Background

Mr Rahman Jr looked from his office window down to the factory floor. Sparks from the welding and grinding machines were flying everywhere, lighting the factory up like fireworks on the fourth of July. The place buzzed with workers hammering, punching, welding, painting, assembling and packaging finished parking lifts to be shipped to Hong Kong. ‘It was not always like this,’ he thought. ‘I remember not too long ago when I was the one building the lifts from start to finish. Now we can crank out ten lifts in a day. I just wish we could sell that many.’ Demand had slowed and Mr Rahman Jr expressed deep concern about the survival of his company and the need to establish a permanent network of distributors overseas.

A humble start

Mr Habib Rahman Jr was the President of Parking Creators International (PCI). Located near Los Angeles, California, the company had production facilities that occupied 1860 square metres of factory space, in which it created its main product: hydraulically operated automobile lifts. Founded by his father, Mr Rahman Sr, five years earlier, under the name of Halabi Welding, the company had begun as a simple welding operation that produced railings, fences and metal cuttings.