Helsel Lumber

Helsel specializes in Pennsylvania hardwoods and sells lumber cut to size, rough lumber, and finished wood products such as flooring and paneling. At the outset, the Saint Francis SBDC consultants worked with James Burger, Helsel vice president, to determine the best entry point, researching hardwood markets in Canada and several European countries. In addition to finding potential buyers and trade expos, SBDC consultants analyzed the Blue Knob-based company’s website and brochures – key marketing material for establishing credibility with long distance customers – and found a grant to have them redesigned.

Helsel’s overseas sales breakthrough, a $52,000 order from a leading German wood wholesaler, was the result of leads that a 2003 SBDC-sponsored European trade mission generated. In the two years since that first order, orders have increased exponentially: Helsel sold $1.2 million worth of finished Pennsylvania cherry in Germany last year, and Burger expects that figure to climb.

To meet the increased production demands, Helsel added a second shift—and 20 employees. The SBDC trade mission to Europe also led to sales in the U.K. and Spain, which have been growing steadily ever since.

“There’s a logical progression to your choice of international markets,” says Ed Huttenhower, director of the Saint Francis University SBDC. According to Huttenhower, it is usually best to start exporting within this hemisphere and then move to Europe. With this experience, he says, a company may more aptly pursue more distant markets in China and Asia.

Burger was eager to test the Chinese market next. The Saint Francis SBDC consultant referred him to the Saint Vincent College SBDC, which, coincidentally, was organizing a trade mission to several Chinese cities.

“China has really opened up to smaller firms since signing the WTO agreement,” says Jim Kunkel, director of the Saint Vincent SBDC. “The opportunity is there.” The Saint Vincent SBDC has developed a particular expertise in effectively lowering exporting hurdles for companies through in-depth research, culturally attuned marketing, financing assistance, and trade missions.

To make sure the trip would be productive for Helsel, Sha Zhao, the Saint Vincent SBDC’s Mandarin-speaking market analyst, conferred with Burger over a period of months to research potential customers and translate the firm’s promotional material. During the November 2004 mission to four Chinese cities, Zhao gathered promising leads and evaluated potential sales agents. She reviewed all leads with Burger and recommended a sales agent.

Three months later Helsel filled its first order to China with rough lumber valued at $40,000. The firm’s sales have since ballooned and, by the end of 2006, Helsel had shipped more than $2 million in lumber to China.

Helsel Lumber’s success in finding overseas customers, increasing sales, and creating jobs underscores the effectiveness of the Small Business Development Centers. Since its first meeting with the SBDC, Helsel has doubled its workforce and grown annual export sales from zero to nearly $3.5 million. The company has received numerous awards and citations for its achievements, and was named the Small Business Administration’s 2007 Exporter of the Year for the mid-Atlantic region.