Case study: corporate finance tool making
Company:
Salzburg manufacturer of precision tools
Company size:
50 employees
Nature of the consulting project:
Business Development in Central and Eastern Europe, project financing in the form of grants funding for this international expansion and investments in additional capacity.
Industry / Product:
Special die cutting tools for the packaging industry
Project:
The client company is the market leader in Austria for punching tools that are needed to cut out cardboard for folding cartons or corrugated boxes. In order to cover the eastern markets, additional production capacities were established in Vienna in the first decade of the new millennium.
Goal of the counseling was to structure the internationalization approach with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe, including the necessary product innovations and the optimal utilization of grants for this purpose.
The result was from a branch office in Romania, a sales rep for and in Hungary and direct marketing of Slovenia and Germany from Austria. Firm orders were generated and a sustainable market development was initiated. Funding by the Austrian federal innovation agency FFG, by both cities (Vienna and Salzburg) and by the WKO (Austrian chamber of commerce) in a 6- figure EURO range in the form of grants helped finance this growth.
Challenges (and their solutions):
The company offers the highest technical competence in connection with very short lead times on the basis of very innovative IT solutions and equipment. However, competitors from CZ and PL are cheaper. The solution to this challenge lies firstly in the close coordination between local partners and the parent company in Austria, on the other hand, in the faster delivery and better products due to permanent innovations.
Customer benefits/achievements:
Sales, sales pipeline, sustainable presence in the market segments, grants for project financing.
