Small Business Development Centerat UW-Green Bay
Success Stories
HUI Manufacturing
HUI Manufacturing was interested in investigating market expansion opportunities for their core competencies and expertise. The company had identified six market segments as potential targets, but needed more information to refine their strategic vision. WISC is a Wisconsin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Specialty Center doing market research for the SBDC at UW-Whitewater. WISC’s market analysis provided a high level overview of these six markets and identified which markets and customer types within those markets could provide future expansion opportunities.
According to HUI Market Development Director, “We wanted to find a balance to the medical cart market which HUI has pursued very heavily and successfully for six to seven years. We needed to identify other market opportunities that fit our expertise.” The WISC Market Assessment Report discovered several product categories in other segments of the medical market where HUI had proven expertise. “Entering a new market is very expensive and although several new markets are appealing, entering these new markets was put on hold for twelve months while we use the WISC information to expand into new medical market segments.” The resulting double digit growth in the medical division led to the creation of a New Business Coordinator position at HUI.
“WISC provided us with good contact information for major players within each market, which speeds up our new business acquisition.” HUI attended a trade show overseas to expand their products from medical and industrial carts into lab testing and enclosures which WISC identified as product segments that HUI could pursue. “WISC was great. They even pointed us to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Collegiate Entrepreneur’s Organization, which is helping us with a project to find additional information in some niche areas.”