NO MORE TRADE SHOWS THIS YEAR? THEN LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES
With IDEA 01 just a somewhat distant memory (unless you're still processing all those orders) and INDEX 02 not scheduled until next April in Geneva, nonwovens companies are stuck without a highly visible industry event that will allow them to spread the word. What's a small nonwovens company to do? Easy. More of the same, just differently.
1. Do it yourself. What's a trade show except an opportunity to meet people, albeit all in one place. Since there is no such meeting place on the horizon, do it yourself. Plan your own small-scale in-house trade show and bring your customers in. Maybe at the end of the year, and either in your headquarters or plant or somewhere where a little golf or sporting clays shooting isn't out of the question.
2. Think vertical. With IDEA serving as the industry-wide show for 2001, now look for individual industry shows, such as those for geotextiles, apparel, footwear, medical products, home furnishings, and the like. INDA helps out with its own Filtration 2001 in Chicago in December (see below).
3. Show In Print. Without the need to budget for those trade show expenses, you should have some funds freed up for some advertising. The trade magazines, flush from good show issues in March but looking for new sources of revenue for the rest of the fiscal year, are more than willing to work with smaller advertisers to gain their loyalty. Don't be afraid to ask for "aggressive" ad rates.
4. Follow Up. We trust you've already followed up all of your IDEA 01 leads, but even if you have, do it again. Put together a highly targeted direct mail campaign to your A, B and C lists. And then do it again a month later. If printing and postage costs scare you off, reach out electronically.

YOU WANT MEETINGS? INDA HAS YOUR MEETINGS
Just because there is no major nonwovens trade show on the horizon still doesn't mean INDA isn't thinking of how to get its members together, as well as how to keep up the education process. Here's a rundown on some of the planned INDA meetings coming up in the next few months.

• Nonwovens Training Courses. These are ideal for sending your new employees to for a few days to learn the basics of the nonwovens business. The next two are scheduled for July 10-12 and October 9-12 in Raleigh, NC.
• Second Annual International Nonwovens Technical Conference. Set for Sept. 5-7 in Baltimore, this is THE place for the nonwovens technical community to gather. It is the second joint meeting of INDA and TAPPI, so everyone who is everyone in the technical community will be there.
• Filtration 2001. The previously mentioned gathering of the filtration industry will take place December 4-6 in Chicago. Market information in addition to technical papers make it a well-spent three days in the Windy City.
• In early 2002, INDA will sponsor Needlepunch 2002, March 19-21 in Greenville, SC. The specialized needling community uses this regular get-together to touch base and hear the latest technical developments.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY IS?
It's 10 a.m. Do you know where your money is? If you don't, you should make sure you find it before you start your machines up today. Statistics show that by far the number one reason that small businesses have for closing their doors for good is lack of capital. The second reason, inextricably linked to the first, is poor financial planning. The "five Ps" of business - Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance - are made even more essential for smaller businesses with little or no margin for error.

Here are some tips to get you thinking on proper planning, in this case preparing a cash flow statement. (As with all financial documents, have your cash flow statement prepared or at least reviewed by a reputable accountant. )

* Avoid an unrealistically quick ramp-up of sales. Most companies experience a gradual increase in sales, even on a monthly basis. A sudden unexplained spike will standout and not look like an honest appraisal of your business.
* Include effects of seasonality and business cycles in all projections. If you primarily make geotextiles, your business is going to be impacted by the weather. Account for it. If you're a consultant, you might experience higher sales late in the year when companies are trying to use up their annual funds, or at the beginning of the year after budgets are approved.
* Do not fall in to the common trap of underestimating cash flow needs. This can lead to undercapitalization, which means your funds will prove inadequate for meeting your obligations. In other words, you're going to run out of money.
* Avoid large income or expense categories that are lumped together without backup information about the components.

MAKE SURE YOU'RE LISTED
One of the great resources in the nonwovens industry is the INDA International Nonwovens Directory. It has been published continuously since 1970 and just last year it went electronic. That means it is updated continuously. For smaller INDA members that also means you should make sure we have your most recent information, since the online directory is used as a reference by almost everyone in the business. Contact Cindy Garcia at cgarcia@inda.org to make sure you're on the web with INDA or to get a demo.

FINANCING AND COMPUTERS ARE MAJOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS
In 1993, the major concerns of small business owners were health care and business conditions. Today, those concerns have migrated to competition from international, and/or Internet companies; quality and availability of labor; financing and interest rates; and government regulations and red tape. That's what the recently released Federal Reserve Board's 1998 Survey of Small Business Finances (an update from a similar report in 1993) reported. "The financial landscape changed dramatically for small businesses between the surveys," said Alicia Robb, an economist in the Division of Research and Statistics. Major changes have been the relaxation of restrictions on interstate branching and banking, use of credit scoring, and expansion of the Internet.

Among the other findings: Small businesses with nonwhite or Hispanic majority owners grew from 12% in the 1993 survey to 15% in 1998. Women-owned companies increased from 21% to 25%.

INDA WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS
Every month in this INDA Small Business e-Report we are going to take the opportunity to welcome companies that have recently joined the association. Since this is our first effort at this in 2001, here's a listing of all new members since the beginning of the year. Welcome!

Action Interlining Co. (Hong Kong) Ltd.; Atex, Inc.; Bayer Corporation; Branova Ltd.; Crompton; Exxon Chemical Company; General Electric Silicones; GPMI Company; Harvard University; Houloubi Group; Ilapak, Inc.; J-Fibers, Inc.; Leggett & Platt, Inc.; Lessco, Inc.; M&M Machinery Company; Malcam, Ltd.; National Wiper Alliance; Reckitt Benckiser; Schober USA; Schwartz Manufacturing; University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth; Wedco, Inc.; Woodbridge Foam.

ITW: A SMALL INDA COMPANY DOING IT BIG
While at IDEA 01 in Miami Beach in March we ran across a number of smaller INDA member companies that are "doing it big." ITW Dynatec, which designs, manufactures and sells cold and hot melt adhesive application equipment for the nonwovens industry, was one of them. Here's a look at how the company, founded in 1992 and located in Hendersonville, TN, does it.

Key Management Personnel: Valerie Lapinski, President; Dan Bourget, General Manager; Scott Mercer, VP-Sales; Steve Lessley, Sales & Marketing Manager

Unique Challenges: One of our unique challenges of being a small company competing against larger competitors is name recognition. A small company needs to establish the credibility that it can contribute to the profitability of its prospects and customers. ITW Dynatec faced that challenge by doing what it has always done best - developing product and technology, in this case its Laminated Plate Technology (LPT). LPT is the single application technology that can do every application on a nonwovens manufacturing line. LPT technology provides complete control of the fluid stream, which gives engineering the ability to specifically design the mixture of large or small fluid strands. This is a complete change in the design process, which allows the industry to step outside of the box and into new, patented technology that will exclusively meet product design needs.

Key Competitive Advantage: ITW's advantage as a smaller company is the ability of its entire management group to stay close to the customer. The company can devote its entire resource base to rapidly satisfying their needs. On the flip side, a disadvantage as a smaller company is creating credibility to qualify new processes and technology.

The many challenges and successes of being a smaller company have allowed ITW Dynatec to focus directly on these needs. One of the challenges was to develop its Dynafiber UFD "LPT" technology into a multi-application hot melt adhesive spray application method. ITW succeeded with its LPT "Random Fiber" technology for diaper construction or lamination and its LPT "Omega" technology for "Lycra" or elastic direct strand coating, as well as Omega for lamination.

Advice To Other Smaller Companies: Simply focus on your customer's product requirements and needs, as well as develop technologies that give a value to the customer's bottom line. Technologies that add value such as savings, higher line efficiencies or speed and less maintenance are the ones that will win out over the long term no matter what the size of your company.

THAT'S ALL, FOLKS
Now take some time to figure out the remainder of your 2001 meeting schedule and to put together some ideas on how to market yourself to an industry just dying to buy from you if only you could reach them with your story. We'll see you next on June 15. In the meantime, we would love to hear from you, whether you have a thought you want to share with the hundreds of INDA members reading this newsletter, or if you want to tell others how you are a small company existing in a big world Just email us at mjacobsen@inda.org and we'll pass it along.

See you next time. Enjoy.

Michael Jacobsen
Editor
INDA Small Business e-Report