With the help of: New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP)
About
Centrotherm Eco Systems is a manufacturer of venting systems and accessories for heating professionals. Its main product is the InnoFlue Polypropylene Vent Systems. A subsidiary of German company Centrotec Sustainable A.G., Centrotherm came to Albany, New York, in 2008 and has been growing since then. Now with a 47,800-square-foot facility in Albany, the manufacturer has more than 75 employees.
The Challenge
Toward the end of 2019, Centrotherm was preparing to launch a new product in Canada: Air Excellent, a dedicated system for heat recovery ventilation (HRV) and energy recovery ventilation (ERV) that supports air quality control for residential and commercial spaces. Air Excellent had been introduced in Europe about eight years earlier, and markets in Canada appeared ripe for the system that helps homes breathe by pulling in fresh air and removing stale air. Centrotherm wanted to open a window of growth possibilities and contacted the Center for Economic Growth’s Business Growth Solutions (BGS) team, part of the New York MEP and the MEP National Network™, for help.
The Center for Economic Growth has been a reliable partner in helping Centrotherm manufacture our products more efficiently and sell them to customers in an industry where long-term reliability is paramount. Concept Connect Ventures’ Jose Palomino was very easy to work with, very patient, and willing to walk you through the ValueProp Accelerator process. While he helped us launch our Air Excellent in Canada, we are now applying the lessons he gave us on multiple persona value propositions to all new product releases throughout North America.
— Joel Dzekciorius, CEO, Centrotherm Eco Systems, LLC
MEP’s Role
CEG engaged with a third-party partner, Jose Palomino of Concept Connect Ventures to conduct a 90-day sprint to strategize sales messaging, and target customer response. Leveraging National Grid Manufacturing Productivity Program NGMPP funds to do so, Palomino assisted the Centrotherm team by honing the messaging and sharpening their sales tools. Following the completion of this project, Centrotherm engaged with CEG and Concept Connect again on growth initiatives focused on revenue strategy and continuous improvement of sales strategy.
One very important lesson that Centrotherm learned from the ValueProp Accelerator project related to value propositions for multiple types of ideal customers, or personas. Traditionally, Centrotherm had put all the information that would appeal to sales representatives, wholesalers, builders, and contractors in a single document, but they’d have to dig through it to learn what value a product brings to them. Palomino encouraged Centrotherm to tailor individual value propositions for each persona. The ValueProp Accelerator was one of several projects that CEG helped Centrotherm undertake between 2018 and 2021 and impacts on all projects were reported cumulatively as surveyed in Q4-2021 by NIST.