Caldwell Corporation, located in Emporium, PA (Cameron County), is a manufacturer with 17 employees. The company makes and maintains replacement parts for equipment at facilities within various industries. They also recycle Kevlar fabric for use in automotive brakes.
Caldwell was adversely affected by the closure of the Sylvania/LEDvance company in the Fall of 2019. Machining work for this lighting industry made up roughly 50% of their business. They had no sales process, plan, or team in place to follow-up on leads in order to grow new business. Their business was within two very niche markets without having a future plan for diversification. They also had an outdated website with no way to monitor analytics. Furthermore, like many companies, the COVID-19 shutdowns in early March 2020 added a new level of urgency. Initially, the Economic Development and Workforce Specialist from Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson’s District Office collaborated with the Clarion University SBDC for a focused meeting with Caldwell Corp to discuss their loss of sales.
Subsequently, NWIRC’s Strategic Business Advisor was looped in to learn about the company and worked with them in collaboration with Steel Valley Authority. A financial analysis was conducted and a sales/marketing project was proposed using third party subject matter expert, Deane Patterson Consulting. His in-depth analysis produced specific action plan activities with recommendations to increase customer base for services or identify new markets; and to establish a sales and marketing process to generate leads and prospects.
Over a two-month period, five sessions were held onsite, market research was conducted, and a sales action plan was developed. The company is also positioned to participate in NWIRC’s COVID-19 Recovery Program for a detailed assessment, cash flow analysis, and tactical action plan for future projects to strengthen their position. “Caldwell’s team continues to work closely with Deane Patterson to secure a Manufacturing Representative,” said Vice President, Tom Caldwell. “With expectations being that the new addition will bring in new business to fill the void left by LEDvance. We’ve already started working on improving marketing materials and our new website to feed into the overall plan.” Caldwell anticipates increased and retained sales of around $500K and also hiring two new employees.
