Scott Campbell makes room for unexpected opportunities

May 1, 2010  |  Features, Management, Perspective, Tents

Scott Campbell’s acquisitions span market segments and expand profits. By Sigrid Tornquist “It was not my plan to diversify and grow this company—my plan was to work in this company for about five years and then return to the seafood industry. But that didn’t happen,” says Scott Campbell, …
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Seven costly management mistakes

May 1, 2010  |  Management

Getting back to the business basics. By William J. Lynott In the best of times, life as a manufacturer means dealing with a full measure of challenging decisions, any one of which can have a negative impact on your operations. In today’s unpredictable business climate, even tiny management err…
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Will small-business hiring lead the economic recovery?

April 1, 2010  |  Management

How to know when it’s time to bring people back By Marc Hequet Right now, what does your business need most? More workers? Government hiring incentives? A bank loan? More business? You know the balancing act only too well—capital, expenses, staff and production. Now, as we find our way o…
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Branis seeks no-limits approach to problem-solving

April 1, 2010  |  Features, Management, Perspective

Marcel Branis takes a collective approach to developing products and improving processes. By Sigrid Tornquist “I love developing a new product or improving a product we already have,” says Marcel Branis, vice president, manufacturing for DHS Systems in Orangeburg, N.Y. “What will happen if we …
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Business succession

April 1, 2010  |  Management

The challenges with family-owned businesses By Kikuko Tagawa In our industry, many businesses are family owned, regardless of where we are located and regardless of business size. In most of these family businesses, the issue of succession poses a big challenge. Eventually, the principal owner or ma…
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Change your approach to promotional strategies

April 1, 2010  |  Features, Marketing

Promotional ideas that actually work. By Ron Rosenberg These are difficult times in the specialty fabrics industry, as in most industries. Customers are becoming more demanding; revenues are down; and promotional strategies that worked in the past aren’t as effective as they used to be. The go…
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“How to” for small businesses

March 26, 2010  |  Business, Industry News

SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” and Experian, a leading global information services company, have joined forces to offer “how to” resources that help entrepreneurs better understand their business credit profile and strengthen their credit score. As a new…
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Estimating for sales and profits

March 9, 2010  |  Marine, Marketing

The quality of your estimates has an impact on your bottom line. By Shelby Gonzalez Estimating job costs is one of the cornerstone skills of running a successful marine fabrication business. The more accurately you can estimate the amount of labor and materials a given job will require, the better t…
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Fawcett values employee relations

March 1, 2010  |  Features, Management, Perspective

Craig Fawcett builds up a business by building up the staff. By Sigrid Tornquist “Skills can be taught, but you either have character or you don’t. When you find an employee with character and work ethic, those people are your golden people—people you’ll do anything to build up,” says Crai…
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Report from ATNT-2009 India

March 1, 2010  |  Industry News, Management

Developments to watch in nonwovens and technical textiles. By Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar India is being watched carefully by the global community due to its economic growth numbers and growing political stature in the world. Investments from North American and European companies are already underway: Fin…
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