Holt Sublimation Printing Continues the Race to Innovation

Holt Sublimation Printing in Burlington has been chasing new ideas since it was born as a hosiery mill 62 years ago. The race continues, with two new products in the pipeline as a result of a process for finding and developing the most marketable idea, and turning it into a profitable product.

The process is called Eureka! Winning Ways® and uses a systematic approach to find marketable ideas with the best possible prospect.

“It was a way to get focused,” said Frank Holt, president. “It’s a collaborative, quantitative and qualitative way to set priorities.” Their new products are still in development, but Holt believes at least one of them will be a winner later this year.

Going after new ideas is in the Holt DNA – literally. Holt’s grandfather founded the business as Holt Hosiery in 1947, but soon switched to manufacturing packaging for the burgeoning textile industry in Burlington at that time. In the 1970s, Holt’s father turned to a new printing technique, sublimation, that embeds an image in polyester fabrics or polyester coated materials like wood, metal, or glass.

Race for New Products

Since then, Holt Sublimation Printing has been stretching the process to involve more products. Decorative flags, pillows, t-shirts, signs and countertops are made with sublimation printing. “We’ve never been content not to take it farther,” Holt said. “Our shortcoming has been that we’ve been unfocused, with new ideas going off in 20 different directions.”

Then one day about a year ago IES specialist Barrett Walker dropped by Holt Sublimation Printing. He met with Wayne Farrell, vice president for manufacturing, and told him what IES could do to improve productivity and efficiency, but Farrell paid particular attention when he heard about Eureka! Maybe this would be the answer to their focus problem.

While Holt agreed to try Eureka! based on Farrell’s recommendation, he admits that he dreaded the first meeting in the process. But within the first few minutes, the group became enthused. “We saw it as a more focused way for new product development,” he said. “I noticed very quickly the IES program brought good questions immediately that got everybody’s interest … It was (only) 15 minutes into it and we were rolling with energy and good ideas.”

All Together

Collaboration is part of the culture with the 100 employees at Holt Sublimation Printing, so the 15 individuals involved in Eureka! embraced the concept of all working together for the success of the company. They learned the Eureka! vocabulary: to come up with new products with an “overt benefit, real reason to believe and dramatic difference.”

With “idea engineering” guidance from IES Eureka! specialists Gene Fornaro and Joe Sauve, they came up with 50 potential new products. With each person championing their own idea, the group narrowed the list to four ideas. And that was the end of one day.

Next in the Eureka! process is Merwyn research, a computer program that analyzed the four ideas to objectively select those most likely to succeed. That’s how Holt Sublimation Printing came to have the two products at the head of the pipeline.

“I like the accountability,” Holt said. Each idea had a champion. And the champion was vested in making their idea work. “They felt honored to carry the torch forward, to make it work.”

Trailblazer

The Eureka! process doesn’t stop there. Holt Sublimation Printing is in Trailblazer development, when the Eureka! coaches help the group to “fail fast, fail cheap” as the ideas become products. For this reason, Holt believes one of the two ideas will make it; but it will take least 18 months to know for sure. The other hasn’t found a market.

“No sales yet,” Holt said, “but we’ve rekindled customer relationships.” One idea has run into manufacturing obstacles. Obviously, these new ideas are proprietary. He appreciates the energy and enthusiasm of the Eureka! coaches, who check in regularly to see how the new products are progressing.

The Eureka! process has provided the company with a disciplined approach to new product development. Holt currently has a prioritized list of 10 products they are reviewing in a “reloading” effort.

“There’s been no complaining,” Holt said. “Everybody enjoyed it. They know more what’s going on. They know that new ideas and growth are a priority.”