Experienced manufacturing specialist joins SBDC consulting team
BY KATIE MULDOON
Manufacturing specialist Duane Reiff is the newest member of an expanded business consulting team at the Florida Small Business Development Center at Indian River State College. Reiff’s specialization will be manufacturing with a concentration on growth and resources for trade industries within the Treasure Coast marketplace.
Duane Reiff – Florida SBDC at IRSC Manufacturing Specialist
Reiff is an experienced international business leader with more than 25 years of experience in the manufacturing and service markets across multiple industries. During his years in manufacturing, he has traveled to more than 45 countries, allowing him to experience and gain an understanding of the complex global marketplace.
He is familiar with the challenges and opportunities in a sales organization and how to reach the desired goals. As an outsourced vice president of sales, he is a results-oriented sales leader who is highly collaborative and has a track record of coaching, motivating and leading sales teams to produce extraordinary results.
Reiff plans to meet with regional small- to medium-sized manufacturing operations to inform and connect them to business assistance resources available from the FSBDC at IRSC. He also will provide consulting on sales, marketing, business growth and expansion.
“I am excited to bring value to the region’s manufacturing community through my sales and marketing experience, all the resources we have here at the Florida SBDC and the various expertise of our team,” Reiff says.
Hosted by IRSC, the Florida SBDC provides aspiring and existing small businesses in Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties with no-cost consulting, low-cost training and access to business data and research resources.
Last year, the center provided more than 6,070 consulting hours to more than 700 Treasure Coast businesses, resulting in approximately $14 million in capital access and more than $90 million in government contracting.
“With the growth of manufacturing along the Treasure Coast and the impact this industry sector will have on our market place, the Florida SBDC at IRSC believed it was important to add a manufacturing specialist to support and complement our other business assistance offerings,” regional director Tom Kindred says.
With nearly 1,000 locations across the country, SBDCs are in every community providing local businesses and entrepreneurs with the resources needed to succeed. They provide measurable economic results — in 2020, SBDCs helped generate 91,767 jobs, $7 billion in sales growth, $6 billion in capital investments, and helped start 20,374 new businesses.
Celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, the Florida SBDC Network is the state’s principal provider of small business assistance. What once began as a one-man operation at the University of West Florida overseeing two centers in Northwest Florida has grown to a vibrant statewide partnership of more than 40 centers and more than 250 employees.
The network provides tools, training and expertise to thousands of Florida’s small businesses each year. It continues to work with small businesses to help them pivot and adjust business strategies to navigate the new normal.
For more information, contact the center at fsbdc@irsc.edu or call 772.336.6285.
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