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View Full Version : Things seem to be picking up.



James Jaragosky
05-04-2010, 2:12 PM
No real money yet. however I seem to be getting a larger number of inquires than normal, even some large contract quotes.
Seems like the economy is slowly getting better.
How are things for you?
Has anyone else noticed more tire kickers lately?
Jim J.

Michael Kowalczyk
05-04-2010, 2:16 PM
This April was my best April in three years. Hope both of our quotes turn into $$$ and repeat clients.

Viktor Voroncov
05-04-2010, 2:18 PM
Absolute disaster :( Full stock of different materials with sales may be 10% from April 2008 level :( Gazoline price hit new record :( Taxes in 2010 also hit new record :(

Gary Hair
05-04-2010, 3:00 PM
April was my 2nd best month EVER! It was just shy of my best and a long ways above 3rd. I need an average May to match what I did last year through June 30.

I may be a bit of an outlier as far as growth goes, and it's partly because I'm still in that "new business growth phase". I have grown by double digits every year since I started, almost 4 years ago.

If this is what it's like for me in a recession, I can't wait for the next few years, I won't be able to keep up.

Gary

David Fairfield
05-04-2010, 3:35 PM
Pretty slow here, keeping busy though.

Scott Shepherd
05-04-2010, 3:47 PM
Keep selling those hotdogs Gary ;)

Tim Bateson
05-04-2010, 4:50 PM
Haven't fired my laser in a couple weeks.

Dan Ashlin
05-04-2010, 4:53 PM
April was my first official month open and, with all my start-up costs, I broke even pretty much. As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty good. I was expecting to be contemplating jumping off a bridge at this point lol

Dan Hill
05-04-2010, 7:18 PM
I'm up by over 500% over last April and sales are continuing very strong. I have volume orders already confirmed out as far as September.

Doug Griffith
05-04-2010, 9:34 PM
Not laser related, but I've never been busier. Same goes for the thermoforming company I work with. The problem is now with sheet suppliers. Since they've cut back production, extruding is now done on demand with longer lead times. Some sheet is almost unobtanium. Right now, amazingly enough, virgin white ABS is very hard to get.

Mark Ross
05-18-2010, 7:58 AM
I had to (gasp!) work Saturday. Putting in a whole bunch of new artwork into Corel Draw. Yup...things are picking up, ten new patterns, several more thousand $$$ a month. Wish it was all profit.

Funny thing is that we are seeing a pick in in business overall. Some of it, well, we just outlasted our competition, and when they went belly up, we got back some customers that left us over a difference of a few pennies.

Now the problem...is there enough time in the day? Good problem to have, come to work in the morning and next thing you know you look up and it is time to leave.

Liesl Dexheimer
05-18-2010, 8:43 AM
Seems like feast or famine here. We had one week where we were sooo busy! Everyone had a deadline of Friday for some reason. Now things have quieted back down again. I wish it were more consistant.

Bill Cunningham
05-18-2010, 10:09 PM
Other than the yellow pages I don't advertise, and I have as much work as I can possibly handle. That's mostly due to Google I guess. In any 'Canadian' laser search, if I'm not at the top, I'm only a few down, and that's how everyone finds me.. I turn down virtually all local advertising offers, having too much work can give you as many problems as too little, so I try to keep a happy balance, and a ten day or less turn-around.

Doug Griffith
05-18-2010, 10:36 PM
It's not laser work (product engineering & programming) but I have so much work right now it is next to impossible for me to get it all done working 12 hours a day / 7 days a week. I blame it on the economy. Normally, I schedule jobs around each other with a small amount of overlap. Since jobs are fewer and farther between, I've been taking on anything that comes my way expecting the typical high percentage to fall through. That hasn't been the case and I am suffering badly in a very good way.

Mark Ross
05-22-2010, 9:37 AM
Second week in a row I am in work on Saturday. That has NOT happened in well over a decade (believe me I ain't complaining).

Two other factories on our street our working today! One makes buses and the other makes firetrucks. That means overtime...however, it is probably OT because they don't want to hire back some laid off people also, so it ain't all good.

Oh well...time to go fire up the Epilog...