When Tim Martin came to PDC Spas seven years ago, perhaps 5 percent of its hot tubs and other products were sold overseas. Since then, that percentage has climbed to nearly half.
According to Martin, VP of sales and business development at the Williamsport manufacturer, much of that growth took place as a result of PDC changing its approach to selling products internationally. It used to take orders from overseas retailers and gradually fill shipping containers with hot tubs and spas. But Martin thought it would make more sense to seek out distributors in other countries that would receive larger amounts of PDC's products and then sell them to retailers.
Now PDC's spas and hot tubs can be purchased in nations all over the world: Japan, France, Russia and the United Kingdom, to name a few. Martin credits the state and Central PA's SEDA-Council of Governments with helping his company reach out to new customers.
PDC sells other products besides hot tubs. It has developed decorative artificial rocks and advanced spa covers that last seven years, rather than the three-year life span that is typical in the industry. “What we look for are products that can go along with the spas that the retailers can sell,” Martin says. “What people are looking for is a backyard oasis.”
Now PDC is working on expanding sales into Mexico and countries in the Middle East. To facilitate that, the company is working to find a way to prevent water in hot tubs from getting too hot in warmer climates.
Source: Tim Martin, PDC Spas
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen