Adapting to Thrive

Adapting to Survive Thrive

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER HAD, YOU MUST BE WILLING TO DO SOMETHING YOU'VE NEVER DONE. — Thomas Jefferson

McCarthy Fabrication Manufactures a New Opportunity — and a Partnership

By Davia Moss

At some point during the initial phases of metal hand sanitizing stations. All of the of the COVID-19 pandemic stay-atcompany’s employees continued to remain home orders, sales came to a halt at gainfully employed. McCarthy Fabricators LLC, a small custom residential and commercial metal It didn’t take long to discover a new fabrication company in Sanford. challenge, though. How would the company

“My partner, Elliott Ramirez, and I demand exceeded its capacity to fabricate started brainstorming on ideas to keep the enough hand sanitizer stations? business going,” CEO Charles McCarthy keep up with production when customer said. “We were in a tough spot, faced with McCarthy and Ramirez decided to explore the very real possibility of having to lay off a new opportunity. Although the buyer’s our employees.” search engine was the solution that kept their business going, they wondered how

This scenario, unfortunately, became they could keep up with demand while also all too familiar to many Central Florida supporting local commerce and its positive business owners during this extreme time. financial impact in Central Florida. As if health concerns weren’t enough, business leaders have had to find ways to keep as many of their people as possible gainfully employed while also answering the evolving needs of customers. McCarthy Fabrication reached out to other businesses in Central Florida and began partnering with a larger metal fabrication company, Ernest Products, to help keep up with production demand and customers’

“We had to make a choice and act on it: expectation of timely delivery. A new lay off our employees or start fabricating metal hand sanitation stations and get a partnership was born out of necessity in the face of a global crisis. new revenue stream from sales on a buyer’s search engine,” McCarthy said. “After all, we felt assured in knowing that this wasn’t a shot-in-the-dark risk. We did our research, and experts were saying that now is the wrong time to stop marketing … that we That partnership fit in with a goal of the Orlando Economic Partnership to connect large and small businesses to make both more sustainable in a down economy that has seen unemployment spike. “As larger companies move forward, we need needed to market differently to meet the to proactively connect them with scaling changing needs of the customer.” companies that can meet their needs while So the team went to work drafting the design for the hand sanitizer stands and then fabricating them in anticipation that the product would sell. creating a win-win for both companies and the job needs of the community,” said Tim Guiliani, CEO of the Orlando Economic Partnership. “We must also tell our region’s story of innovation to avail our startups of “About two weeks later, we were amazed to see that sales had taken the resources and opportunities within and outside Central Florida.” off!” McCarthy said. When the owners of McCarthy Fabrication A New Challenge were asked what words of wisdom they would share based on this experience, McCarthy

Six weeks into making this strategic move, said this: “I can say firsthand that challenge McCarthy Fabrication had sold thousands also brings new ways to succeed.” ■

Davia Moss is vice president of operations and client services at Next Horizon, an IT and digital marketing agency that provides holistic technology solutions for businesses looking to improve sales, increase agility and optimize productivity. www.nexthorizon.net