Home : Innovation : Environmental Technologies : Case Studies of Successful Environmental Technology Companies in Western Canada
Case Study #4
BW Technologies Inc.
Calgary, AB
Phone: 1-800-663-4164
Website: www.gasmonitors.com
CEO: Cody Slater
Company facts:
Year founded: 1987
Employees: 350
Revenue growth: approximately 40% annually for past five years ($53.6 million in 2003)
Sometimes entrepreneurship is a calling. At the young age of 22, Cody Slater was studying astrophysics when he came across a gas-monitoring device that he thought could use some improvement. He decided to leave school and soon the world's first solar-powered, wireless gas detection system was the flagship product of his new company - BW Technologies. The company went on to develop multiple product lines including disposable personal detectors for various gases.
BW Technologies designs, manufactures and markets a full line of gas-detection equipment. Poisonous gases are a daily risk for people who work in many industries, including mining, fire rescue work and the oil and gas industry. The company created the world's first wireless, solar-powered gas detector. Other products produced by BW include portable, hand-held instruments, as well as detectors that can be stationed or affixed in buildings.
Quick Delivery to Market
BW Technologies can take a product to market in six to eight months, compared to about 18 months for competitors. "Our competitors did not believe our claims when we first entered the marketplace. They soon heard from their customers that they needed to pay attention," recalls Bryan Bates, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President at BW Technologies. Exceptional manufacturing capabilities fuel this speed. For example, the firm invested in their own surface mount line to reduce the need for outsourcing. Now they can run three iterations of a design in three days, compared to a three-week turnaround from an outside firm. "They don't worry about patents. They can move faster than any of their competitors and stay two steps ahead," explains Bill Croft, the founder of the incubator that first housed the young company. Keeping ahead of the technology curve is part of the culture at BW Technologies.
Formalized sales process
Six years ago, Cody Slater hired Bryan Bates from an American competitor. Bates describes the advanced sales techniques employed by the company: "We use the Harvard Business School model for sales execution: vision, action plan, and accountability." With a network of distributors and large direct sales force, coordination of daily operations, the "major" project pipeline, and performance monitoring is essential. This complex coordination is facilitated by a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. "I could measure our performance every five to ten minutes if I needed to. This is how responsive and connected our field staff are to the support tools provided by our company's infrastructure," explains Bates. Despite the size and sophistication of the company, they have not lost sight of the roots. "Bureaucracy can be the death of a company. Even when you become a sizable entity, you need to maintain a spirit of entrepreneurship and risk-taking throughout the organization."
Evolution of a Business Model
Like all companies with a sales-focused philosophy, BW Technologies is constantly looking to its customers for market direction. "When we focus our outside sales force on the end user with the objective of determining not just their current requirement, but also their future needs, everything naturally falls into place including key distributors," says Bates. The company began to notice that their oil and gas customers were using more and more contractors. They investigated the needs of these new customers for their personal mobile gas detectors, the firm's primary product line. Contractors needed a small, inexpensive unit that was very easy to use. The focus of the product design and introduction was to reduce the cost of ownership. With BW Technologies' disposable monitors, users can eliminate the need for maintenance and calibration at a cost of approximately $0.25 per day.
Growth Strategies for an Established Company
What does a developed company do to continue expanding? BW Technologies turned to the public markets and acquisitions. The company went public in 1997 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The move had the expected results of additional financing, increased company profile, and scrutiny of long-term strategies to maintain growth rate. BW Technologies also acquired their first company, Vulcain Alarme Inc., in 2003. This acquisition introduced the company to new markets in the commercial sector. With the expanded market reach comes the inevitable task of combining two company cultures into a single effective unit.
The Results
BW instruments are used by organizations such as British Petroleum, Shell, Weyerhaeuser, and the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as the cities of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, Toronto and Sydney, Australia. The company employs over 350 people and has offices in Calgary, Alberta, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. The company generated revenues of $53.7 million in 2003 and has realized an annual revenue growth rate of approximately 40% over the pat five years.
Analysis of Company Success Factors
- This market-driven company uses ongoing technology-based innovation and quick time to market as a competitive advantage.
- The company has used distributors to initially break into global markets and then quickly moved to install a regional presence with their own people where the opportunities warranted.
- The company's sales processes are very sophisticated, yet fundamentally simple.
- The company's business model is clear – providing low cost products that reduce total cost of ownership for customers.
- Quick time to market is realized through the company's controlled manufacturing capabilities.