PeopleFlo Transitions from a Pump Manufacturer to a Design and Innovation Firm To Help Manufacturers Increase Organic Growth
PeopleFlo was founded in 2004 to design and manufacture EnviroGear, a new line of zero-leak pumps for customers in the chemical market. PeopleFlo’s initial strategy was based on a conviction: a holistic approach to product development, built by combining a innovative product design with a cutting-edge “lean” production system, would create unprecedented value. As a result, PeopleFlo set out to develop a new industrial pump concurrently with a new production system to create a fully integrated product line. The objective was not only to create superior value but also to demonstrate a new manufacturing model for a sustainable competitive advantage.
By 2010, PeopleFlo’s business model was demonstrating outstanding potential. Strategic customers like DuPont, PPG, Cargill and Chevron confirmed EnviroGear’s value proposition. PeopleFlo’s proprietary One-Product-Flow Production System demonstrated the ability to drive down costs by nearly 50% and drop standard lead times on engineered products from 40 days to 10 days. Most importantly, despite relatively low sales volume, gross margins topped 50% and operating income reached 35%.
The opportunity to unlock even greater value by scaling this product line faster became apparent and led to a review of strategic alternatives and a decision to find a strategic buyer for the EnviroGear product line.
The plan is for PeopleFlo to continue to operate as a privately held corporation. Our employees, board members, shareholders and strategic partners remain unchanged. However, PeopleFlo will now focus on what we are passionate about and what we do best – creating the value through innovative product development combined with innovative new production process development. PeopleFlo will spinoff these new product lines to industry OEM’s who will capture the value through commercialization.
The plan is to combine PeopleFlo’s innovation strengths with an industry OEM’s global marketing strengths and resources to leverage financial performance through faster sales growth.