Polygon Solutions, Inc. is a south Fort Myers-based company that specializes in making cutting-edge manufacturing technology, specifically a revolutionary rotary broach tool holder, and also forward-thinking rotary broaching tools of different shapes and sizes for different industrial applications. Rotary broaching tools are used to create precision forms in precision machined products, like bone screws to repair body parts, explains Peter Bagwell, a partner and product engineer at the company.
“The product we make is state of the art,” says Bagwell. “Our primary clients are in aerospace, medical, and the automotive aftermarket industry.”
As part of the company’s growth, partners Bagwell, Jim Cox, and Steve Derbin wanted to expand Polygon’s reach into international markets. As fate would have it, Bagwell attended a local meeting of the Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association, where the guest speaker from Enterprise Florida spoke about a program designed to assist small businesses reach international markets. Bagwell followed up with the speaker and was connected with Kevin Brady, an International Trade Specialist with the Florida SBDC at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).
Brady visited with Polygon’s owners and prepared a comprehensive Export Marketing Plan—one that surpassed the owners’ expectations.
“He did an awesome job,” says Bagwell. “He did a presentation of the plan…and we [the partners] were all sitting down with our jaws dropped — and that’s not an exaggeration. It did blow us away.”
Bagwell explains that Brady’s plan resides in a well-referenced binder, and that in the back, there is a step-by-step step summary of what the company needs to do in order to be successful.
“A step-by-step plan like this puts a business like ours at ease,” explains Bagwell.
