Fisk Alloy Wire, Inc. - Paper Example

Fisk Alloy Wire Inc. dominates the remnant portion of the segment in the wire industry that deals in copper alloy. The narrow market position which exists in the metal and copper industries which the company has maintained for decades mainly focuses on the tailor-made high-performance copper alloy market. The market in the copper alloy wires is primarily driven by the emerging market in electronics which however represents a tiny percentage of the total commercial demand for the copper wires. At the top of the conductor business, the copper wire is mainly used for connections, circuits, operating electrical equipment and in terminations. Fisk Alloy Wire has the competency in the development and production of wires and cable applications which are of the highest quality which require a highly developed metal performance regarding their strength, fabrication and the valuation of price to the performance. This is one of the areas the company is strong at and which has given it a competitive advantage over the other firms in the same field.

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External Environment

The analysis of the external environment of the company is important because the better the understanding of the company's competitor environment and general industry, the better position the firm will be in positioning itself for success. Fisk Alloy Wire, Inc has robustly shown how the external environment tools can be used successfully to take advantage of the opportunities which are emerging. Specifically, the company's awareness of the long-term trends in the environment has positively worked for the firm. The long-term trend is important because sometimes the data available can be ambiguous and inaccurate. It is a long-term investment in the cadmium high-performance copper alloy was an opportunity which was tapped at the right time because its fruits have already been realized. The firm, therefore, needs to have such long-term investments in other segments of the company.

The firm has been doing well in the assessment of the political, social, legal and technological environment. After the evaluation, the firm was able to sense early signals and increasing the eco-efficiency of the materials it uses in the manufacturing process as well as proper elimination and disposal of the hazardous materials. Due to the aptness of the company in the assessment of the environment the company has become a leading force in the external market.Another advantage that the company has had over the years is its ability to develop projections and promptly determine how important the changes to the environment are. Besides, the company has been able to continuously conduct an assessment of the threats existing at the industry level and from the competitors hence being able to make strategic choices that are geared towards the growth of the company as well as making excellent objectives. This is another area that the company needs to pursue more.

The Company's Growth and Strategy

The company made a strategic decision when it acquired Strandflex. The firm was not interested in the acquisition of old stranding mills for ordinary purposes. However, the firm though strategically and decided to acquire the new machinery so that it could increase its capacity rather than targeting a mere expansion. Another strategic plan of the firm which was successful and saved the company money was the idea of reconfiguring and reconditioning the old machinery to improve their performance.

One area that the firm did not do well is not being prepared to merge the resources, systems, activities, and cultures of the two organizations. If the company had prepared for this before the acquisition of Strandflex, it would have been a good acquisition strategy which would have made the two firms to run smoothly. What the company needs to focus on so that it can continue growing is to acquire other small companies for a purpose rather than to increase in size. The aim of the acquisitions should be strategic and structural dimensions of the company. However, any form of acquisition the two brothers would take should be backed with the capabilities of integration; otherwise, it will not serve the intended purpose. Unnecessary expansions may lead the company to territories that might not be good for the business. That is the reason why any form of acquisitions needs to be tactical. Besides, before the company makes any acquisitions, it must first conduct a study to establish the acquisition value and also select the targets which have low positions of debt.

Current market position

The company currently is currently doing well in the market, though the timing and size of its nascent market are not clear. For the firm to continue capturing the new markets it needs to double its revenues as well as the operational capacity so that it can effectively join new territories. This is important more especially for the marketing of its high-performance cadmium. As the firm continues coming up with the strategies of marketing its Percon 24 it needs to grow and expand its business focusing on the ones which optimize the ultrafine stranded conductor. Both should do this by specializing in the offering of the high-performance products as well as increasing the volume. This is one of the best ways in which it can increase its profile in the business. The firm needs to strengthen further the segments which generate most revenues and still work on improving the ones which are not performing well. Since Percon 24 has the highest market share in comparison with other segments of the company more should be focused on that area so that more revenues can be generated. The company has also made some inroads in the automobile industry, and it is, therefore, another area that the firm needs to invest more so that it can expand.

The Company has its strengths in the following areas:

1. The company has a reputation for developing the talents of its employees and retaining them.
2. The firm has high margins. Though it is facing some pressures on its profitability, its revenues in most of the business segments are impressive
3. The firm has diversified models of getting revenue. This is after the company ventured into other areas apart from innovation and entrepreneurship
4. The company has a track record in its innovation hence coming up with products that are appreciated by the customers
5. The firm has robust brand recognition. The company is known well in innovation making charge highly for its products, the way competitors cannot do.
6. The firm has not invested enough in customer service. Since customers are the ones, who can make the company grow substantial investments need to be made towards attending to the customers. Furthermore, the innovation industry is growing faster than the growth of the firm, and this has marginally affected the growth of the company.