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Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)

Finding New Horsepower to Gain More Company Mileage

With the help of: Missouri Enterprise

About

Fentech Co. is a small manufacturing company based in Hermann, MO. With only four employees, the company packs a lot of horsepower, producing crankshaft balancers designed to stabilize high-horsepower engines after modifications are made once vehicles reach a certain mileage, which can happen quite quickly for cars in the racing world. The balancer made by Fentech ensures that the modified or aftermarket engine is working optimally, running smoother, and lasting longer. The company’s prime markets include aftermarket racing engines and industrial engines. Shipping its products to customers around the world, including Australia, New Zealand and across Europe, Fentech also offers general machining work and produces parts for its hydraulic bench press. The company is owned and operated by Jim Davis, President.

The Challenge

Things took a turn for the worst in 2008 when the economy came to a stop. Fentech saw the engine rebuilding market slump -- and faster than a pit crew changes tires, their customer pulled the plug and eliminated several products, including the crankshaft balancer. Jim Davis was now on his own, or he would have been if he had not come across Missouri Enterprise years ago by attending their workshop “Make It in Missouri Nuclear Supply Chain Development Workshop”. “It seemed that they had their finger on the pulse and knew what they were talking about. I reached out and told them I felt we were treading water and needed help. The first thing they told me after looking us up was that we needed to make our presence known online by developing a modern website,” said Jim.
Thanks to Missouri Enterprise, we are now heading in the right direction. They gave us invaluable insight on what we could do to expand, and that website was the best first step towards our road to growth. We look forward to what’s next and feel supported knowing we have a trusted and experienced team at Missouri Enterprise to lean on.
— Jim Davis, Owner/President

MEP's Role

The Missouri Enterprise team worked closely with Jim to learn about the competitive edge Fentech had in the crankshaft balancer market. They researched other competitors and worked towards developing a site that was intuitive, fresh, professional, and really showcased the product. Additionally, Missouri Enterprise engineered the site to enhance Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so that it could truly do what Jim had needed – work on his behalf while he cranked out his crankshaft balancers.

After the company launched its newly enhanced website, sales increased by 25 percent. The company also had to hire a new machinist to keep up with demand. Today, if you search for “crankshaft balancer” online, Fentech is the first name in the results.

Fentech has embraced this technology so much that the company is now leaning on it to sell a new product – software to update the machines bought by previous customers. The company keeps the website content fresh by writing blogs on tips and tricks and is building a community of followers. Jim is also looking towards the future for new opportunities and markets. 

Created June 2, 2020, Updated July 19, 2023