Wind Technology Case

Introduction Founded in 1981, Wind Technologies (WT) has been a supplier of many different varieties of weather related radar and instrumentation. In 1986 the company focused its production on wind profiling radar systems that measure wind and atmospheric conditions. Management of Wind Technologies felt as though this consolidation would position the company as an industry leader in the future in a market that would have little competition. This consolidation was mainly due to being purchased by Vaitra, a high technology European firm. Vaitra made it possible for Wind Technologies to focus its operations mainly due to its large financial support. Since commercial sales were less than stellar since the buyout Vaitra’s financial support has diminished. These products were successful with groups such as NASA, public sector bodies, & universities accounting for nearly 90% of Wind technologies business. Responsibilities for these sales were placed on top management and a team of engineers and this sales team accounted for $105,000 of its annual salaries were charged to a direct selling expense. Wind Technologies customized its products to each individual customer to fit its needs. Costs for its products could range anywhere from $400,000 to $5 million dollars. During 1991 however, manager Kevin Cage realized that his lack of sales was due to a vastly changing market and a far less need for Wind Technologies weather radar products. WT realized that it only had from 9-12 months to implement a new strategy. To compensate for the lack of sales Wind Technologies decided to spin off the component parts used in the wind profiles into high voltage power supplies (HVPS). Situation Analysis and Problem Identification
Situational Analysis The main problem that Wind Technology (WT) faces is trying to develop a product to combat recent sales until radar markets were revived without financial support from its owners. WT HVPS systems can fall into anyone of three