When the consumer products giant Proctor and Gamble acquired Gillette, it believed the personal care company could help accelerate their market access and reach as many customers as it could. The combined companies would benefit each other in significant ways
P&G had strong sales in some emerging markets. Gillette boasted specific strengths in others. Gillette had in-house specialists serving attractive niches. P&G’s product line leadership wanted success in those niches too. Both desired to help customers through more streamlined procurement and billing. Working together, they have successfully tapped emerging markets and have quickly launched new products.
The same type of dynamic is at work regarding the July 2021 acquisition of Laird Performance Materials (LPM) by DuPont. The leadership team is already witnessing strong cooperation, collaboration, and spirited optimism from key leaders of both organizations.
Here are few examples:
Teams are linking arms at joint trade shows covering China, Europe, and North America. The Interconnect Solutions (ICS) businesses including Laird offered an attractive display at last July’s CPCA show in Shanghai. During last November’s auto interiors expo in Europe, displayed were steering wheel sensors used for autonomous vehicle “hands-on hands-off driving” (HOD). Visitors to the DuPont booth learned how Laird’s Tex Sense™ conductive fabric sensors work in collaboration with Intexar™ electronic film—an offering from DuPont’s Microcircuit Materials (MCM), part of the Mobility & Materials business—in the manufacturing of automobile steering wheels.
At productronica Munich in November 2021, ICS businesses including LPM showcased how DuPont has made the global promise of 5G a reality thanks to advanced circuit materials created specifically for reliable high-speed, high frequency data transmission.
Elsewhere, other ICS and Laird R&F Products teams-- each specifically charged with building sales in military/aerospace markets--are advancing plans to mutually promote products and capabilities. Customers and prospects will be building their knowledge of DuPont’s combined capabilities through cross-promotional postings on websites and LinkedIn, and possible joint videos or news announcements.
Webinars also are important sources of marketing program-spawned sales leads. At a late 2021 joint live stream webinar on what the future holds for 5G technology in automotive markets, experts from throughout DuPont and ICS businesses including Laird were featured. The live stream focused on technology trends and how solutions offered by Laird and sister ICS businesses are jointly resolving complex and growing challenges.
Additional integration efforts focus more on operations. For instance, Laird’s Santa Clara office was located just minutes from Sunnyvale’s DuPont Innovation Center. Why split our teams serving crucial customers in Silicon Valley? Both teams saw benefits in transferring Laird’s Santa Clara regional office operations into available Innovation Center office space.
There’s every indication DuPont and its customers are benefitting from an increasingly united team of technical and business experts. Each team member realizes there’s genuine strength in combining forces to better serve customers. Each is committed to fulfilling that goal.