Sitting under the umbrella of the Group will be the brands Total Fabrications, Slick (one of the oldest truss manufacturers in the industry, purchased by Total Fabrications in 2003), T2 (the Award-winning, high-specification safety truss), Total Training (the new rigging training initiative set up by the company) and New Wave (the decorative trussing brand which has won numerous awards). New Wave is marketed by TSG for its US-based sister company Total Structures, which remains separate from the new TSG structure.
Some of the Group's brand names - Total Fabrications, T2 and Slick - are available for manufacture under license in other countries around the world, through technology transfer agreements. Currently, Prolyte - one of the world's largest manufacturers of truss - is a licensed manufacturer of the T2 system, while the Group has also announced a recent agreement with African Aluminium Trussing, which now offers the Total Fabrications range from its factory in Johannesburg, South Africa. Owner Robert Frey says: "AAT is extremely honoured to be manufacturing trussing for the international arena under the Total Fabrications banner. We feel it is an outstanding opportunity for South Africa to showcase to the rest of the world that our company is able to manufacture trussing to international standards. With the many years of trussing experience and expertise behind Total Fabrications, and their superb professional support already received and ongoing, [the license agreement] has secured AAT some very large projects from existing clients and encouraged new clients to explore trussing manufactured in South Africa on an international level."
In such cases, explains Cronin, technical support, intellectual property, product development and standardization, quality control and sales referrals are all managed by TSG on behalf of the licensee. The benefits are obvious: "By becoming licensed manufacturers of one or more of our brands, they receive direct access to our technical know-how and engineering experience. We provide the necessary resources to achieve product quality and consistency associated with the brands, whilst helping to ensure that they conform to the latest safety standards," explains Cronin.
And, of course, there are reduced end-user costs for customers and the all-important element of locally-based product support.
Total Solutions Group reports that a number of new partnership agreements are currently in negotiation and further announcements will be made soon.
Elaborating on the Total Training initiative, Cronin explains: "Because the need for training continues to grow, both in scale and diversity, we felt that that area of our operation should have its own identity and freedom to expand. Although our highly successful Rigging Training courses have always been independent of the TFL brand, we felt it was important to further emphasize this independence. The topics covered by Total Training relate to wider issues involving working at height, health and safety, and much more. Like the other brand names, Total Training will be made available around the world to those who recognize its importance."
The new-look Total Solutions Group is launching a new website (address below) and can be reached on the existing TFL contact numbers. The Group will have its first public airing at this month's PLASA Show, where more information on its technology transfer agreements and Total Training Initiative will be available on stand E22.
