Hernon Manufacturing, Jill McLaughlin, Business Consulting

Hernon Manufacturing

With the assistance of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (SBDC at UCF) and its no-cost Growth Acceleration services, Hernon Manufacturing, the innovator in adhesive and sealing technologies, continues to expand rapidly. The Company recently announced that it had won a large new order from a leading defense contractor and had entered into a new distribution agreement for Florida. Within the last three months, Hernon has received over one million dollars in contracts to deliver high speed application and inspection equipment to some of the world’s largest defense contractors. To facilitate this rapid growth, Hernon has also leased additional manufacturing space while it builds and expands into a 100,000 square-foot plant by year end 2013. The company credits the assistance of the SBDC at UCF’s Growth Acceleration Consultants for helping to make the company’s growth possible.

The SBDC at UCF’s Growth Acceleration services offers companies consulting assistance aimed at developing sustainable growth strategies in key business areas, including marketing and business development, cash flow management, strategic planning, market/industry research, as well as capital access. In the case of Hernon, the SBDC’s Growth Acceleration Consultants performed an in-depth business health assessment and, based upon it, identified ways to optimize cash flow and better position the company to take full advantage of its growth opportunities. They then worked closely with Hernon’s management team and assisted in implementing their recommendations.

“The SBDC at UCF’s Growth Acceleration services have been an important ingredient in putting Hernon’s expansion on the fast track,” said Harry Arnon, President of Hernon Manufacturing. “We had aggressive growth goals to begin with and, thanks to the help of the SBDC’s growth acceleration consultants, have met and surpassed them. We look forward to continuing that rapid expansion in 2012 with the help of the SBDC as we look to hire new employees, expand our manufacturing facilities and introduce new technologies.”