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Tri-Star invests in three-pronged marketing plan
Tri-Star Mold Inc. (Cambridge, ON) is doing what any successful company might do in a down economy – investing in future growth and getting ready for the upturn. To do this, the moldmaker is using a three-pronged approach, making investments in marketing, a new website, and new equipment to help sustain and grow business. The new website is part of an ongoing commitment to increase market awareness and inform companies looking for a moldmaking partner they can rely on what has become a shrinking supplier base in recent years.
Clare Goldsberry
February 3, 2009
3 Min Read
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Tri-Star Mold Inc. (Cambridge, ON) is doing what any successful company might do in a down economy – investing in future growth and getting ready for the upturn. To do this, the moldmaker is using a three-pronged approach, making investments in marketing, a new website, and new equipment to help sustain and grow business. The new website is part of an ongoing commitment to increase market awareness and inform companies looking for a moldmaking partner they can rely on what has become a shrinking supplier base in recent years.
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Pete Florica, Tri-Star’s general manager, says that, typical of many mold companies, they were always so busy that marketing was something that stayed on the back burner. But when the market shifted, Tri-Star’s management saw the need to get out in the industry and promote their company.
Founded in 1997, Tri-Star has grown at a steady pace despite the well-known challenges that have faced the plastics industry since the beginning of the millennium. Contributing to the company’s growth are resources in both staff and equipment that have successfully focused on custom moldmaking specialized in detailed hard milling and EDM work.
“We’ve known for a long time that we have strong capabilities in building high-tolerance precision components, but we were also the best-kept secret,” Florica says. “Because we were always busy, we tended not to be too concerned with marketing. But since we were trying to enter some new markets – we were heavily involved in precision automotive components – and promote our knowledge and expertise in medical components, we realized marketing was important and wanted to pursue it a bit more.”
One of the first things the company did was involve Wayne Stoddard of TecMar Group (Georgetown, ON) to help the company start its marketing program. Tri-Star’s website got a facelift because the old site was done by people who weren’t industry savvy, Florica explains. “We had a website that showed who we were as a shop, but we wanted to promote more strongly the knowledge base and the skills and expertise of the people.”
Visitors to the new site can explore company information, read customer endorsements, download information sheets, and gain access to the secure FTP services and online meetings used regularly to expedite communications with customers across North America.
Florica says Tri-Star realized it needed to promote its expertise, rather than just talk about its equipment. “We’ve built very challenging tools from the inception of the company,” he says. “As we grew, we invested in state-of-the-art equipment. But we also know that the equipment doesn’t make the mold. It’s the people – their skills and knowledge – and that’s what we wanted to promote in our marketing efforts.”
Tri-Star also replaced all of its collateral materials (brochures) with new ones that are printed on-demand so new information can easily be added. That information also goes to the website so everything is linked and the information is consistent.
TriStar's new home page at www.tri-starmold.com “We have a select group of talented engineers, moldmakers, and manufacturing staff committed to providing practical injection mold solutions to what are often complex part design requirements,” says Florica. “We don’t support the philosophy of fixing problems on the shop floor to save time. That just doesn’t work in mold manufacturing today. We do our homework up front, investing the resources necessary to eliminate shop floor problems. That allows us to fulfill our customer commitments, including on-time delivery, in a controlled, efficient manner. These attributes have made it possible to carve out a niche for ourselves in delivering consistently superior results to our customers. And that’s what we need people who are purchasing molds to know.”—[email protected]
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