Lockbolt makes major breakthrough in China
JOY ORLEK
A QUERY from a Chinese importer two days before Christmas last year has developed into a lucrative new market for Avlock International.
The company manufactures, markets and sells a range of specialised lockbolt fastening systems used in a range of applications, and it’s been the rail application that has scooped the Chinese market.
“It was a pure coincidence,” says Avlock CEO William Wooldridge.
The company had already closed for the year when a call from a Chinese importer changed its holiday plans.
Keen to switch from his US source, the importer sourced Avlock via the internet, and approached the company for a quote.
“It’s been a major breakthrough for us with excellent future prospects,” says Wooldridge.
But not without its challenges, a large part of which has been logistics bottlenecks.
“With three containers moving a week, the volumes are substantial and landside and port congestion have caused major headaches,” he said.
To illustrate the time-critical urgency of the project, when the company switched to Avlock they airfreighted R3-m worth of the product to meet their critical deadlines.
“At times we’ve been the victim of delays of up to two weeks at the ports and landside, which has put us under severe pressure.”
But working in partnership with logistics company Micor has made the difference, says Wooldridge.
“It’s been a learning curve for both of us and the joint effort has clearly made the difference.”
