BRUNEI-MUARA

COMPETITION among welding workshops in the Sultanate has become stiff over the years, resulting in some shops struggling against wild fluctuations in their monthly revenues.

A foreman of a locally owned welding workshop in Salambigar, Muara, Ismail Abdullah, said the workshop’s monthly income varies month to month that it no longer has a fixed target that it aims to reach monthly.

“The market nowadays is very volatile,” he said, adding that among reasons for the revenue slowdown are stiff competition and weak demand.

It helps though the raw materials need to operate the business like iron and steel can be kept for years, he said.

Raw materials are purchased locally at some hardware shops in Brunei and it is also convenient for the workshops to source them when the demand suddenly improves.

He said that since the business is unpredictable, some initiatives are done to diversify the response from making only basic house ironworks such as drainage grills and gates, among others.

Some shops make clothes rails, bird’s or cats’ cages, barbecue pits, table stands, fancy window grilles and some other items tailored to meet special requests from customers.

The shop gets orders for household items for grills and cages for pets, but these are not sufficient to keep the business afloat, he said.

“Frankly speaking, our profit every month after deducting the overhead expenses could give us more than $500,” he said. “But there was also time when we could earn more than $2,000.”

Another welding workshop, RE Worksop in Jalan Muara, also shares the same issues. Imran Hussyn, workshop supervisor, said business fluctuates.

“It is like a wheel, one time you are up, but when you are down, you will quickly try to go up again,” he said.

He also attributed business challenges to stiff competition, citing several welding workshops along Jalan Muara, which give people several options when they need welding services.

Still, the workshop considers competition to be healthy.

“To promote our business we give our customers reasonable price and top quality service,” he said.

Asked whether revenues swing wildly on a monthly basis nowadays as compared to years ago, he said: “We try to venture to different market (segments) from others apart from hoping for walk-in customers.” The Brunei Times

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