P.A. Lal Coachwork Limited is confident of yet another win at the 2014 Westpac Prime Minister’s Exporter of the Year Award after securing an award the past year.

The Investment Fiji-organised awards event will be held tonight at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau Island in Nadi.

P.A. Lal, a local family-owned business and a subsidiary the P.A. Lal Group of Companies, will be competing in the Imports Substitution category.

The experience the company has attained over the years, has gained the company an advantage within the exporting market.

Group general manager, Lawrence Robert, said: “There are other manufacturers in the country but we are the only ones who have expanded our sales market which plays to our advantage.”

The journey to the growth has not been smooth and there were many hurdles along the way.

“The company’s greatest challenge has been the duty free concessions on imported buses,” he said.

“When we allow imported buses to enter our Fijian market, we are jeopardising our economy.

“When we import we are draining out our cash flow but if we support locally it benefits us – ‘Fijian Made’.”

New ideas

However, PA Lal has not allowed this to hold them down and they have new and innovative ideas to continue to reach out.

“The buses we manufacture are not only the standard curtain buses but now we manufacture luxury air conditioned coaches,” Mr Robert.

“With our exporting market we have researched and worked out what materials suits the climate conditions of our exporting countries.

“As a result, our product meets the test of longevity, durability, and efficiency.”

But Mr Robert said as a support from Government, they would appreciate if raw materials can be cleared duty free to compete with buses that are imported in Fiji from China and Indonesia.

Demand increase

The exporting demands have increased over the years and the company has tapped into this area with full gear as they will be exporting three buses to Nauru later this month.

Mr Robert believes PA Lal should be rewarded because of the challenge they have placed in the market being a local company with limited resources.

“We have provided an option to consumers who wish to import buses they have a substitute locally,” he said.

“Also we have been providing service and job opportunity for 70 years and we will continue this commitment in years to come.”

Fiji’s largest bus body builder promises not to standardise itself and continue to provide new, classy transportation for both local and oversea markets in the years to come.

Feedback:  rachael.nath@fijisun.com.fj