| My father had the simple idea of using
colour coded Polyester film to replace metal shims, due to its high
compressive and tensile strength. The colour coding for different
thicknesses, as well as plastic being safer to handle was a major
advantage, especially considering the cost savings. I can only give
credit to an Actuary student (my father) who worked at a renowned
insurance company and fixed everything (including our plumbing fixtures)
with Sellotape , in his ability to pioneer such a specialised industry.
As the company prospered, most of our extended family were recruited
(roped in coercively during their visits) and I received my training
on a hydraulic press (in retrospect, my very junior years meant
I was probably under the recommended operating age). Our Saturdays
were spent attempting to flatten out millions of uneven anti-friction
discs for our largest account. This took place in our home sauna,
our real own sweatshop. Sundays were dedicated to stapling mailshots
together, usually until our boredom lead to us trying to staple
together various household items and occasionally our little brother
(who now, ironically, is the Managing Director at PSG Group).
By 1987, my father had acquired a number of Companies creating
PSG Group, one of Europe’s largest converters and distributors
of Polyester film occupying over 40,000 square feet of industrial
units in South East London. The original and prestigious three-line
telephone system (or three actual telephones) is now a fully automated
customer/ planning/stock computer database and our original but
slightly controversial company logo “ …. Where colour
states your thickness” is a distant memory.
Plastic Shims and Gaskets has always been a member of our family,
as are now the staff and managers of PSG Group. It was therefore
inevitable that I would join the company along with my brother,
Lawrence Gardezi, and our vested interest, along with that of Tony
Quazi Sales & Marketing Director, is reflected in the service
and continuous investment in improvement that we offer.
While the name Plastic Shims & Gaskets is self explanatory,
what it does not identify, is the diversity of components, and the
industries that we supply. In the last few years, we have assisted
designers with solutions to many new queries relating to UL rated
materials, for electrical Insulators. Once specified, we can then
cut the components from our range of materials, with our various
cutting presses.
While everyone likes nice big orders, we do not believe in turning
away any business, and with an MOQ of £30.00 for a lot of
the materials, or some components, we feel customers get quite a
good deal. We hope the customer thinks this too. One way or another
we believe in servicing the customer to the best of our ability,
even if some enquiries stretch the imagination and can involve sampling
many material options, with no guarantee of orders.
We have a relationship (purely business) with many of the other
Gasket Cutters and component manufacturers, which helps ensure complementary
supplies to the end users. Hopefully this goes towards achieving
the aims of the GCA.
From basements with cobwebs to our own home made web (www.psggroup.co.uk)
we like to think we have come a long way, with still a big future
ahead.
|