Conax Technologies
Accelerated Product Development Saves Customer Account
Robert Fox, PresidentThe results exceeded my expectations. It shows that our team can meet the demands of a significant technical challenge when innovative management techniques are used.
The Company
Conax Technologies develops and manufactures custom-designed, high-performance temperature sensors and pressure/vacuum sealing assemblies. The company serves applications in power generation, semiconductor manufacture, petroleum and chemical processing, aerospace, nuclear, steel, pharmaceutical, food processing and general industries.
The Challenge
A major customer informed Conax that a competitor’s sensor had a 70% longer life in their highly-corrosive manufacturing process. The customer informed Conax that it had 60 to 90 days to develop an equivalent product or risk losing all their business. Conax realized that its current product development process would not meet the incredibly short deadline. They sought assistance from Insyte Consulting, which had experience in managing fast development of technology products.
Our Solution
A diverse team from manufacturing, engineering and technical sales was formed and a conference room set aside as a ‘war room’. The team realized they needed external leadership and that they might be uncomfortable with the necessary deviations from their development process. To drive fast turnaround, a cadence of frequent, short meetings was established to brainstorm ideas, test them, and report on the outcomes. The Insyte consultant pushed thinking beyond the company’s comfort zone, contributed unique ideas, and challenged fall backs to the Company’s traditional slower practices. Solution development was further accelerated by exploring multiple, technical paths.
