MATERIAL HANDLING MARKETING CASE STUDY
Realization
Founded in 1964, Ermanco, Inc., developed and patented breakthrough line-shaft-driven live roller conveyor technology that continues to serve as a model of quiet, accurate, low maintenance material handling. Although the company had developed a broad line of material handling technologies, Ermanco continued to be thought of as a “line-shaft” company whose technologies only fit a narrow set of material handling applications.
Repositioning
When Proteus Marketing’s strategists first began working with the company, Ermanco’s sales were approximately $12 million. Our strategists worked with the executives of Ermanco to hone its positioning and marketing efforts, focusing on sortation and accumulation, two of the most difficult aspects of material handling. As part of the repositioning, the company also began to develop and market new, cost-effective sortation and accumulation technologies to support the repositioning, ultimately migrating from a line-shaft conveyor company to sortation and accumulation experts using a wide range of material handling modes.
Results
Annual sales of Ermanco continued to grow in the late 1990’s to $31 million in 1999 when the company was ultimately sold.

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Proteus B2B is a marketing consulting firm specializing in repositioning business-to-business companies and their brands. We help companies identify and migrate to positions of market leadership where their brands have few credible substitutes in the marketplace.


