Maufacturing
Success
Diversification
Investment, Diversification Keys for Sustaining Success
Exporting finished products is more desirable than importing when it comes to economic health. Manufacturing is a key element of the Texas economy, and growing that sector will help the state maintain its place as the world’s 11th largest economy.
Diversify Products
For R&D Molders, diversifying its production techniques has helped the manufacturing firm acquire new business when previous contracts ended.
“We’re custom molders and we look at all jobs,” says Greg Brown II of R&D.
The company has added plastic products for the medical industry to its decades-old lineup of sporting goods, toys and government contracts.
Invest in New Technology
The ability to compete for these jobs required investments in the right equipment.
“We have purchased quite a bit of equipment to fulfill these requirements,” Brown says.
The company purchased new injection- and blow-molding machines and a robotic labeling attachment that works in conjunction with the molders. The need to continually look for improved productivity and deliver top quality products makes smart investment vital for ongoing success, Brown says.
Hooking into Opportunities
Texas manufacturers compete strongly in medical device market
Q: How does a company known for making sporting goods and industrial containers find a niche in the medical device field?
A: It pays attention to the market and adapts to where it’s hot.
“More opportunities were coming our way in the medical device field,” says Greg Brown II, business development officer for Georgetown’s R&D Molders. “We got involved with a few and were successful, and those led to other projects.”
R&D supplies medical practitioners with plastic containers that hold everything from used syringes to fluids to cabinets that hold expensive computers and equipment.
R&D’s 2008 sales jumped 38 percent from 2007 totals, and the company is on pace for sales of more than $7.5 million this fiscal year. Brown says that could easily double in the next three to four years based on anticipated growth of existing business.
The company, which employs more than 75, moved in 2007 from a 15,000-square-foot facility to a 60,000-square-foot complex, and Brown estimates that medical device manufacturing makes up more than 50 percent of its inventory, up from about 10 percent just two years ago.
“We try not to have too much of a percentage in one industry, but we have to respond to the growth and go where the business is,” Brown says.
Shining Through Tough Times
San Antonio-based NuPak Medical’s business has remained strong, even in a down economy. NuPak General Manager David Cocke says that is fairly indicative of Texas’ medical device business as a whole.
Opened in 1997, NuPak specializes primarily in ophthalmology and infusion therapy for insulin-dependent patients.
“Our niche is in dealing with entrepreneurs and startups,” Cocke says. “We try to have fewer but more significant clients making products in a niche that is less likely to face international competition.”
Labor costs in countries such as China make it tough to compete abroad, Cocke says. He adds, however, that Texas has its definite advantages.
“Labor costs here are very competitive and real estate costs are much more reasonable than California and other parts of the U.S.,” he says.
How can Texas communities recruit manufacturers?
Texas communities have a host of tools available to lure companies. Visit Texas Ahead to learn more about the rules that govern tax abatements, sales tax incentives, freeport exemptions and other economic development tools that communities can use to recruit manufacturing companies. TR