If nothing else, Pittsburgh-based Kerotest survived–and succeeded–by reinventing itself. Begun a century ago, when kerosene testing was state-of-the-art, over the decades the company has evolved into a world-class fabricator of valves for the natural gas and nuclear power industries. Now in a new $7 million facility outside of Pittsburgh, Kerotest employs state-of-the-art computerized systems for exacting precision.
All well and good. Except that last year, while setting up the factory floor to fabricate valves for an Ohio-based uranium-enrichment facility, Kerotest ran into a snag. How to achieve maximum efficiency? As Kerotest president Bob Visalli says, “we needed to know how best to do the assembly process.”
Kerotest called Catalyst Connection, a Pittsburgh-based, private nonprofit dedicated to helping small- and mid-size manufacturers improve their competitive performance. The company utilized Catalyst Connections’ expertise to set up the production floor for equipment, locations, people, and for all the tasks.
“Catalyst Connection,” Visalli says, “helped set up the process that we eventually used–one which netted us significant savings. Using Catalyst, we’re definitely more efficient–and more profitable.
“We’re really satisfied with them,” he adds. “They’re cost-effective people who are knowledgeable about our field, very efficient. In addition, they’re very quick to respond, easy to access, very proficient. We’d use them again.”
So would a host of other business spread out over a dozen Southwestern Pennsylvania counties. As small- and mid-size manufacturers develop new product ideas, work to boost profitability, discover new market potential, they are increasingly turning to Catalyst Connection. Indeed, the independently audited numbers are remarkable. In 2007, for example, Catalyst Connection’s 250 clients experienced more than: $113 million in sales increases; $271 million in sales retention; $16 million in cost savings; $18 million in investments; and 880 jobs created or retained.
Born a quarter-century ago and midwifed by the 1980s steel collapse, when many small businesses were struggling to survive, Catalyst Connection has helped more than 1,200 manufacturers–many more than once.
“We have a very high repeat-customer business,” says Pam Grove, Catalyst Connection’s new business director, “because we are highly effective and we focus on what our clients are actually doing.”
One of seven such Pennsylvania industrial resource centers, Catalyst Connection works in virtually all facets of business. “We help implement best practices,” Grove says, “and work to eliminate waste–anything from too much inventory to too many rejects to slow deliveries. We also help our clients to market to specific customer segments. In today’s economy,” she adds, “companies have to look for greater efficiencies–and for cost savings–wherever they can.”
That’s exactly what IngMar Medical‘s Nick Coniglio discovered when Catalyst Connection added significantly to his marketing at virtually no cost.
A world leader in breathing simulation, with customers in more than 30 countries, IngMar Medical fabricates breathing simulators, lung models, and test lungs. Developing new respiratory therapy products and treatments, testing quality and safety, and training clinicians to achieve the highest level of patient care.
“Our company is global,” Coniglio says, “yet small. We don’t have a designated sales force. To attract and track new customers, we went to Catalyst Connection. They told us they have a track record of creating successful e-mail marketing campaigns. We took a leap of faith and said, ‘let’s try it.'”
Focusing on a single product at first, IngMar expanded its normal target of university respiratory medicine instructors to include nursing schools and EMS providers. “We knew they needed the same teaching services that we provide,” Coniglio says, “but we didn’t know how to reach them effectively–and track them. Catalyst helped us craft a specific message and find a way to reach them and we got a great response. So good, in fact, that with the first go-round we were able to cover the cost of the system for an entire year. That’s huge, because basically there’s no out-of-pocket cost for us. Now,” he adds, “we hope to reap the benefits.”
So does Dave Sweet, president of Cranberry-based MECCO Marking and Traceability, who also turned to Catalyst Connection for marketing and website help.
“While we’ve been around for 120 years,” he says of the company that works in direct part marking, laser marking, laser engraving, and dot peen machines for traceability and part verification, “and have a good customer base, Catalyst Connection helped us get our name out to folks. One part of their service was to collect all our contacts–customers, trade show visitors, web hits, cold calls. Catalyst not only put together a customer data base, they also created a monthly customer e-mail so that we could touch base, introduce new products, and so on.” Sweet pauses. “It’s surprising how successful it is to mine your own data base. Now, six to 12 times every month, a customer will call and say, ‘perfect timing. I need that application right now.'”
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Photos:
Bob Visalli of Kerotest
Nick Coniglio of IngMar Medical demonstrates one of the company’s medical simulation models to Pam Grove of Catalyst Connections.
All photographs by Renee Rosensteel