Vision - September/October 2008 - (Page 31)

CEAnewsline Putting a Face on American Trade S ince founding Triad Speakers in 1982, Larry Pexton has seen his highperformance home speaker business evolve with the changing tides of the audio business and the global economy. The Portland, Ore. based company has refined its product line-up and sales strategy to serve not only its domestic customer base, but also an increasing global demand for high-performance American built home audio products. Encapsulating the built-in-the-USA small business, Pexton’s company is featured in CEA’s “Faces of Trade” public relations campaign. CE Vision sat down with him to learn more about how global trade impacts his business: Why are you so passionate about CEA’s new Faces of Trade campaign? With today’s weak dollar and a challenging domestic marketplace, export sales are critical to our future growth as a U.S.-based manufacturer. This year our export sales are up double digits while our domestic sales are down. It is vital that export markets become more available to small companies like Triad. As a U.S.-based manufacturer, fair trade allows us to source the best-of-breed components from around the globe in order to produce best-of-breed products and sell them around the globe. What overseas markets do you do business in? Triad has exported to Europe since 1983. We have been exporting to Asian markets since the late 1980s. Our most recent success has been in China where we are developing a state-of-the-art home theater demonstration facility in Shanghai to introduce world-class home theater performance to the Chinese elites. Is China an emerging market for audio and home theater? China is developing an appetite for high-end home theater as their economy booms and more people are living in American-inspired, large homes. www.ce.org What issues do you face that illustrate the strug- Larry Pexton gle smaller, U.S.-based manufacturers encounter in trying to compete globally? We have very little business in Latin America, other than Mexico. Reducing the tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. exports in that region would allow us the opportunity for significant growth. Potentially huge markets like Brazil and Argentina have very high tariffs—some in excess of 30 percent. What effect does your company have on Portland’s local economy? We use a significant number of local suppliers to produce our speakers. Our progressive packaging supplier delivers the elaborate shipping cartons we use at Triad for each day’s production. We also use several plastic and metal fabricators who can deliver on a just-in-time basis. The current downturn has cut orders to these suppliers somewhat, but any disruptions to our overseas markets or suppliers would be more dramatic. What is Triad’s niche in the loudspeaker category? Triad provides loudspeakers that integrate gracefully into a client’s décor while providing best-of-breed audio performance. We provide an infinite variety of options for matching paint and/or veneer finishes to complement a particular room’s design. This requires the ability to customize every element of the speaker quickly and easily. We have learned to do this by studying the Toyota Production System. We are producing more than 70 unique models on a pure build-to-order basis in our Portland factory. All of our production is for specific orders, built one piece at a time in a continuous flow. These capabilities allow us to prosper while manufacturing the bulk of our products in the U.S. To learn more about the campaign, visit www.CE.org/trade. • http://www.firstcapital.com http://www.CE.org/trade http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - September/October 2008

Vision - September/October 2008 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In this Issue The Economist Visionary C4 Trends Coming to a Neighborhood Near You IPv6: Connecting People and Things Israelis Spend Big on the Latest CE Devices Tech Speak Tech Policy CEA Newsline Going Global Eye on Business Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - September/October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.