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Anchoring a Brighter Future for Small Manufacturing
With the help of: FloridaMakes
About
Fortress Marine Anchors (a d.b.a. of Nav-X, LLC), founded in 1986 and based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, manufactures marine anchors mostly used for pleasure yachts. Two of the company's products are supplied to the U.S. Coast Guard. The company sources aluminum extrusions made to their specifications, then processes these extrusions further with CNC equipment before assembling them into the final product.
The Challenge
Fortress Marine Anchors is a small manufacturer with 14 employees. The company aims to grow by 50% over the next three years, driven by industry demand, but faces challenges in meeting this growth due to operational constraints and the need to find new markets to promote and sell their products. The management team at Fortress Marine Anchors contacted the South Florida Manufacturers’ Association (SFMA), part of the FloridaMakes Network and the MEP National Network, to help identify areas for improvement.
FloridaMakes has helped us beyond anything we could have ever hoped for after we joined SFMA. The local business advisor has helped us to completely turnaround our business which was in dire straits at the beginning of Covid. Over the past three years we have been able to vastly improve our process save an immense amount of costs, retain important customers, and expand worldwide as a direct result of the advice and best practices we have learned from FloridaMakes. We are enthusiastically committed to staying involved and getting more of our personnel trained through FloridaMakes, as well as continuing to take part in their programs.
MEP's Role
Nav-X / Fortress Marine Anchors is a member of the South Florida Manufacturers’ Association and was nominated to participate in the SFMA’s Manufacturer of the Year Awards process. The company received written feedback that outlined areas for improvement, including recommendations to enhance operations, boost efficiencies, and increase the company’s capacity to support new business. As a result of the assessment findings, the regional FloridaMakes Business Advisor also helped the management team develop a strategic plan and roadmap for success. This plan addressed entering new markets, training staff to improve product quality and throughput, and creating a plan to eventually replace some aging equipment identified as a production constraint. Implementing these recommendations led to a 30% increase and retention of sales, a 20% reduction in costs, and the preservation of the entire staff. The company is now on a path toward a brighter and sustainable future.