Armpass takes role of official distributor for GE in East Africa

In February 2012, managing director of Griffith Elder, David Elder, went on a ten day tour of GE weighbridge installations in Uganda with his wife, Younghee, the company secretary. The visit was an opportunity for GE representatives to see the weighbridges in action, make sure they are working smoothly, and to assist and advise on installation and operation. The visit was arranged by GE's trading partner in Uganda, Armpass Technical Services Ltd. David and Younghee were accompanied on their trip by managing director of Armpass, Francis Karuhanga. The visit allowed David and Francis to discuss the future for further weighbridge installations in the country. During their trip, David and Younghee visited several Truck Control Stations around the country, including sites at Luwero, Busitema, Lukaya, Magamaga, and Mubende. At each of these sites, GE single-axle weighbridges are in daily use, using the now-familiar specialist Ton-Tel™ Overload Control Software. This software ensures that road vehicles are within their legal weight limits in order to minimise damage to the roads. At each station, all trucks passing through are automatically weighed on the weighbridge, and if within the legal weight limit, are allowed to continue on their journey. The weighbridge system and software was seen to be working very efficiently at all the stations, and local operators had a chance to ask David about the finer details of the system and operation. The GE representatives met with personnel from the Uganda National Roads Authority to discuss potential new weighbridge sites as new roads are built in Uganda and the neighbouring countries. In their head office in Kampala, David gave a presentation showing the different potential weighbridge systems available, and further meetings were held with contracting companies which are making new roads within the country. During their visit, David and Younghee also visited the large 18 metre full size weighbridge at the Rwenzori Tea Estate which had been installed 12 years ago by GE's customer services manager, Paul Rodwell. David reports, "we are happy to say that it is still working smoothly". During this impromptu visit, the visitors were lucky enough to be given a tour of the estate and to learn about the tea drying process. At the weekend, Francis of Armpass arranged for the party to go to the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here they experienced an abundance of wildlife, from buffalo, elephants and rhinoceroses, to a range of smaller wildlife. As a result of a very successful visit, David and Francis agreed that the territory of Armpass Technical Services Ltd would extend from Uganda to the whole of the East African Economic Community. It was agreed that Armpass would take on the role of the main distributor of GE products in the East African region.