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Manufacturer of Book Bindery
Machinery
Background
The firm was founded in Manhattan, New York in the mid-’60s, where this
three-person shop began its post-press equipment operation by catering to
graphic arts firms in the greater New York metropolitan area. During the 1970s,
the company expanded beyond the local New York market by supplying equipment
customers throughout North America. The firm's facilities have grown to
encompass over 500 pieces of
equipment on two floors, a complete machine shop, three large stockrooms, a
parts department, and a shipping area.
Throughout its history, sales grew steadily, peaking at $4.0 million in 1998,
until buffeted by a number of factors including the firm’s inability to effectively
export and the crushing impact of imports. At certification the firm had
17 employees and sales had declined to $2.6 million.
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 closed to it because
of the lack of CE designation for its products. Specifically, the strategy called for the firm’s
products to be labeled with the CE Mark. The CE marking 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, the European markets once closed, are now open to
the firm. 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, sales leads have almost tripled
An added benefit from this project is that now, anywhere in the world the firm is selling it units, the customer will
have the assurance that it has been thoroughly assembled and tested, meeting the
CE requirement signified by the attached CE mark.
This is only the beginning of significant in-roads to
overseas markets for the firm. 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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