RE: World Economy vs US RP Market

From: Brock Hinzmann (bhinzmann@sric.sri.com)
Date: Mon Jan 18 1999 - 23:24:20 EET


Joe's is the best response I have seen thus far in this string. I have
covered quite a range of technologies over the past twenty years and I have
seen every single one of them go through the same phases that RP is going
through. I'm not telling anyone not to worry (was it Andy Grove that
wrote: Only the Paranoid Survive; Scott McNealy: there are only two kinds of
computer companies, the quick and the dead; Bill Gates...?), but the RP
companies that are able to solve the end-user's needs in a cost-effective way
will have plenty of opportunities. The world is too full of needs and
wants for that not to happen (the argument over the distinction between needs
and wants duly noted).

Why plan for total economic collapse? If it happens, we're all in the
soup anyway, including the survivalists. They don't have enough bullets to
shoot us all.

Brock Hinzmann

Joe Allison wrote:
>I agree with many that the US economy is not immune to the world crisis
>going on right now. I still find it unbelievable that we have not
>experienced a major down turn here yet. I think we are just waiting for
a
>couple of international banks to fail. But I believe the difficulties
of
>some of the RP bureaus in the US is completely disconnected.
>
>First, Plynetics is an isolated incident that has nothing to do with the
>market place. They got caught up in the venture capital game and got
>burned. I won't elaborate on this any further.
>
>As for the so called down turn in the market place, this is a simple
lesson
>in business. I have heard several business consultants/experts predict
this
>over the last several years. In a mature market for other types of
custom
>manufacturing, gross margins are somewhere in the area of 45%. In a
start
>up industry, these margins can be much higher due to the lack of
>competition. For the past several years, for our industry, these have
>probably been as high as 55-75%.
>
>What we are seeing in the RP market is the equivalent of a painful
>adolescence. Gross margins are below the 55% mark with more room to
drop.
>This will drive some of the smaller and less efficient service providers
out
>of the business, but you will see growth in the overall industry.
Unless,
>of course, the entire world economy collapses.
>
>OK. I better go get some work done now.
>
>
>Joe Allison
>Solid Concepts Inc.
>28231 Avenue Crocker #10
>Valencia, CA 91355
>Tel: (805) 257-9300
>Fax: (805) 257-9311
>Email: Joe@SolidConcepts.com

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