Have you ever considered the cost of product wastage due to warehouse damage? In many warehouse environments, goods are frequently lost or damaged due to mishandling, poor storage, equipment failure, or inadequate safety measures. This not only drives up costs for retailers but also impacts customer satisfaction and creates potential hazards for workers.
To address this issue, best practices include maintaining clean, organized spaces, using the right tools, and ensuring proper safety equipment is in place.
One local business, GenieGrips®, identified this safety gap and turned it into a global opportunity.
It began at a networking event for a customer representing parent company CRP Industries (a manufacturer of premium rubber products) where the customer raised concerns about product damage caused by forklifts. A discussion emerged about designing a product that could help this issue.
Sales Manager Louise Inglese recalls, “We didn’t have a product at the time but we thought it might be possible.”
Michael Inglese, Director of CRP Industries, and his father Fernando Inglese, a qualified fitter and turner (who founded CRP Industries in 1981) and business partners and best friends, Robert and Sandra Simionato, they developed rubber grips designed to reduce forklift-related product damage.
“We presented the product at a trade show in 2012, where many people saw prototype. I told Michael, we need production tools—this idea really has legs!’
From that moment, GenieGrips® was born—specialising in forklift attachments and warehouse safety products. Since then, the company has attended numerous trade shows and now exports around the world. We have third party logistics (3PL) warehouses in the US, UK, and the Netherlands.
“Ninety percent of our business is export, with half of that going to the United States,” Louise shares. “There have been many lessons along the way.”
Louise recalls attending a course on Export Documentation, run by the Victorian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (VCCI) where she was introduced to Amy Frey, President and Founder of ATC International LLC and an Export Advisor for the Victorian Government’s International Trade Division.
Now based in the US, Amy established a 3PL service and provides US market entry consulting for Australian SMEs—including Carman’s and Ugg Boots Australia. “Amy helped us navigate the complexities of exporting to the USA,” says Louise.
Today, CRP Industries employs 22 staff and is exploring a major machinery investment to bring rubber manufacturing in-house. Now into its third generation, the family business includes Michael and Louise’s son, Nicholas Inglese, who serves as Production Manager.
Whilst GenieGrips®, a lean team of four, two in Dandenong, and one each in the US and U.S.A, are looking ahead to further expansion into the South Americana and Middle Eastern markets.
Safe to say, Dandenong South truly is the home of manufacturing with CRP Industries and GenieGrips® another fine example.
Read more at the GenieGrips website or the CRP Industries website.
