FOTOfAX
BREVARD PLANT
PHOTO PRODUCTS DEPARTMENT
VOL. 13, NO. 1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1980
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•o
BITING THE SILVER BULLET: Costs, CATs, Competition and Challenge
Every employee is sent a copy of
Family Safety Magazine. On page 22 of
the winter 1979 edition were these head
lines: IS THIS X-RAY NECESSARY?
Similar articles have appeared in national
magazines and local newspapers with in
creasing frequency.
Most of us are keenly aware of the
increasing prices of oil, and we know
our product is made on a petrochemically
based polyester film.
During the recent holidays, there were
several interesting commercials on tele
vision. The featured product was a CAT
scanner, and it was said to be far more
versatile than conventional x-ray tech
niques, with the added advantage of
being able to take low cost photographs
of the TV screen in place of expensive
radiographs.
The most significant factor in the
cost of our product is the price of silver,
and this price has gone up almost beyond
belief. Ads in the newspapers offer
"1200% profit on pre-1964 silver coins!",
but the smart money is still in the piggy
bank as, at the time of this article, the
bullion value of a single silver dollar hit
$36.
The price of oil, the cost of silver;
radiation concerns and new technology
— considered all together, the future of
jobs in the x-ray film business sounds a
bit shaky.
In January, the plant played host to
a three-day meeting of the top managers
of X-Ray Marketing. There are the
people who know all there is to know
about the x-ray business. After that
meeting, there was a chance to ask the
questions which come with the daily
news: How does the rising cost of health
care affect my job? Is the price of silver
killing the x-ray business? Do we have
any real job security?
We asked Austin Smith, national sales
manager: "What is the future for X-Ray
film?" He told us this:
"The x-ray market as we see it today
is a very healthy market. There's nothing
we can see in the immediate future which
is going to replace the product you make
at Brevard.
"But the market is in a period of
transition. Concern about the cost of
health care is making changes in what
was a rather undisciplined industry.
Pressure from the public is being felt
throughout the health care field. Hospi
tals which were spending very freely for
new equipment are shopping more care
fully; there's a more active concern for
cost and quality. Our customers are
asking 'What can we do more efficiently
and still maintain high quality health
care?' The new cost-consciousness af
fects the market, but the demand for
radiographic products remains high —
and competition is keen."
Bob Duke addressed the issue of ma
terial costs. "Increases in the prices of
raw materials for manufacture affect all
makers equally," he said. "The cost of
silver is the same to users everywhere, so
anyone who makes x-ray film has the
same cost problems you have."
Bob, who is sales manager for the
Northeast region, talked about the new
technologies: "CAT scanners and con
ventional x-rays are complementary, not
competitive. New imaging techniques -
xerography, ultrasound and such don't
replace radiographs, either. We just don't
see them as an immediate threat to our
market.
"The critical factor for x-ray film
makers is quality. Someone made the
statement at yesterday's meeting, 'This
must be a good business; everyone's
after it!' And there's a message in that:
lots of companies make x-ray film. All
are good, some are better. The only
thing we can sell is quality; consistent,
superior quality. If you don't have qual
ity in today's market, someone else is
going to do most of the business."
"Who buys quality?", we asked.
"Would you say as many as half the
buyers would rather spend more for the
top quality product?"
Austin Smith responded, "It's more
than that. Seventy percent, maybe
more, will buy quality rather than price.
But don't be misled by the numbers.
The 70% are not all our customers, and
IT'S LIKE THIS: John Golden
gets Austin Smith's view of today's
X-Ray film market.
the other 30% aren't using poor film.
The price buyers are using film which is
darned good most of the time. The only
way to stay in business with the big
market is to sell film which is the best,
all the time. And that's where your
answers are.
"The Brevard Plant has long enjoyed
a reputation for quality, and that's your
job security. As long as your product is
absolutely the best which can be made,
we don't see anything that's going to
put you out of business; but in today's
market, if quality slips, we're all in
serious trouble."
It was a good place to close the dis
cussion. The other members of the group
agreed. According to the men who know
the market best, our future is in our own
hands. Our job security depends, not
on silver, oil or new devices — but on
the people who come through the gate
to make the best x-ray film, nothing less.
"Quality is the key to our futures,"
said John Golden afterward. "But it
doesn't stand alone. We must maintain
that level of quality while we contain
costs with a keen eye; we have to make
the best product at the lowest possible
cost and meet all the production sche
dules every time. The bright future is
there only if we approach it with hard,
diligent work."
Address Correction Requested
Box 267, Brevard, N. C. 28712
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
PAID
Brevard, N.C.
Permit #66
■ OWNBEY
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~T N C 2876d