Gary Porter characterizes his company, Porter Medical Products, Inc., as a very small firm (seven employees) that competes with very large companies. He started the DeLand, Florida-based firm in 1998 to manufacture an aortic punch, a specialty disposable instrument used in open-heart surgery. “Because I’m a sales and marketing guy, I thought it would be a lot easier than it was,” he admits.

He started out marketing the punches successfully throughout the U.S. But as sales grew and the firm ramped up production, product quality began to go down. Porter felt sure that his device was the best on the market, but he realized that keeping the quality consistently high was essential. In addition, he knew that to expand and compete in foreign markets – particularly Canada and Europe – he needed certain quality certifications.

“We needed to become ISO certified and also get a ‘CE’ mark, a certification that allows us to sell in European markets,” says Porter. “It’s a very expensive effort; about $25,000. Being a small company, number one, we didn’t have the inhouse expertise to do it, and number two, we didn’t have the $25,000 lying around.”

That’s when a consultant recommended he seek help from the Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (SETAAC), a non-profit organization based at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. For qualifying companies that are experiencing heightened import pressures, SETAAC provides assistance in manufacturing, sales and marketing, and information systems to make them more competitive.

SETAAC was able to help Porter Medical bring in a consultant, get its quality systems up to date and secure the certifications it needed. “We were able to get initial ISO 13485:2003 certification quickly,” says Porter. “From what I understand, that’s about the highest quality certification you can get as a medical device manufacturer. I take my copy of my certificate with me to trade shows and display it. If you know manufacturing, you are impressed by this!”

Now, his main problem is filling all the orders he has. During fiscal year 2004-2005, Porter Medical’s sales grew about 16-18 percent. Porter budgeted for a 20 percent increase in sales for 2005-2006, and the company is on track to exceed that easily. He also was able to hire additional staff.

Porter estimates that his company has 15-18 percent of its particular market niche. “Our quality systems are probably better than most of our competitors, even though they are multi-billion-dollar companies,” says Porter. “[Certification] has enabled us not only to produce a consistent product but has opened up new markets for us. Because I didn’t have the in-house resources, there is no way I would have been able to do this without SETAAC.”

Top of the line tables

Harbor Furniture’s Rusty Powell, with SETAAC project manager Mark Hannah, shows off a Table Topics model.

When Rusty Powell started a backyard furniture business with his neighbor in 1978, he didn’t envision his line of custom- built table tops in places like the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, the MGM Grand and Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, and the Holiday Inn in Santiago, Chile.

But these are just a few of the customers who have chosen Harbor Furniture’s Table Topics products for their facilities. Table Topics table tops are produced in a wide variety of custom graphic designs and traditionally have been sold through a network of independent, multi-line sales representatives to interior designers, restaurant dealers, chain restaurant buyers and end-user facilities.

Even with a growing awareness of its product, Harbor Furniture has not been immune to the challenges of foreign competition. After more than 25 years in business, the company’s 75,000-square-foot Elberta, Alabama-based manufacturing facility and its 45 employees – like most of the hospitality and commercial furniture industries – have been tested by a flood of low-priced case good imports. Along with increasing overseas competition, Powell has the additional challenge of effectively and affordably marketing a product that he says has to “be seen to be believed.”

“We have often invited salespeople and customers to tour our plant,” says Powell. “Afterward, they say, ‘We had no idea what you really did until we got here.’ That has been our dilemma. How do we show potential customers what’s different about Table Topics?”

For more than two decades, Harbor Furniture relied on costly four-color print catalogs to show its offerings. Once the Internet emerged as a marketing and sales channel, Powell began investigating how he could showcase the company’s products online. But he was hesitant to embark on a Web project because of the difficulty of demonstrating the product’s creativity and quality.

About that time, Powell received a letter from SETAAC. He set up a meeting and got hands-on help moving the application process forward.With SETAAC’s assistance, Harbor Furniture developed an interactive Web site with a “virtual designer” for custom orders (www.table-topics.com). Powell says that while his marketing costs have been significantly reduced, sales have gone up nearly tenfold and Harbor Furniture has hired 25 new employees.

“SETAAC took care of every bit of what we needed, and it all came through with minimal effort and time on my part,” he says. “They were there every step of the way.”