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| M2
Global Enters Strategic Alliance with Virginia Firm
San
Antonio, TX
January 12th, 2001
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M2
Global Solutions
has entered into a strategic alliance with Alexandria,
VA based Global
Marketing and Development (GMD) Solutions Inc.,
an international firm with business consulting expertise
in 35 countries. The two firms signed the
definitive agreement to jointly market their services
in December.
San Antonio based M2 Global, through its M2 Global
Solutions subsidiary, will assist GMD Solutions in
its mission to help its clients effectively manage
component deliveries during the production process,
enhance manufacturing operations and improve productivity.
GMD Solutions is a consultant for U.S. and foreign
corporations embarking on plans to increase their
market share through acquisitions, government and
commercial contracting, technology transfers and licensing
agreements. Approximately 35% of GMD
Solutions' client mix is in aerospace/defense. The
rest is commercial.
M2 Global and GMD Solutions will jointly market their
combined services in the consulting market arena.
M2 Global Solutions has previously marketed its consulting
services through word-of-mouth contacts in the industry.
Local
Ties
Under the M2 Global Inc. umbrella is M2 Global Technology,
which operates a factory in Northwest San Antonio
that custom builds precision components used in transmitting
equipment, satellite links for wireless products,
high-definition television broadcast equipment and
communications systems for the Department of Defense.
Local investment group M2 Global Inc. also owns M2
Global Solutions, a consulting firm for manufacturers.
That is the unit that will work with GMD Solutions
in the consulting arena.
Ronald Carlberg, the executive vice president of GMD
Solutions in Virginia, is the older brother of M2
Global's chairman, Douglas Carlberg, and is a member
of M2 Global's board of directors. But
beyond the family ties, the older Carlberg says that
his brother's expertise in lean manufacturing led
to a formal strategic alliance. Executives
at GMD Solutions forged the alliance with M2 Global,
in part, because of Carlberg's track record in manufacturing
circles.
Douglas Carlberg launched the M2 Global Technology
factory in 1999 after purchasing the local component
assembly operations from Melbourne, FL based Harris
Corp. (The Harris plant still assembles
microwave radio equipment, but contracts out most
of its sub-assembly work to third-party suppliers.)
Carlberg has built a reputation in industry circles
as a man who is proficient in managing efficient manufacturing
plants. In fact, he earned numerous awards
during his eight years at the Harris Corp. plant in
San Antonio as its vice president of operations.
Carlberg formed M2 Global Inc. on the foundation of
manufacturing knowledge he acquired at Harris. But
in order to convert some of that intellectual capital
on production methods into a successful venture, Carlberg
created M2 Global Solutions 2½ years ago. He
started the company with just a handful of employees.
We bring in lean supply chain management (experience
to the table)," Carlberg says.
M2 Global Solutions and GMD Solutions are in the process
of notifying their respective client bases before
marketing their consulting services aggressively worldwide.
M2 Global Solutions serves as a consultant to locally
based Operational Technologies Corp. and also to California
based electronic components contract manufacturer
Sanmina Corp.
"It used to be that companies could rely upon the
domestic market; it was that huge. The
global marketplace is becoming the marketplace," Ronald
Carlberg says.
Track
Record
GMD Solutions employs 10 full-time consultants and
regularly taps between 30 and 40 outside consultants
to work on individual projects on an as-needed basis. GMD
Solution's client base consists of a core group of
some 30 national and international companies including,
Booz, Allen & Hamilton; Kawasaki; Maxwell Technologies;
and United Health Care Inc.
M2 Global Solutions has five full-time consultants
and commitments from 10 individuals who will make
themselves available to work on projects. However,
Douglas Carlberg says that as its case load grows,
additional consultants will be hired or brought in
to work on specific projects.
The two firms do not have a targeted client base for
the manufacturing consulting services. However,
Ronald Carlberg alluded to preliminary talks he is
having with Estee Lauder on some its product lines
that could translate into work for M2 Global Solutions.
The senior Carlberg adds that manufacturing support
was something that his clients had been requesting.
Having the strategic alliance with M2 Global Solutions
only adds to GMD Solutions' capabilities, he says.
Both companies have the option of sub-leasing office
space in either San Antonio or Alexandria, if business
growth dictates.
The world of manufacturing is constantly changing
to adjust to global markets and companies are relying
on the expertise of consultants to help them make
the transition, those in this field say.
Gary Bailey, founder and president of San Antonio-based
competitor BEC Corp. (formerly Bailey Engineering
Consultants), says most of BEC's clients either are
seeking ISO certification in order to compete in the
global market, expanding into new product lines or
reassessing their overall position in the market by
pinpointing ways to cut costs internally.
Another possible reason for the marked increase in
consulting in this sector is from embattled technology
firms whose stock prices are taking a beating on Wall
Street. There are those in the industry
who say that as new companies work to gain market
dominance, they will need the necessary resources
to grow effectively.
©Copyright 2001 American
City Business Journals Inc.
Contact Information
Douglas
F. Carlberg
President / CEO
M2 Global, Inc.
210-561-4800
E-Mail: Doug
Carlberg |
Ronald
L. Carlberg
Executive VP
GMD Solutions, Inc.
703-299-6649
E-Mail: Ronald
Carlberg |
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