CHICAGO (July 24, 3 p.m. EDT) — Norman L. Monks does not need a marketing analyst to tell him where to position his company for future growth. He knows exactly where his Hardy Group Co. is headed.
"We make knives," said Monks, president of the group that includes PDK Pelletizing Knives and D&S Granulating Knives. "Our strategy and direction is to focus on quality knives."
That business plan has doubled Hardy´s sales during the past 10 years, although Monks declines to give exact sales numbers. Growth comes from internal expansions and acquisitions, he said.
Hardy Group, based in Worcester, Mass., got its start nearly 150 years ago with Hardy Leather Knives. It moved into the plastics industry 14 years ago with the purchase of D&S of Auburn, Mass.
The granulating specialists produced a few pelletizing knives, but it was not a core business for them, Monks said. Hardy bought PDK of Warminster, Penn., in 1999 to take on a full-time pelletizing operation.
Hardy Group, with about 100 employees spread among the member businesses, also has a manufacturing site in Liverpool, England, for the European market.