In my last blog I made a reference to the general aura of doom and gloom that pervaded the APM 2016 Singapore Marine exhibition in March of this year. Many exhibitors were experiencing significant reductions in sales, for all of the reasons that are well known to all of us, and some had been suffering for a year or more.
To be fair to the Opening Ceremony speakers, both of whom referred to the mini crisis that is currently prevalent in the global maritime sector, they quickly followed up on it by reminding everyone that such things are cyclical. They suggested that businesses should reduce the impact as much as they can by acting immediately to cut costs and do anything else within their control that will help to ease the situation and try to ensure a good cash flow.
Maybe for those businesses that have a pot of cash there could be opportunities to snap up a bargain or two from others who are happy to work for break-even returns just to survive until the good times return.
As the founder and chairman of Solar Solve I have 40 years of business experience having successfully steered my company through 5 recessions since 1975, always meeting our financial obligations to employees and suppliers along the way. I am confident that this latest crisis will be no different and we will certainly be in business to delight our customers for many more years to come.
