A dream and the will to pursue it are the main ingredients in any success story.
Andre Thomas has both, and many more qualities that will ensure his company, VSR Limited maintains its cutting edge
Not one to come into the field doing just what the existing competition is doing, the enterprising young man decided from the very beginning that he was going to take the field he was trading in a step further and advantage in the field of construction equipment rental.rather than follow would set the pace.
The company VSR Limited was formed just after the passing of Hurricane Ivan but started seriously trading and making a statement on the market last year. That’s when Andre said he really started promoting the business and people started to become aware of his company.
Andre and his brother Raymond who still resides in London have teamed up to provide to the construction industry in Grenada what they believe is a much needed service not because it has not existed before but because they are convinced they can do it differently.
Raymond is the one behind sourcing and supplying the tools while Andre deals with the business side of things.
Certainly when one decides to go into business one has to decide what business to go into and several factors decided that for them.
Andre said in their case Ivan was a great incentive. They saw a niche in the market, looked at the competition and realized there was a gap.
In his opinion people were getting ripped off in the area of construction tool rental so after his brother encouraged he and he started realizing the potential he knew it was the right decision.

Andre said he did not at all like the rates people were being charged to rent construction equipment. He figured people were being very greedy and recognized what seemed to him to be a trend here in that whenever there was no competition in a particular field business owners would not think of the customer.
Because of this Andre knows that he can make a big difference here, recognizing that the income of the average Grenadian is not very high and it is hard for them to put all their money into one thing especially when they are trying to renovate or do something basic.
Now the question on some people’s minds would be how can this man say that he saw a niche in the tool rental business when there were so many other players doing the same thing?
He has the answer; he saw he could make a difference in the quality of service available.
He admitted that while everyone has tools the others have a poor service in terms of how they deal with their customers as well as in the quality of their goods. His mission therefore was to give the customers value for money.
Andre said just before Ivan he and his brother had a small assortment of tools here. what helped them to decide to do this on a larger scale was realizing that he could turn this into something viable and help people to get back on their feet by giving them reasonable prices at least in the area of tool rental.
Has this gone down well with the Grenadian customers? Certainly, Andre said they are happy. “Everyone who has are dealt with me comes back which is a very good sign but of course it is because of the level of professionalism in the service that they are getting and the fact that if anything goes wrong with a bit of equipment that they have rented they get it replaced or at least get a response immediately. Who can beat a combination of quality equipment at a reasonably rate and a very good, reliable service?
No wonder customers feel very comfortable and keep coming back. They are getting their money’s worth; no one is just dropping a machine on them and turning their backs. Andre checks with them all the time to make sure the equipment is working the way it should and find out whether they need any support from him.
Who can blame Andre and his brother for feeling a sense of pride in being able to do their bit in the rebuilding process after the hurricane?
The young entrepreneur said he is in this for the long haul. It is not a hustle and he intends to take his time, do this properly and make sure he takes the business and service as far as it can go.
As far as his contribution to technological development is concerned, Andre said the tools he has and the ones yet to come will make the job of the tradesmen a lot easier, quicker and therefore reduce the stress on both the tradesman and the customer.
Andre and his company have been able to provide the right tools for the job. He said the more professional tradesmen are calling and asking for what they want as far as equipment is concerned and this is what sets the trained professional apart from someone else is who tries to make things work, knowledge of the equipment and how to use them.
So what’s so special about VSR’s pricing? Consider paying a very competitive rate in the first place to rent something and then consider that you only pay full price for the first day and half price for every additional day, certainly not easy to beat is it?
Andre said when he was working out his pricing he realized that offering this special deal would still give him a reasonable profit and since he is not in business to squeeze to blood out of the customer but to giver everyone a good deal and make a fair income he thought, why not?
Andre also offers advice to his customers in helping them to assess what they really need based on the jab they have to get done. The truth is that some of them know that they need some equipment but not all of them really know what they need and it is his responsibility to help them to decide after discussing with them what they want the equipment for.  
Andre’s typical day starts at 7am and goes straight until 4pm. Being a hands on sort of person he does a lot of the delivery and pick up himself as well as attending to machines which may not be working as they should.
Andre is a past student of the Woburn R.C. School and left Grenada in 1979 for England where he live until three years ago when he decided to return and continue his life as a Grenadian.