Case Study

Wood Ventures

With orders backed up and irritated customers breathing down its neck, Wood Ventures had its back up against a wall. Business was going well for the Grass Valley, California company, which manufactures vents for heating and air conditioning ducts, but it was having a hard time attracting workers and attaining a permit to expand its manufacturing plant. Grass Valley is in a high tech-heavy region where workers expect wages on par with what a technology company can afford, and Wood Ventures couldn’t afford to pay comparable wages and stay competitive. In order to meet demand and increase market share for the company’s standard line of products, as well its custom items for building contractors, Wood Ventures needed to expand its plant, but quickly realized that significant environmental and political challenges would make the process of securing a permit counter-productive. Company president, John Hendrikson heard of Import Traders. He decided to explore foreign options, and ITI found a way for the company to make its standard line of products in China, solving both its labor and its site issues.

Hendrickson reflects on the severity of the predicament his company was in and is grateful to ITI for helping Wood Ventures adapt. He believes foreign outsourcing saved his company and his employees are grateful outsourcing saved jobs.

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