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Growth Management Success Story
With the help of: Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership (KY-MEP)
About
RT Welding and Fabrication, located in Harlan, Kentucky, provides welding, fabrication and repair services for the coal industry in Eastern Kentucky. RT Welding has a strong reputation for responsiveness, service and innovation.
The Challenge
The decline in coal mining has had a direct detrimental impact on RT Welding as customers have closed their doors or scaled back operations, drastically reducing the amount of work available. In response to these changing market conditions, RT Welding has decided to pivot into small scale manufacturing of niche products.
The market data research provided by AKA gave unique insight into the market. This enabled RT Welding to make informed choices regarding specific product attributes.
MEP's Role
AKA provided support in a number of ways, including market research, product design feedback, lead generation, pricing strategies, branding and intellectual property protection advice. Two new products have been designed, developed, tested, branded and launched within the ~120 days of collaboration. One product is being sold directly to consumers via Amazon while the other is available to businesses via direct sales.
Created August 4, 2022