J & J Wire Adapts to Changing Business Climate and Thrives
J & J Wire Adapts to Changing Business Climate and Thrives
All businesses face adversity. It’s how the leaders deal with adversity that shapes a company. J&J Wire, Inc., a Beatrice manufacturing company, has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years.
Growth Stage
J&J Wire Inc. dominated the giftware business in the 80s and 90s designing, manufacturing and shipping high quality wire and wrought iron decor to stores across the country. At one point, J & J Wire had its products in almost all gift shops coast to coast.
J&J Wire had trouble keeping up with demand. The company mass produced its own products and custom products for large companies such as Yankee Candle and Longaberger. Hiring more employees and purchasing new equipment was the norm.
Decline Stage
By the mid-1990s, foreign competitors began replicating J&J Wire products and selling them for half the price. That could have been the end of many jobs and a Nebraska business.
Born Again
John and his staff adapted their wire-working expertise to create other products. Manufacturing companies realized J&J Wire’s great reputation in wire forming and metal fabrication and began asking for help creating fan and mower guards, wire racks and parts for center pivot systems.
“We had to recreate ourselves, and we are still in the process,” John said.
Today, John and his team are on the verge of major growth as they add staff and new equipment to keep up with demand for manufacturing orders.
“We are in a position to grow immensely, and we are also of a mindset to grow immensely,” John said. “As we speak, we are growing with new and exciting equipment being delivered. It will put us in the position to be very competitive throughout the Midwest with manufacturers of wire products. In the fall, we will continue our growth at J&J Wire with additional new equipment expanding our capability even more.”
J&J Wire continues to create wire and wrought iron gift products, such as baskets, wine holders magazine racks and plant holders. But 80 percent of the company’s work now involves direct selling to other manufacturers.
John is looking to hire three to four more employees right now and several others in the near future to keep up with this demand, which he said is fueled by the current manufacturing economy.
“Right now, manufacturing is enjoying much better days that it had in the not too distant past,” he said.
Marketing Today
While he focuses on growing his staff and business, John has also had to change marketing methods several times during the course of his business. In the 80s and early 90s, J&J Wire sent sales reps on the road to meet with gift store owners or to attend gift markets. In the late 90s, he needed a website to compete. Today, having a great website is the norm for any business and learning SEO to show up in searches is becoming more important.
“We are positioning our sites in this process of marketing J&J Wire” John said.
For more information about J&J Wire (gifts) and J&J Wire Inc. Custom Manufacturing, please visit: http://jjwireinc.com (wholesale) http:// jnjwire.com (retail) http://jjwirecustom.com (OEM or Manufacturing)
