Innovative Revenue Stream: HME
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HME, a company that provides custom metal fabrication and structural steel to the construction industry, saw its revenue decrease as a result of the sluggish economy and slowing construction demand. The company knew it needed to find an innovative way to increase revenue, so it turned to the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center for help. With the assistance of a federal grant, HME was able to attend a MAMTC workshop for a fraction of the standard cost. The MAMTC Jumpstart workshop helped HME brainstorm ideas for new revenue streams, evaluate the feasibility of each idea and develop a strategy for implementation.
"We already had all the saws and drills to custom cut metal for retail customers,” he said, “so it just made sense to boost our profit margins through retail sales.”
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Having always limited its sales to the commercial construction business, HME took an innovative leap into the retail market. With a new website design and some alterations to the accounting system to handle retail sales, HME began selling its metal products both online and at its manufacturing location. Kevin Rake, controller, says it was a logical progression for the company. “We already had all the saws and drills to custom cut metal for retail customers,” he said, “so it just made sense to boost our profit margins through retail sales.” For HME, innovation came in the form of being willing to embrace a customer base it had never considered before. Now, Rake says, the retail side is bringing in more than $40,000 per month all by itself.
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“I don’t have to drive the ideas because the employees do it all. I just have to keep us out of the ditches on either side.”
waiting for it to be hand delivered, they can pick it up online. CEO Cheryl Creviston says the innovation is not only in the technology, but in the fact that clients can access information from anywhere at any time. “People spend 40 percent of their time looking for things,” she said. “We can cut that dramatically by making records easy to find.”
The Search for Innovation: Hall Commercial Printing
Innovation doesn’t just happen overnight. It is a process that takes time, resources, desire and a willingness to change. It is uncomfortable, even painful. But the alternative can be watching your business fade away and die. Hall Commercial Printing, a 50-year-old Topeka company, recognized it needed some new ideas, beyond improving technology, to keep it a viable and healthy company going into the future. So company president Dave Brubaker also took advantage of a discounted MAMTC seminar to learn more about innovation. After the workshop, Brubaker brought MAMTC in to help engage the entire workforce in being more innovative. Last month, Hall Commercial Printing put its innovation plan into action. The company is beta testing some internal processes that it hopes will save time, resources and ultimately money. The Revenue Team has generated 42 new product/service ideas and is in the process of evaluating their feasibility. Brubaker says he doesn’t know where this push for innovation will go, but he is happy to see the company moving forward. “The exciting thing is the buy-in the employees have, Brubaker said. “I don’t have to drive the ideas because the employees do it all. I just have to keep us out of the ditches on either side.”
to Innovate Innovative Technology: Jayhawk File Express YourHaveTurn troubles moving from working in your business Records management needs change as new technology becomes available. Jayhawk File Express has been storing, organizing and managing paper records for businesses for many years. When companies began to convert from paper records to digital ones, Jayhawk File Express saw an opportunity to innovate and meet those new storage needs. With its new service Webfile Express, documents are stored using a web-based management system that categorizes them for easy access. Clients define security limits for individual records and can search for documents by category or type. Now if clients need a document right away, rather than
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TK...Topeka's Business Magazine
to on your business? The MAMTC workshop, Kansas Innovation Engineering Leadership Institute, is coming back to Topeka on June 27-29. MAMTC received a $1.1 million grant, thanks to $250,000 in matching funds from GO Topeka, to promote innovation and competitiveness in Kansas. The grant allows Topeka companies to attend the workshop for only $500 instead of paying the full price of $2,000. For more information, contact MAMTC at www. mamtc.com.
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