Arborite Analysis

Arborite

Executive Summary

The need to increase profits and revenues has forced many establishments to evaluate and redefine the way they carry out strategies within the organization and the manner in which they deal with external factors affecting the company. The rationale being that an organization needs to constantly grow and evolve if it has to be competitive in a constantly changing market. Leaders and managers who head organizations should have the vision to realize the changes required and implement these changes in an appropriate and timely fashion.

Mr. Nutter of Arborite is faced with difficult choices. He has to decide among these choices in order to generate a positive return on assets from two manufacturing factories in Canada. There is a demand for the product—high pressure laminates (HPL) in the market. Three major companies control the market. Arborite has 34% of the total Canadian market. Based on the information provided in the case study, many alternatives can be implemented to improve company profits in the market. Increasing the sales force and developing a robust and efficient information system in the organization is important. There is increasing need for every department and worker within the organization to be knowledgeable and aware of the decisions made within and without that organization. It would also be beneficial for the company to market the product aggressively to architects, designers and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in order to increase the sales of product.

Upgrading the facility and introducing the air-floatation resin adding method to the paper bonding process can help the company save money. Statistical fluctuations do exist in any operation. The ability to smoothen out the variance can be achieved only within a certain range of the fluctuations. Labor and employee requirement is an important intrinsic factor that affects the internal environment in an organization and all effort should be made to improve it.

Chapter 1: Introduction

High-pressure laminates and its competitors:

Arborite manufactures high-pressure laminates (HPL) that are used in the furniture industry for countertops, cabinetry and furniture. The company was one of the leaders in the in market for HPL for a long time. But the market share has reduced in recent times. The market for HPL has many competitors. In addition, Low-pressure laminates (LPL), vinyl, veneers, paper and foil are some of the major competitors of this product. When compared to alternatives however, HPL has some major advantages in terms of its characteristics, properties and utilities. The high durability of the product on horizontal and vertical surfaces, good appearance and variety of product line and the ability to repair damages makes this product superior