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Advent Design: How Strategic Planning Led to Increased Sales, Jobs and Savings

supervisor and employees having meeting in manufacturing facility
Credit: iStock/Morsa Images

Advent Design Corporation is an ISO 9001-certified, award-winning company that provides businesses with custom engineering solutions. Located in the Historic Mill of Bristol, PA, Advent provides an array of services aimed at helping U.S. manufacturers become more competitive in a global economy.  It is the breadth of services — all focused on the unique needs of manufacturing — that differentiates Advent Design from other engineering companies, custom equipment builders, product development firms, and contract manufacturers. Each individual service the business offers is designed to complement and enhance each of the other services that Advent Design provides.  The company has approximately 125 employees.

For the past few years, Advent Design experienced historic growth, both organically and inorganically. The business had significantly grown its Tesco Brand within the utility market, and had developed new products under that brand, while sustaining and making more profitable its contract equipment manufacturing and contract packaging/distribution business. Company leaders had also looked at many acquisition targets and successfully made three acquisitions within two years. Prior to and during this period of growth, company ownership sought the help of the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center (DVIRC), part of the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the MEP National NetworkTM, to look at the business strategically to ensure future success.

Advent Design was looking for strategic help with the business in a few areas, but overall, Advent's goal was to get some outside perspective. They asked DVIRC to evaluate and value their business.  In addition, their Management team wanted some outside help with Strategic Planning and implementation of that Strategic Plan throughout the year. Lastly, the company’s owners joined DVIRC’s Executive Network Groups to gain counsel from other local manufacturing business owners to strengthen management decisions and decision-making, planning, troubleshooting and bench-marking. DVIRC’s Network Groups provide a unique opportunity for business leaders from various industries to come together in a confidential setting to share and solve common challenges, adopt best practices, and gain new leadership skills.

Results

  • $500,000 in increased sales
  • 10 jobs created
  • 10 jobs retained
  • $200,000 in cost saving
  • $50,000 savings on investments

Could your company benefit from assistance with ISO certification? Connect with your local MEP Center for more information.

 

The Pennsylvania Manufacturing Extension Partnership is the official representative of the MEP National Network in Pennsylvania. The MEP National Network is a unique public-private partnership that helps small and medium-sized manufacturers generate business results and thrive in today’s technology-driven economy. The MEP National Network comprises the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP), the 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

About the author

Pennsylvania Manufacturing Extension Partnership

The IRC Network consists of seven nonprofit Industrial Resource Centers located strategically throughout the Commonwealth and affiliated with the national Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) as part of the PA MEP. Established to help manufacturers respond to changing markets, new technology and the competitive pressures of today's global economy, these Centers offer small and medium-sized businesses a wide range of services. From business growth, innovation, process improvement and training, there's little Pennsylvania's IRCs can't do to support manufacturers needs for growth.

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