Research and development departments have not been sleeping during the past year. New products and services continue to be introduced as suppliers vie to provide a faster, more durable, lower cost, overall better widget. This year’s new product introductions will each support the end-users’ needs by reducing costs, enhancing efficiencies and adding value to the channel partners’ relationships.
Planning to release DOLv3 in the 2nd Quarter, Rob Barnacle, president, DataOnline (Berkeley Heights, NJ), says, “The new product will provide a localized mesh network for monitoring and managing assets.” The company will break ground on a new corporate headquarters during the 1st Quarter, moving into its new home before the end of this year.
A new product launch will drive sales for Donna Tober, CEO, K.I.W.O.T.O. (Benton Harbor, MI). Tober says, “There are only so many hours in the day. Our objective is to continually add new products while maintaining the required service levels our customers expect from us.”
Saying that it is very difficult to gauge 2011 sales, David Barleen, president, Motor Guard Corporation (Manteca, CA), hopes that they will be even with 2010 numbers. His company will launch an expanded line of filtration products for plasma cutters during the 2nd Quarter.
Referring to himself as a rainbow rider, Ed Cooper, president, ELCo Enterprises (Jackson, MI), believes that North American end-users are still hesitant when it comes to spending, which could mean sales numbers that will equal 2010 numbers. Cooper plans to introduce new products in support of robotics applications, including a new line of longer-lifespan torch liners and a new line of mirror blades during the 1st Quarter. The company will begin to establish remote warehousing of its product at key locations in the 2nd Quarter. Sites will be located throughout the U.S., including the Midwest, Southwest and Northwest, beginning in the 2nd Quarter. Cooper says, “We need to go where our customers are and ship from within a two-state distance.”
Hoping to maintain 2010 numbers, A.J. Schenk, vice president of sales, Intercon Enterprises (Blaine, WA), says, “We need to enhance awareness of the depth of our company’s products.” The company will introduce a new, more accurate oxygen indicator during the 1st Quarter.
With 8,000 items manufactured by his company, Ray Blew, vice president of sales, Uniweld Products (Fort Lauderdale, FL), says that it is easy for his distributor partners to get into a rut and overlook some of the products that the company carries. Expecting to maintain 2010 numbers, his sales force is focusing on spending more face time with distributors. The company will introduce a new heated carbon dioxide regulator during the 1st Quarter.
Jimmy Wu, vice president of marketing, Revco Industries (Santa Fe Springs, CA), is hoping for a slight upward trend in sales. He says, “Like many manufacturers, we depend on some offshore suppliers for raw materials. Those companies may be located in countries that are ahead of us in a return to greater prosperity. The increased demand that they are experiencing has created more pressures on resources and manpower.” The company will introduce a new line of flame-resistant work shirts during the 2nd Quarter.
Expecting a new high-nickel-based alloy product to be introduced during the 1st Quarter, Yuji Wakayama, national marketing manager, Kobelco Welding of America (Stafford, TX), indicates that his flux-cored wire and high-nickel-based alloy sales will grow in 2011.
With a degree of cautious optimism, Ed Martin, president, ArcOne (Taunton, MA), believes his sales will be up. He says, “We are reinventing ourselves every day, in order to capture more market share.” During the 1st Quarter, the company is launching both ArcOne-branded and private label welding helmets, auto darkening products and respiratory protection products.
In a cautiously optimistic voice, Andrew Masterman, president and CEO, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products (Florence, SC), says that depending on geography, it would be safe to expect a sales growth of 2-7% in North America. He says, “We will focus on automation and new products related to automation. The question is, how do you take that technology and proliferate it at a variety of price points into the market?”
To achieve a 5% sales increase, Dale Stager, president, Select-Arc (Fort Loramie, OH), will expand his hardfacing product line and his stainless tubular wire sales. He says, “The challenge is just to stay ahead of a constantly changing marketplace. We must continually focus on our product line and service requirements, all while remaining competitive.”
CTR (Rock Hill, SC) continues to experience growth as a result of its new tanker and microbulk truck repair, says Bill Jones, national sales manager. Expecting a 5% increase, Jones says that sales and marketing efforts that target new markets with specific services will help to add to the bottom line.
Jim Broughton, president, DataWeld Incorporated (Bossier City, LA), is anticipating a 5% sales increase as he places more emphasis on new e-commerce tools to be launched during the 1st Quarter. He explains, “We have focused on helping the distributor to do more with less, to generate more sales while maintaining less overhead.” One such example is enabling distributors’ customers to make online payments as a part of a totally new e-commerce shopping cart application.
It’s all about communicating. At Sawyer Manufacturing (Tulsa, OK), Dave Hembree, vice president, says, “Increased communications between our team and our distributor partners, as well as an increased Web presence, will result in a 5-10% increase in sales.” The company will introduce a redesigned internal pipeline clamp and possibly a newly designed external clamp.
A multitude of new products, all reducing the end-user’s costs, will contribute to a 6-12% sales increase, according to David Marquard, president and owner, Superflash Compressed Gas Equipment, IBEDA Inc. (Westlake, OH). A new gas blender product line, allowing end-users to mix their own shielding gases for MIG welding applications, will be launched during the 1st Quarter. Also on tap for the 1st Quarter are new thermal spray equipment and industrial heating product lines for custom heating solutions.
A combination of new products and market share gains will drive a high single-digit increase, according to John Kaylor, president, U.S. and Canada, Abicor Binzel (Frederick, MD). Kaylor says, “We will work in tandem with our key channel partners to capture market share, exploiting new technology and lightweight manual MIG guns to be launched during the 1st Quarter.” The 2nd Quarter launch of robotic tools will allow for better utilization and quicker programming of robotic welding cells. The remaining products will be launched during the last half of the year.
In anticipation of an 8-13% growth in sales, Ashley Madray, vice president, Gas Innovations (La Porte TX), says that his company will add a 10,000 sq. ft. high-pressure pumping and purification plant during the 2nd Quarter. He says, “We’ve got to be diligent. We must continually provide service that exceeds expectations, diligently providing that service safely and within the cost parameters that we have available to us.”
The need for end-users to comply with new regulations impacting permissible exposure limits (PEL) for hexavalent chromium and stainless steel welding will help to drive a 15-18% increase in sales, believes Jim Orr, national sales manager, Micro Air (Witchita, KS). The company plans to introduce a new wet dust collector product during the 1st Quarter.
Nick Drake, vice president of marketing, Gullco International (Cleveland, OH), anticipates sales to grow by up to 10% with the addition of a new electronic arc height sensor to be launched this summer. Drake explains, “It will apply the constant current that is needed to provide more consistent and uniform welds.”
According to Frank Reick, president, Fluoramics (Mahwah, NJ), “Our rule is never to introduce a new product if we can find a better version elsewhere.” A new rust-inhibitor product to be introduced during the 2nd Quarter will contribute to an overall growth in sales of 10%.
Anticipating new systems sales to support a 10-15% increase in sales, David Schaer, president, Computers Unlimited (Billings, MT), says, “Distributors are looking for software to drive additional efficiencies. That software will generate real productivity gains. It’s all about business intelligence.” In the 1st Quarter, the company will launch a financial management and analysis tool to monitor and measure key areas of their business, including distribution costs and cylinder asset utilization.
While improvements in the economy may contribute to slight growth, Hector Villarreal, executive vice president, INOX/CVA (Mont Belvieu, TX), is expecting new product introductions to support increased sales of 20%. INOX/CVA is adding a 48,000 sq. ft. addition to its manufacturing facility. The space, to be completed in February, will lend itself to large storage tanks and cryogenic rail car manufacturing.
Pent-up demand will help to drive a 20-30% growth in sales, believes Glenn Dugger, president, Quest Cylinder Company (London, OH). To meet that demand, the company will launch an expanded product line. Dugger says, “To become more of a one-stop supplier to distributor partners, we are becoming more systems-oriented and will provide assembled gas systems, along with a wider variety of cylinders that we didn’t previously stock.” The company plans to add an additional salesperson during the 2nd Quarter.
Expecting to double his sales, Peter Brereton, president and CEO, TECSYS Inc. (Montreal, QC, Canada) will roll out a virtual rewrite of his software product, streamlining the ability of distributors to better manage their purchasing and inventory management functions. Next month, the company is also launching a best practices tool which will support the smaller distributor.
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2011 Supplier Business Forecast: |
