Title:                                Primex Plastics International Expansion into Scotland

Subject Area:              International Business

Region:                         United States and United Kingdom

Industry:                      Manufacturing, Plastics & Chemicals

Company:                    Primex Plastics & ICC Industries

Decision Makers:     ICC President Blaise Sarcone

Challenge:                    In this case, we analyzed Primex Plastics, a large American plastics and chemicals manufacturer, and compared the markets of Thailand and Scotland as potential locations for the company’s international expansion. Primex is committed to sustainability, both in the economic impact of its product line, as well as its business practices. For the company to continue to grow into the 21^st century, it must look beyond the U.S. Both markets had appealing characteristics, but we settled on Scotland mainly due to cultural similarity with the U.S., the maturity of its markets, the company’s existing presence and relationships in the U.K. and the organization’s current potential for cross-cultural management. This case provides a valuable framework for ICC President Blaise Sarcone and the Farber family as they evaluate Primex’s potential for international growth.

Personal Capital Investment:

Ben Farber: This case report was very relevant for Ben, who, as a third-generation owner, will be intimately involved in the future of both Primex Plastics and ICC Industries. The question of expansion is ongoing at Primex, and by becoming more knowledgeable about the company, researching markets and learning about the planning and implementation of international corporate growth, Ben further equipped himself to make judgments and decisions regarding the company’s direction.

Yalinda Hoyer: This project gave Yalinda experience on how to help a company expand internationally by market analyzation.

Ying Liu: The experience Ying gained from this project is very helpful to her profession and future work direction. This is a typical international trade project. During Ying’s participation in this project, she did a lot of research and learned how to analyze this research to make decisions. This is also her first contact with an international trade project, and she has learned a lot.

Lisa Witschel: This project was key for Lisa in helping her gain experience providing international solutions for a company committed to sustainability.

Social Capital Investment:

Ben: Over the course of several inquisitive conversations, Ben deepened his relationship with ICC President Blaise Sarcone, who serves as the main link between Primex’s ownership and management.  His knowledge of Primex and the frameworks of international expansion will be invaluable for his family’s future projects.

Yalinda: Yalinda did not have a personal connection to the company. She was able to build her connection to the company by researching its background and history, its operations, and compiling a plan for the company to expand to consumers in other markets.

Ying: By analyzing the company’s existing information, Ying established contact with the company. In addition, the law of the industry and the status quo of the market can be summarized through the investigation of other companies of the same type and the comparison with Primex.

Lisa: While Lisa did not have a personal connection to the company prior to this project, she developed a connection with them by diving deep into understanding how consumers in different parts of the world use plastic products, and how that would be leveraged into an opportunity for Primex.

Professional Capital Investment:

Ben: Ben applied course concepts in developing Primex’s global strategy and market entry modes and developed a strategic plan for their implementation. He served as the group’s main source of knowledge for the inner workings of the company, which in turn strengthened his own knowledge of Primex’s operational structure, supply chain and manufacturing processes.

Yalinda: Yalinda’s approach to the challenge revolved around research of company information and the global plastics market. The company’s background made it easier to identify its capabilities, resources, and operations. The market research helped in identifying the competitive advantage, country data, and other potential competitors. Yalinda was able to provide a recommendation for where the company should expand into and how to do so.

Ying: In the process of researching different aspects of Thailand’s plastic industry, basic national conditions and laws, Ying combined and analyzed Thailand’s international market and plastics market. This provides a professional reference for later decision-making.

Lisa: Lisa approached the company’s challenge by seeking a great deal of secondary data about the plastics industry, particularly in the U.K., and the competitors of the area to understand Primex’s larger opportunity. This added relevance and value to the project by helping to great educated, sound recommendations for Primex’s potential expansion.

Capitals’ Utilization:

Ben: The process of writing this case report was an invaluable experience for Ben, as he prepares to assume a more active role in Primex’s leadership and management in the next 5-10 years. The frameworks and principles applied to Primex in this case report can be transferred and applied to other companies under the ICC umbrella. Though this group met exclusively online, this project was good experience in team strategy and decision making, as well as the division of labor on a big project.

Yalinda: received hands-on experience of what it would be like to work in a team and create a global marketing strategy. This project required a large amount of effort in teamwork and research. Yalinda learned the importance of team communication, time management, and enhanced her research and organizational skills.

Ying: This experience helped Ying learn how to face similar projects and deal with similar problems in future work. The process of this project was difficult, but Ying also learned a lot in the process of overcoming it. In addition to project-related content, Ying also learned how to work effectively in teams. And for the current global pandemic, how to complete a team project online.

Lisa: Lisa plans to use this experience to continue learning about the international challenges and opportunity of her own industry. Working in BevAlc, international laws are always changing and impacting the industry. This project helped bring those challenges and opportunities to light in a way she can leverage day to day in her marketing role.