Success Stories
Metal Surface Treatment Process
Arizona
This company provided critical component inspection,
testing and surface treatment process for the
aerospace, defense and semiconductor industries.
Over the years the company gained nationally
recognition for its innovation, quality and
“one-stop-shopping” approach to special processing
needs.
A combination of increasing foreign competition and
defense/aerospace down-sizing impacted both sales
and profitability. Trade impaction was in the firm’s
chemical surface treatment processes from European
firms. The manufacture of component parts used by
its customers was increasingly sourced offshore. The
company, with assistance from the University of
Southern California’s Western Trade Adjustment
Assistance Center (Western TAAC) became certified as
trade impacted by the US Dept. of Commerce, Economic
Development Administration (EDA).
Western TAAC and the company’s management
developed a strategy to capture a larger portion of
the aerospace and defense market with its core
processes and expand into the Ultra High Vacuum (UHV)
component cleaning market in the semiconductor
industry.
Over a 8 month period, Western TAAC and the
company’s management implemented a comprehensive
information technology project that significantly
upgraded the company’s information system to support
the implementation of this strategy
Three years after program completion, the results
are remarkable. This project along with other
strategy implementation led to outstanding growth
and stability for the firm. As a result, in the 4
1/4 years since the firm began working with the
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program, sales
increased 248% to $14.7 million, employment
increased 252% to 211, and profitability doubled.
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