplated, accessed, assumed, and acted upon.

There are 3 main concerns I have at the beginning of any proposal process. Especially if it’s our first time submitting a proposal to our “new” prospective customer. We do want them to be a  “real” customer from the experience they receive from our handling of this proposal.

• What’s the time line constraints of this RFQ?
• What are the expectations of our customer?
• What are the expectations of their customers?

These are 3 questions we have to answer before we begin preparing a proposal. Then we need to determine what’s our next step.

• Do we call them from a “sales” perspective?

You know, thank you for the opportunity. Confirm due date of our proposal. Are there any special circumstances that we should be aware of? Are you aggressively going after this project? Do we need to submit our proposal with over time in it, or not? Does this project require expedited time frame? Is this a customer you’ve already worked with? How are they to work for? Will you have an inspector on our site for the duration of the project? Or will your customers representative be here? For the sake of brevity, you get the point.

The answer to some of these questions impacts our cost to do this job. Answers to some of these questions may not have an impact on our cost, but do have an impact on our delivery. Some answers just give us a better understanding of how our customer works with his customers so we can give him everything he needs along the way once the proposal turns into a job for both of us.

Putting together an RFQ isn’t easy, fast and definitely isn’t free to us. Each proposal costs our company from $1,500 to $5,000 or more depending on what kind of project it is. (Not counting the straining of relationships of our material suppliers. Guys we understand you don’t like jumping through hoops to get us price and delivery fast on every project.) So the answer to these and other questions is important and can impact a project from the start.

We appreciate our customers working with us on every level of the proposal phase. If we can communicate well during this phase, once the real project begins we should know each other well enough to work with one another successfully and with ease and confidence.

All this is said for a very basic, but much overlooked reason. Our business is to make sure you deliver a successful project to your customer. One your customer has positive thoughts about and is more than willing to award you their next project.

When we say we want to “partner” with you, this is part of what we mean.

Let General Fabricators, Inc – New Iberia, La. – 337-685-2585 be a partner in success with you.

 

 

Start of a New Project

Our business is supporting construction companies across the USA by fabricating process pipe and the structural steel that supports it, then shipping it to the field for installation.

This is a challenging business, making sure the customer supplied materials are up to code, delivered in a time frame that allows us to meet the priority listed items on time. With the challenges its also one of the most rewarding businesses to be in.

Everything we do encourages employment for our own community as well as the communities the pipe we fabricate ships to. When we’re busy that means we’re helping others to be busy. When we’re busy we need welding supplies, NDE services,  consumables, trucking companies, as well as skill sets from those in our local area.

It is a great feeling to be able to hire someone into our GFI family. Knowing we’re helping someone feed his/her family and give them the things they need. And at the same time they are contributing to the sustainability and growth of our company. We all win and it just makes everything else work so much better in our lives.

We’re in the beginning stages of a new project. This one is going to Texas. We’re in the finishing stages of the project going to Georgia, maybe 2-3 weeks left. Waiting for AFC drawings.

Thought I’d share a few pictures of our lay down yard and the materials that came in Monday morning.

We’re here for our customers, GFI is a “service” company. That means everything to us, we’re here to do whatever it takes to get your business and keep your business so we can continue to help you and your company sign more contracts to keep us all working through out our big beautiful country.

Working as individuals we can accomplish some things, working together we can accomplish just about anything!

Call us to see how we can help you grow your business.