Q. EDS is a unique conference, and the only one I know of where CEOs, presidents, VPs, sales managers, distributor managers, sales reps, and distributor management from both manufacturers and distributors come together with their independent sales rep partners under one roof. What challenges is VCC facing that can be solved by meeting with these decision makers?
A. For VCC, 2013 is a really critical year for our participation at EDS. In 2012, VCC enjoyed significant organic growth, as well as growth from two acquisitions. So, needless to say, we’ve encountered some challenges. Despite our keeping in close contact with all of our valued channel partners – from asset managers to VPs – throughout the year, EDS gives us an offsite, dedicated time period to sit down with everyone, provide them with updates about where VCC is tactically and strategically, and introduce them to our newest product innovations. EDS also provides VCC an opportunity to really dig in and understand where each distributor is with its own strategic planning, which is helpful in keeping us in alignment going forward.
Q. What are some of the hot application prospects for VCC in 2013? What specific products do they include?
A. There are a couple of areas VCC is focused on with regards to new product development. We’ve also generated lots of traction with our design services offering. VCC has recently invested significant amounts of resources in our ability to develop sophisticated light modeling for customers. We’ve invested heavily in both our technical team and software resources, and have elicited many opportunities around our light modeling offerings and design services, both of which help our customers develop the exact product they need for their ideal solution. We don’t see many of our competitors making this kind of commitment. Our solutions span various industries, including medical, industrial, avionics, etc.
Q. What design trends (if any) are you seeing in the field of panel indication and displays?
A. Overall, the aesthetics are improving and we’re still seeing significant conversion from incandescent and neon to LED technology. We’re also seeing a strong focus on indicators with waterproof/NEMA ratings and customized solutions.
Q. Are there any other unique types of applications that you’ll be sharing with your sales channel partners during meetings at EDS?
A. We plan on sharing some of the unique designs we’ve done for customers to help our channel partners gain a better understanding of our capabilities and demonstrate that VCC isn’t just a commodity supplier. We have a much broader product and service offering that our channel partners should be able to capitalize on for their customers.
Q. How important is acquisition to a company that has the desire for growth? Is it too difficult to grow organically in this type of business climate?
A. First of all, it’s not too difficult to grow organically in this type of business climate. VCC has enjoyed double-digit organic growth for many years. In recent years, we’ve even experienced triple-digit organic growth and have focused on breaking out of that “status-quo product supplier” box. We don’t make clunky indicators; we have a dynamic team that’s moving the needle and is focused on new and innovative product development and we continue to be excited about the amount and quality of the opportunities that this dedicated focus has provided us. There’s no shortage of customers using indicators across any industry, and we’re quickly becoming the first company that they’re coming to for these solutions due to our ever-expanding brand portfolio and the excellent design and support teams we have in place.
Filed Under: Rapid prototyping
