- Description
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The company sells pre-cast concrete from Ultra High Performance Concrete called Ductal under a sublicense from Lafargeholsim. www.Ductal.com It was owned by a sole proprietor. It limped from feast to famine as it would get a relatively large job that required multiple staff and then burn money waiting for the next project to come in. I mentor MBA students and start-ups from a technology incubator and agreed to mentor this company although it was insolvent. After getting to know the product and the opportunities I suggested that the only way for the company to succeed was to recapitalise it with "smart money" We recently started a new company with a group of 6 shareholders with expertise in manufacturing, production and operational efficiencies. They all run their own companies. From a project perspective the company has had success with Art Projects, landscape furnishings like planters and benches, commercial cladding and heritage restoration. I feel like our options are to focus on the low hanging fruit or to try and ramp up each vertical through strategic alliances with others. I do not have the basic information required to make informed decisions. We require information on the respective market size of each vertical, the barriers of entry, the competition and potential partners. For example we are quoting multi-million commercial cladding contracts in partnership with a bridge building company.
Recent projects
Strategic Prospecting Plan Szolyd Concrete Corp.
Heritage restoration projects are usually done by specialists. There are a small number of architects. engineers, contractors and masons that specialise in heritage restoration. They tend to be regional in focus and commonly work together on projects in their area. Ownership of heritage buildings is often government, non-profits like churches or developers maintaining a building or façade as part of a new development project. Our enquiries can come from any of these participants. We would like the students to help us better understand the market dimensions and how best to raise our profile within the heritage community. We are usually contacted when the project planning is well underway. It may already be at a request for proposal stage with terra cotta specified in the tender documents. It is important that we find a way to make the market more aware of our services in anticipation that they will contact us for general information earlier in the planning process. There are associations like the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHA) that have search functions to find heritage professionals in a specific area. We have successfully done a major project in Portland and have provided information for projects in Seattle and Oakland California. We think our overall market is North America and would appreciate assistance from the students to prioritise our market focus.
Szolyd Critical path.
Although the company has been running under a different structure for about 12 years it is basically a start-up. The history is a blessing and a curse as it has given us an introduction a variety of opportunities that can be overwhelming. Ductal is an established product in Europe. It is a boutique product in North America. Most of the sublicenses are active in a single business such as art projects, landscape furnishing or cladding. For this reason our contact at Lafarge has gotten us involved in diverse opportunities from faucets to Presidential Libraries. If we choose not to pursue an opportunity Lafarge would seek other sublicenses that would. We have a board that is unusually sophisticated for a company of our size. I feel that we provide a unique opportunity to challenge your students in a dynamic real world situation. We are very open to input and would expect to implement a number of the ideas presented on a real time basis. It would be our goal to be able to quantify our product areas and what portion of the process can be accomplished with strategic partners. We would like to be in a position to undertake a follow up Riipen project within a specific product type.
Szolyd Critical path.
Although the company has been running under a different structure for about 12 years it is basically a start-up. The history is a blessing and a curse as it has given us an introduction a variety of opportunities that can be overwhelming. Ductal is an established product in Europe. It is a boutique product in North America. Most of the sublicenses are active in a single business such as art projects, landscape furnishing or cladding. For this reason our contact at Lafarge has gotten us involved in diverse opportunities from faucets to Presidential Libraries. If we choose not to pursue an opportunity Lafarge would seek other sublicenses that would. We have a board that is unusually sophisticated for a company of our size. I feel that we provide a unique opportunity to challenge your students in a dynamic real world situation. We are very open to input and would expect to implement a number of the ideas presented on a real time basis. It would be our goal to be able to quantify our product areas and what portion of the process can be accomplished with strategic partners. We would like to be in a position to undertake a follow up Riipen project within a specific product type.