by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Jacksonville surgical implant firm Walter Lorenz Surgical Inc. has increased its foreign sales by 80 percent over the last three years. CEO Joel Pratt attributes that run of success to the company’s original export: its sales staff.
Strictly a domestic seller until 1996, Lorenz started taking a hard look overseas as the U.S. economy turned sour in 2000. But the firm didn’t just send its products — mostly surgical bone implants — it sent its business know-how.
Lorenz coached its foreign distributors on the most effective way to market and sell its products. The firm sent American surgeons familiar with the Lorenz line abroad to answer technical questions and opened offices in the Netherlands and Australia.
“In 2001 we had maybe four or five people focused on international sales,” said Pratt. “I knew there was a real opportunity for growth there. We had a high-quality product. We just had to focus on distributor development.”
That focus paid off with international sales nearly doubling over the past three years. On Monday, Lorenz was recognized by Cornerstone, the economic development branch of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, as Jacksonville’s International Trader of the Year.
By building its sales infrastructure overseas, Lorenz has been able to dramatically increase sales with a modest sales staff working out of the firm’s Jacksonville headquarters. When Pratt thanked his international sales department during the Cornerstone luncheon, it didn’t take him long. He only had to recognize three people: Robert Vosburgh, vice president of international sales; Carol Carter, director of sales; and Brenda Delgado, assistant international sales manager.
The firm’s flagship product is a line of rigid fixation implants, which attach to bones to stabilize them while they heal. The implants are used in reconstructive surgery and can be used to help correct genetic deformations.
And Lorenz has carved out a niche even within that specialized segment of the implant market. Its line of implants for the face and head are the products primarily driving its export sales, said Pratt.
Even with the recent surge in sales, Pratt sees plenty of room for growth.
“We still have a relatively small share of the market,” said Pratt. “If we continue to develop our distributors with an emphasis on a quality product line, we should see those numbers continue to grow.”