Intermountain Machine & Fab, Inc. - Grangeville

Roy Schumacher joined the North Idaho Manufacturer's Association (NIMA) looking for opportunities to attract new customers. One of the benefits of membership in NIMA is the opportunity to work with a consultant from the Idaho Small Business Development Center (Idaho SBDC) to determine needs and priorities. Roy made it clear that he needed marketing assistance for his Final Pass II® road packer.
 

Roy developed a road packer that attaches behind road graders and has been useful to entities responsible for maintaining gravel roads, primarily county road districts, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In the past 10 years he has sold approximately 60 of the attachments at $12,500 each. They offer a lower cost method to road compaction, replacing the more expensive vibrator rollers. With 10 years experience and a track record of building a successful product, his annual sales have been increasing. However, he was frustrated by not having a marketing plan that would provide ongoing promotion of the product.

Customer requests lead him to believe the opportunity existed to substantially increase his business by developing a marketing plan that included a customer list, a professional brochure, a Web site, a pricing program to accommodate dealers, and a customer management plan.

Utilizing resources from the Idaho SBDC and the Idaho Virtual Incubator, Roy developed his marketing plan that includes a customer list, postcard and Web site (www.imtnmachfab.com). The Idaho SBDC assisted Roy in identifying customers in the Pacific Northwest and developing a postcard to be mailed to the those customers. The Idaho Virtual Incubator assisted Roy in developing his Web site. The marketing materials send a message consistent with the marketing plan and lend a professional image for Intermountain Machine and Fab Inc.'s product.

Implementation of the marketing plan is still in its infancy, but has already generated dozens of calls leading to several new potential orders. With a well-thought-out plan in place, Intermountain Machine and Fab, Inc. is expected to grow and add manufacturing jobs to the region.