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Manufacturer of Motion Controls and
Network Servo Drives
Background
This business began when a group of engineers, who would meet regularly to swap
invention ideas, decided for protective measures to incorporate. On September
13, 1978 the group incorporated in New York State. However,
it wasn’t until 1982 that the firm hired its first full-time employees, as that was the
year the four founders secured a significant amount of venture capital. It was
also the year the firm developed and began marketing a microprocessor-based
motion controller for controlling servomotors in automation applications for
general purpose. The first products offered were single-axis motion controllers
based on Intel microprocessors.
For the next 15 years, these Rochester-based engineers introduced new products
as often as they could with very little competition. But by 1996, foreign competitors
had invaded the market in grand fashion.
Over the next few years competitive pressures continued to mount, making every sale harder
to win.
European presence strengthened, and rapid advancement of technology was
becoming more than the firm could handle. Another rapidly advancing development
that is still powerful today, is one manufacturer being the prime producer and
integrator of a project.
Management knew the firm must maintain a presence in the
industry with product development a key priority, but they didn’t have the expertise to handle all of the
challenges required to grow the business.
Assistance Provided
The NYS TAAC performed a diagnostic of the firm’s operations, which concluded
the firm must develop ways to improve externally in order to compete more
effectively.
The recovery strategy focused on the firm's ability to market and sell
its products in different parts of the World that are closed to the firm because
of the specific standards required by these countries; specifically CE
designation. This strategy was
selected because many macro forecasters and industry experts projected
little-to-no relief from the litany of factors that have decimated the firm’s
current domestic markets. Consequently, the firm looked to penetrate selected foreign
(mainly European) markets initially for the incremental revenue to offset
domestic losses. And for the long-term the firm looked to expand total sales revenue as
domestic markets recover.
The strategy called for the firm’s products to be labeled with the CE Mark. The
CE designation tells millions of European consumers the manufacturer, no matter
the location, has subjected the product to a variety of tests and the product
meets stringent health, safety, and environmental regulations.
Project Results
The firm has gained a number of things from this successfully completed
project. First and foremost, all products being offered now meet the stringent
electrical and mechanical code and have passed rigid testing of the units. Now,
anywhere in the world the firm is selling its units, the customer will have the
assurance that it has been thoroughly assembled and tested
meeting the CE requirements signified by the attached CE Mark.
European markets, once closed, are now open to
the firm to sell its products. The firm has begun attending a number of key
European trade shows to aggressively start the selling process. The outcome from
these shows has been tremendous.
Additionally, the firm is in serious negotiations with two very large European
firms, and if selected by these firms the orders would amount to well over 5
million dollars spread over the next seven years. Employment has remained
steady, but if either one of these projects comes through, management is
forecasting a number of new openings, and anticipates they could add between 5 and 10 new employees.
This is only the beginning for significant in-roads to overseas markets. If the
interest generated by the trade shows is any indication, the firm will experience an
increase in sales and employment.
Management is pleased with the results thus far and encouraged to see what the
near future will bring.
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