December 2017

26 APAC / December 2017 , significant for the sector, which include the price of water and water regulation; water sector professionals’ perceptions of customers’ beliefs; sources of water; digital technology and; asset management and operational efficiency through asset management, process improvement and works management and systems improvement. Mr. Gouws goes on to provide more detail about the industry, stating that there are unique challenges which present themselves to the company. “Essentially, the industry we work in is very fragmented across different geographies in Australia and New Zealand. This creates a range of unique challenges requiring a specific approach in each geographical location, including: staff spread over significant geographic distances and small teams working in physical isolation; significantly varied climatic conditions and hence safety hazards and technical challenges; and unique regulatory environment and client corporate structures.” The Company’s differentiator with regards to the competition focuses on its ability to develop the most appropriate bespoke and flexible solutions for any given challenge that its clients face. This includes both technical and commercial aspects of a solution. Coupled with this focus on appropriate solutions is the collaborative culture that TRILITY brings to its client relationships, manifested through transparency, integrity and flexibility. In the lead up to a new project, the TRILITY team spends significant time understanding the client’s strategic context and the underlying drivers for the project. This includes analysing competing priorities for the potential client and understanding the priority of issues to be resolved, as Mr. Gouws explains. “Throughout the industry, our offerings are as tailored as possible to suit the client’s needs, we customise technical solutions, commercial structures, and delivery partners in an attempt to achieve mutual success with our clients’ on every project. “Given that most of our projects are long term, collaborative contracts, we also place significant emphasis on values and culture alignment with those of our clients’. At the commencement of a new project, our team places significant effort on relationship development and builds this into a robust project planning process.” Discovering what techniques the firm employs to stay ahead of emerging developments, TRILITY’s core business has been focused on developing long term relationships with utility clients, predominantly focused on the provision of water and wastewater treatment solutions. This has included financing, constructing and operating and maintaining as well as providing bespoke equipment solutions. This provides the Company with an excellent core business with long term contracts and a significant geographic footprint. Mr. Gouws tells us more about the Company’s future. “A focus area for us at the moment is how we can use this base to add an additional major service offering predominantly to existing clients. There are a number of areas we see potential for this offering, based on growth in our clients’ businesses. “Moreover, our clients continue to adapt to meet their end customer needs and expectations and of late this includes a significant focus on embracing new digital technologies. These technologies are helping our clients meet their customer needs. “At TRILITY, we are placing an emphasis on understanding current digital technology trends and how they impact on our core business (for example in improving treatment plant performance) and also how they will offer new business opportunities for us in the areas above or other emerging areas.” The success of the business has in large part been due to its continued focus on providing water and wastewater solutions. It has avoided the temptation to spread its focus too widely and has instead remained dedicated to the water sector. “As a team, we see that this will still be the absolute core of our business in five years’ time as helping our clients to provide this essential service provides a very strong cultural and values base for our business. The water sector will continue to grow with population and economic development. However, it will need to increase its resilience to cope with important factors such as climate change and other disruptive factors, so we see a range of new opportunities for our business. “Whilst continuing a core focus on the water sector across Australia and New Zealand, we envisage working in new geographies and providing different service offerings within the sector.” Regarding the internal culture, where staff are concerned, TRILITY’s internal culture is based on continued service delivery to its clients. Having a simple mission relating to leadership in water utility solutions provides clarity and allows the development of a strong culture, as Mr. Gouws embellishes. “Our core values relate to integrity, being progressive and showing commitment in what we do, our culture is focussed on safety, sustainability of our operations and integration within the local communities where we operate. “A unique challenge in maintaining a strong culture is the geographic spread of our business and the bulk of our staff being located in small, geographically isolated teams rather than in a large centralised office. To overcome this challenge, we focus on a flat hierarchy, regular and open communication and positive interactions between the teams in our business. In spite of the geographic spread we do manage to maintain the feeling of a relatively small, flexible and friendly business. “TRILITY employees work together in an environment where each is treated equitably, with fairness and respect. We are committed to developing employees who can excel in current and future roles. Also, we ensure that appropriate career opportunities are available for talented employees seeking new challenges. As such, we place priority on promoting from within as part of a broader objective of developing a high performance. Fundamentally, TRILITY is committed to improving the communities it serves, and as a supplier of essential services, the company understands the impact its facilities have on the communities where it operates. This, in turn, means it is also focused on ensuring that employees adhere to the corporate values and commit to exemplary performance across all aspects of TRILITY’s footprint in the community. “This runs across everything we do, from protecting the environment to supporting community organisations. This means we are constantly seeking to recruit the best employees - those who can deliver results today and work towards an improved result tomorrow. “Cultural and values alignment is important in our recruitment decision making. We use behavioral based techniques to assess potential staff as well as considering skills and experience requirements.” Regarding what the future holds for TRILITY, Mr. Gouws explains what future plans there are for the company, as he talks about change in the company’s shareholders. “Moving forward, TRILITY’s shareholders will change in the near future and with that comes new opportunity, something that the management team and staff have embraced. Our role is to ensure the same level of service continues to be delivered to our customers and the communities we serve.”