Dennis Ziegler, President and CEO of GIW Industries comments that “in 2010, GIW completed several major projects. Our entire company celebrated the opening of the most recent expansion of the Alberta oil-sands mining operations. GIW has been involved in the expansion project since 2004, and the demands and challenges of the project have enabled us to stretch beyond our limits – and grow as a company.
“The expansion means the centre is now large enough to allow trucks to come inside to load and unload. In addition, the expansion will allow for growth by the service team be much more efficient as they work to keep our customers in the Alberta, Canada oil sands up and running.
“We also celebrated the expansion of our renowned Hydraulic Testing Laboratory. The larger, state-of-the-art facility allows us to forge close partnerships with our customers, providing clear-water and slurry pump testing, slurry system optimization and research that is the foundation for innovative engineering around the globe.
“When we look at the projects we’ve completed this year, it’s clear that we are making changes with our customers in mind. Everything we do at GIW is to serve our base of customers, who come from a variety of key industries: oil sands, hard rock and base metals mining, phosphate mining, dredge and power generation.
“But rather than simply responding to requests from these industries, GIW is working actively with these customers, partnering closely with them to create new solutions so that they can stay ahead of the curve in their industries. We aren’t just a vendor to our customers – we become an integral part of their operations. We get to know their business and understand their challenges. And in doing so, we are able to not only provide the exceptional service they naturally expect – we can keep them pleasantly surprised by accomplishing even more.
“Solving problems for customers often means saving them money, but it also means improving their operational excellence. Our team always looks for the most cost-effective solutions for customers. Our belief is that if we can help our customers lower their production costs and do their job better, we’ll be rewarded with more business.
“And that belief has paid off. Not only have customers rewarded us with ongoing business, but they have come to trust us to try projects that might be unthinkable with a less-committed partner – projects like the creation of the MDX 750, the world’s largest slurry pump, and GIW’s new innovative Froth pump. We understand that the accomplishments are outstanding not because the technologies are an improvement, but because the solutions help our customers improve their processes in a truly significant way.
“Although the world’s economies are recovering slowly, they are recovering. And the demand for raw materials is definitely growing, especially in developing areas of the world, where people increasingly demand resources for their improving lifestyles. Thus, projects that have been mothballed in the past few years are starting to come back to life across all the sectors we serve.
“Although GIW saw a slowdown in business during 2010, we nevertheless have had a very solid year. Based on feedback we’re receiving from customers, 2011 should be a very strong year and we should be in a good position to continue to make investments in equipment, research and facilities.
“Our expanded engineering lab allows us to have a superior testing facility that gives our customers a high level of comfort not only in the products we provide but also in the solutions we recommend for specific real-world challenges. We will continue strong investments in R&D, developing improvements to help all our products perform better.
“We’re integrated into an aggressive growth plan inside our parent company, KSB. With KSB’s support, we’ll continue to develop our expertise, aiming to be the best slurry pump supplier in the world. In addition, we’ll be developing non-slurry products and taking them into our markets.”