The Risks and Rewards of Offshoring for Smaller Manufacturers
Responding to Customer Demands
Globalization. Whether you hate it or not, it’s dramatically changed the way business in the United States and elsewhere is done. Initially, only Fortune 500 companies were big enough to play in the global environment. Although they started about 10 years later than large companies did, small and medium-sized businesses eventually went global, too. Now, even companies with fewer than 10 employees, like Central Screw Products of Detroit, Michigan, can have a big international presence.
Central Screw Products went global in response to customer demands, but the experience gave it many more advantages than just cheap labor. Houston-based Tech-Seal International, founded and owned by Mark Adamson, went global for other reasons. For both companies, the experience taught them a lot and changed their businesses in many ways.
