Challenge

Azores is a manufacturing of photolithography steppers for the flat panel display market. The company was unique in that it was a smaller, North American-based manufacturer competing with large, multinational corporations based primarily in Japan. However, Azores and its competition were facing the same dilemma facing many capital equipment manufacturers – the shift of production to China. Azores had a distinct advantage over its competitors in terms of the basic function of its machine (stepping versus roll-to-roll) that made it better suited for the exploding market for handheld devices, such as smartphones.

Solution

Ward Hill Marketing enjoyed a multi-year relationship with Azores that resulted in very close relationships with the small team of executives and product experts who were passionate about their products. Some of the early efforts included a revision to the logo that made it easier to use in various applications. A rich library of technical whitepapers and detailed product literature allowed Azores to quickly explain the merits of its approach and how it could quantify the throughput advantages customers could achieve. Toward the latter stages of our relationship, Azores began to feel pricing pressure from the Chinese manufacturers. Instead of competing on price, WHM helped Azores formulate a quantification of its total cost of ownership, including maintenance, repairs, part replacement, and even energy consumption. This information was targeted toward senior managers with adept English skills. For production engineers who were using the tool, a series of CAD-based animations were developed to convey critical machine function using non-verbal communications.

Result

Azores remains a highly-competitive player in the flat panel display market. Its client roster includes some of the biggest brand names, such as LG and Samsung, as well as large contract manufacturers, such as Tianma in China. WHM keeps regular contact with Azores’ president, who continues to rely heavily on the work achieved together over the course of the relationship.