Ben Doster
Peter F. Drucker’s five most important questions you will ever ask about your organization are as follows: what is our mission? Who is our customer? What does the customer value? And most importantly, What is our plan? These five questions were answered today on our Glen Raven visit. It was clear that the mission of Glen Raven was to provide high quality fabrics to both private customers and government agencies. They produce everything from fabric used in clothing items to military grade fabric that is capable of hiding large weapons such as tanks from radar detection.
Glen Raven felt the effects of the economy when they realized that they could no longer compete with chinese labor in the business of producing cheap fabrics. The change came when the executive team decided that in order to stay in business in the US, they would have to start producing high end items that carry a sense of quality. This is because people are willing to pay more for these items and therefor they can produce a profit in the US.
In the Case of Glen Raven, the customers of this company demand and value high quality items that they know will stand the test of time. This is a good business model for the company due to the fact that China can always produce the same product for less, however a mill in Burlington can always take their time and produce a much higher-quality item that they can sell for more money.
The Result of all this is a profitable company in a flied that has almost become obsolete in the recent years. By realizing that the only way they could stay in business is to start producing goods that carry a higher sense of quality, they were able to remain as one of the only profitable mills in the area. Due to the success of this business in the past few years, it will be interesting to see it go from a family business to more of a corporation in the next few years when the first non-family member becomes in charge of the company. I believe that this was their way of staying up on the times and remaining a leader in their industry. By bringing in other smart people to lead the company, new ideas will be shared and the company should continue to grow.
It is clear that Glen Raven measures its success in how much they grow and continue to expand each year. Their products include furniture and awning fabrics, sailboat sails and fabrics for the military, and the automotive, mining and construction industries. All of these industries mean a vast group of workers are employed there. To deal with this, the company has strict boarders between their different departments in order to keep things moving smoothly.
Overall I really enjoyed our visit to Glen Raven. I found it to be very interesting how they were able to save themselves by changing their business plan and better suiting the the American market. I think the employees of this company truly enjoy their jobs.
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