Business challenge: What to do when traditional markets fail
Business solution: Diversify, deliver and adopt dogged pursuit of new customers
The recession continues to hurt B.C.’s manufacturing sector, but some local business leaders have zeroed in on innovation to revamp their companies for the long term.
Justin Williams is one of them.
When the downturn reared its ugly head, the 27-year-old CEO of Williams and White Inc. wasn’t afraid to overhaul his company, one that had sustained his family for three generations.
“A huge focus for us has been diversification of our client base. … as the economy started to crumble we really pushed and said, ‘What other sectors are out there and who is busy?’” Williams told BIV during an interview at his Burnaby office.
Williams’ grandfather co-founded the firm in 1957 and toiled away for decades building its reputation as one of the Lower Mainland’s premier manufacturing and machining shops.
Over the years, the company created a plethora of machinery for forestry companies and even built the SkyTrain’s first self-propelled rail grinder in the mid-1980s.
But in 2006, Williams and White found itself at a crossroads.
First, Justin’s father, the second Williams to run the business, was keen to hand the company over to his two sons.
Second, there were rumblings about the U.S. housing market, a collapse of which would have serious repercussions for the forestry sector and the service businesses that supported it.
“So we start thinking, ‘OK, what are we going to do about this?’”
“Diversification” is the buzzword Williams likes to use to describe his company’s recent development, but really it’s a strategy that mixed old-time sales tactics with new technology to reinvigorate a half-century-old brand.
Williams and White focused on building its three core business units: equipment manufacturing, custom machining and automation systems.
That meant taking advantage of a price-depressed market to snag deals on new equipment.
Then it got the word out.
The company began to market its ability to design, manufacture and build equipment to the oil and gas, tech and food-processing sectors.
Williams and White also placed a new focus on its automation unit, which could build custom machinery and robotics for various industries.
Williams said the company had approximately $3 million to $5 million in annual revenue heading into the recession. Although that figure dropped 5% at the onset of the downturn, the sales have returned and the company expects to grow 5% this year.
“What’s the secret? There’s no secret, it’s feet on the street.”
Williams said both he and his brother, the company’s COO, believe “belly-to-belly” traditional sales methods still work, but the company has another trick up its sleeve: social media.
Williams said he’s pulled his company’s ads from the phone book and placed them on the Internet to reach today’s web-savvy customer, and salespeople seek email addresses more than cellphone numbers.
“Things have shifted,” he said. “Getting a hold of somebody by phone can be tough, but everybody always is on email … so we pushed that.”
The company has also launched a YouTube channel to showcase its equipment, and clients are encouraged to “follow” Williams and White on Twitter.
“Our business has been here for 53 years … every day I come to the office and I think we’re a brand-new startup and no one has ever heard of us,” Williams said.
But Hugh Alley said Williams and White’s success is not a trend that’s been felt across the rest of B.C.’s manufacturing sector.
“It’s spotty; it’s inconsistent,” said Alley, a spokesman for the B.C. arm of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association. “I’m aware of companies where their sales are down 20% or 30% or 40%.”
But the solution to that downward spiral might be as simple as new productivity plans and innovation.
“The companies that do well with their sales and marketing and go into a variety of new markets … do better,” Alley said.
One market that continues to grow is clean technology.
Vancouver-based Pakit Inc. was launched in 2001, but only recently launched a machine that uses wood cellulose fibre to create moulded boards to replace environmentally harmful plastic containers and packaging.
Brian Birmingham, Pakit’s chairman, president and CEO, believes the company’s patented method could revolutionize the packaging industry and finally turn a profit for a company that’s been focused on research and development for the better part of a decade.
“Plastics have revolutionized the world – but the argument today is toward renewable,” said Birmingham. “Food packaging: it’s under a piece of meat one moment and it’s in a landfill the next, so we suggest there’s a better way of doing it.”
As more governments and cities legislate a move away from plastic packaging toward renewable alternatives, Birmingham said a market for Pakit’s products will be created.
There’s also a business case for it in the forestry sector. Birmingham explained that Pakit’s technology allows pulp producers to make more out of a commodity they generally sell “as is” and that could boost revenue.
Unlike Williams and White, Pakit has just started delivering its products, but its diverse focus might be the key to its success.
Said Williams: “When you specialize you might become the biggest company in the world, but when you diversify you’ve always got work.”