Avionics News March 2014 - 40

TRI-STAR TECHNOLOGIES
Continued from page 39

Staying Competitive
Tri-Star is part of Carlisle Companies Inc., a global
organization that designs, manufactures and markets
products serving a broad range of markets, including
aerospace and defense electronics, health care, energy,
agriculture, mining and construction. The company
maintains a sales and customer service organization in
the U.S., and service networks on six continents.
Tri-Star Technologies' U.S. and worldwide sales and
service locations have tripled in the past five years. The
reason may be a combination of factors, according to
Kerner.
"We get things done quickly," Kerner said. "We can
effectively respond to fast-changing regulations and
market forces. Our people are attuned to the needs of
the avionics industry, able to develop the products it
demands, and get them quickly to the marketplace. For
most of our history, we have had the right products at the
right time, and delivered them on time. The success of
the M-100L FG-TT Wire Marker also has been key to our
recent accelerated growth. Plus, our products are known
for reliability, performance and value."
Despite the growth, Tri-Star and its customers still
face intense competition, bringing increased pressure
on profit margins. The weakened economy has led
manufacturers to look for ways of trimming costs,
including bringing more efficient processes and systems
into their production.
"More than ever before, customers want reasonably
priced cost-effective products that help them compete in
a business climate of continually tightening margins,"
Kerner explained. "At the same time, they are looking for
higher operating speeds and faster production rates with
less downtime. Also, increased regulation and scrutiny
bring a need for even greater reliability and confidence
in the products customers select. So they need to obtain
maximum performance, economy and value for money
at all levels. And they want products that will help them
achieve these goals."
Operating in a highly competitive business
environment means that innovation comes quickly, and
today's dominant products can soon be replaced by
tomorrow's newcomers. To stay ahead of the market, Tri40

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Laser-marked shrink tubing is checked for quality and clarity
of marking.

Star Technologies strives to launch at least one new and
thoroughly tested product every two years.
"To help us accomplish this, we have assembled
a team that includes some of the best minds in the
business, including several Ph.D.s among our experienced
permanent staff," Kerner said. "Our scientists, engineers
and technicians are encouraged to look long and hard
down the road, trying to anticipate where the industry is
heading and where it might be in the not-so-distant future.
"It is a collaborative enterprise that helps us forecast
customers' needs and then develops the products to meet
them. We have a particularly stable work force with a
high retention rate. This generates continuity, and an
accumulation of knowledge and experience that benefits
the company and its customers."
As part of the Carlisle group, Tri-Star Technologies
can capitalize on the economies of scale and deep
resources of its major multinational parent corporation.
Yet, its lean organization is able to adapt swiftly to
changing market forces and customer needs.
"We do not believe in 'me too' products," Kerner
said. "It would not be in customers' interests, or ours, to
introduce anything that is not better than what is already
out there." q
Avionics News March 2014

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