O c to b e r 7 ,1 99 8 • G 13
(Tljc s p o rtia n i» OObBcruer’s
jJ inoKi^y
Easiness
Plastics Development Inc.
PD I is an in je c tio n m o ld
in g c o m p a n y ru n by D ia n n a
R o g e rs . H er c o m p a n y d e
s ig n s a n d b u ild s m o ld s an d
m a n u f a c tu r in g c e lls .
H ow d id y o u r b u s in e s s
g e t s ta r te d ?
T h e b u s i n e s s b e g a n in
1955 by m y p a r e n t s , B ob
an d Z o la B r e i t e n s t e i n . T he
w o rk w as d o n e in th e g a
ra g e an d q u ic k ly g rew from
a p a r t- ti m e h o b b y in to a
f u ll- tim e o p e r a tio n . P la s
tic s D e v e lo p m e n t In c ., w as
fo u n d e d in J a n u a ry o f 1973
as an e x te n s io n o f th e to o l
a n d d ie o p e r a tio n .
W h at w e re s o m e o f th e
c h a lle n g e s y o u h a d f a c e d
th a t w ere u n iq u e to b e in g
a w om an - o w n e d b u s i
n ess?
S e c u r in g f in a n c in g fo r a
n ew f a c i l i t y w o u ld h a v e
b e e n th e o n ly tim e I f e lt
any b ia s as a w o m a n -o w n e d
b u s in e s s . H o w e v e r, in a ll
f a ir n e s s , a m an m ay h a v e
fa c e d th e sam e c h a lle n g e s .
W h at w e re y o u r
c o m p a n y ’s g r o w th c h a l
le n g e s ?
A g ro w in g c o m p a n y fa c e s
Dianna Rogers
m any d i f f i c u l t c h a lle n g e s . It
m u st m ak e s u re it h a s d e v e l
o p e d th e i n f r a s t r u c t u r e
w ith in its o r g a n iz a t i o n to
su p p o rt
th e
p ro je c te d
g ro w th . S o m e k ey e le m e n ts
in c lu d e a g o o d p la n fo r th e
fo llo w in g :
* P ro c e sse s and P ro c e
d u re s
* In f o r m a tio n S y s te m s
* A C o m p re h e n s iv e Q u a l
ity P ro g ra m
* T eam b a s e d e n v iro n m e n t
W h at c o u ld y o u h a v e
d o n e d i f f e r e n tl y to e x p a n d
y o u r b u s in e s s ?
O u r s tr a te g y to d e v e lo p
o u r s a le s a n d m a rk e tin g w as
d e la y e d u n til we r e lo c a te d
in to o u r new f a c ility in D e
c e m b e r, 1997. In r e tr o s p e c t,
we s h o u ld h a v e c o n tin u e d to
a n a ly z e o u r p o te n tia l m a r
k e t n ic h e a n d e x p lo re how
w e w e re g o in g to a g g r e s
s iv e ly p u rs u e new b u s in e s s .
In o u r in d u s tr y , te c h n o l
o g y is c h a n g in g so r a p id ly
th a t p ro d u c t life c y c le s a re
v e ry s h o rt. S a le s on a s p e
c if ic p ro d u c t tra il o f f in v o l
u m e, a n d it is m a n d a to r y
new p r o je c ts are ra m p in g up
b e h in d th e e x is tin g p r o je c t
in a tim e ly m a n n e r. A n a g
g re s s iv e s a le s p ro g ra m is a
c r it i c a l e le m e n t to s u p p o rt
e x p a n s io n o f o u r b u s in e s s .
W h at tr e n d s a re d e v e l
o p in g in y o u r in d u s tr y ?
O ur in d u s tr y is fa c e d w ith
th e c h a lle n g e o f c o m p e tin g
w ith o f f s h o r e m a n u f a c tu r
in g . A ny p r o je c t o f s iz e is
b e i n g q u o t e d in M e x ic o ,
C a n a d a o r S in g a p o re . As a
r e s u lt o f N A F T A , th e c u s
to m e rs w ith la r g e r v o lu m e s
a n d la b o r in te n s iv e p ro d u c ts
a n d a s s e m b lie s a re r e l o c a t
ing th e ir m a n u fa c tu rin g f a
c ilitie s .
T r a d itio n a l lo c a l la r g e r
m a n u fa c tu re rs are now
lo o k in g at m i d - s i z e c u s
to m ers fo r s a le s . T h e s e are
the s a le s th a t fa ll in o u r
m a rk e tin g n ic h e . T h is i n
clu d es c u s to m e rs w ho n eed
to i n c l u d e s h o r t r u n s ,
kan b an a n d p o in t o f u s e ,
and e x c e lle n t c u s to m e r s e r
vice.
A n y a d v ic e to o th e r
m in o r ity - o w n e d b u s i
n esses?
Q uality c u sto m e r s e rv ic e
and b e in g p r o - a c t iv e in
s u p p ly in g c u s to m e r s a re
key in g r e d ie n ts . It is ex
tr e m e ly i m p o r t a n t th a t
your c u sto m e r know s they
can d e p e n d on you and you
truly ca re a b o u t th e ir c o m
pany and its p r o d u c ts .
These a re o p p o r tu n itie s ,
and a lth o u g h we fa c e s ig
n ifica n t c h a lle n g e s as m i
n o r ity -o w n e d b u s in e s s e s
the bottom lin e is how you
treat y o u r c u sto m er. This
w ill m ake a d iffe r e n c e in
how you s u c c e e d in y o u r
business.
K M H D 8 9 .1 FM
Mt. Hood Community College • Gresham
F re e w a y B lu e s
B p .m , to B p .m .
R h a p s o d y In B lu e s
B p . m . to I B p . m .
B lu e s P a la c e
I B p , m . to 1 a .m .
Reflections
Excell For Business Owners, Presidents & CEOs
The Excell program creates
groups made up o f business own
ers, presidents and CEOs o f small
and mid-sized companies who come
together to share and improve man
agement skills. It provides the struc
ture, process and confidential, non
competitive setting for its member
executives to meet regularly and
develop strong, trust based rela
tionships. They receive CEO-level
training and serve as each other’s
advisors to identify and resolve
their most pressing business issues.
Help comes through peer group
meetings, speakers, one to one con
sultations, resource sharing and
networking.
* Excell groups are intensely
focused and its members commit
ted to improvement o f their busi
nesses as well as those o f their
fellow members.
* Each group is managed by a
professional leader specifically se
lected and trained for the program
and supported by a proven and
growing organization. All are in
dependent business owners famil
iar with the demands o f business
management and able to quickly
understand the m em bers’ busi
nesses and issues. They are com-
mitted to succeeding by helping
others succeed.
♦ Excell provides top quality ex
ecutive development resources. Re
gional experts are emphasized.
They form a strong and readily
available resource base for the
members.
For more information to join
Excell, con tact Kirby Fox at
503.245.0950
O.B. Hill, Operations Manager
Phone 288-6942
Walnut Park Retail Center
446 N.E. Killingsworth
Portland, OR 97211
Saluting Minority Enterprise Development
“SEI makes me
believe I can
be somebody. »
.Z celebration of
^JUinaritg b u s in e s s IlTeek
Self Enhancement, Inc.
( \ '■
would like to salute the
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Income Restrictions Apply
Maximum Annual Income Ranges From
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Apply Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
3920 N. Kerby Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97227-1255
(503)249-1721
fax (503) 249-1955
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4829 NE MLK BlvdTWygant
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503)288-2923
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