Conceptualizing a New Product of an Existing Business
Sharon Poole
BUS/475
June 23, 2015
Tom Vincent

Conceptualizing a New Product of an Existing Business
Introduction
The Harsco Corporation is a company that believes that the future of any company rest in it capability to innovate. The Harsco Corporation has been around for more than 160 years providing its clients with products and services that have helped them keep up with the changing world. At Harsco, we understand that you are only as good as the last development that you have made, so within that concept, Harsco has committed to invest major funding into developing new products that will take it into the future.
Harsco started out in 1853 as the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company (Harsco, 2015). Due to the growth of the railway system, in the United States during the 1800s, it was the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company that in effect created rail cars. For more than thirty years this was done on its two-and-a-half acre manufacturing facility (Harsco, 2015). Although, the company’s main line of business was in construction of railroad cars, they later extended into making oil tankers, refrigerated rail cars, steam engines and boilers (Harsco, 2015). Just like the Harsco Corporation of today, innovation was the driving force of the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company that created some of the world’s first refrigerated rail cars (Harsco, 2015). Even with all of the tools in its arsenal of products, bad times came to the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company. During the financial collapse of 1857, the Civil War and a number of ruinous fires, the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company was forced to close in 1889 (Harsco, 2015).
Out of the rubble of the closing, of the Harrisburg Car Manufacturing Company, rose the Harrisburg Pipe and Pipe Bending Company. It was launched by one of the sons of the car company’s founder and two friends. They took a small amount of cash and with the help of their innovated capabilities, created a lucrative venture. These three used methods that they learned from college chemistry classes to continuously form steel pipe, and they eventually proved the viability of chilled rail transport (Harsco, 2015). Manufacturing grew as they applied this new knowledge to ice-making equipment, shipping containers for ammonia and many other products (Harsco, 2015). It is because to these advances, that the Harrisburg Pipe and Pipe Bending Company sustained continuous growth over the next century, helping them to increase production and develop new business. They ventured into gas shipping, within the lucrative carbon dioxide and oxygen canisters market, to make a new mark in the world (Harsco, 2015). It was the Harrisburg Pipe and Pipe Bending Company steel coils that were used to cool the first indoor ice rink in America in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Prosperity followed the Harrisburg Pipe and Pipe Bending Company, and on February 27, 1935 they became the Harrisburg Steel Corporation, a transformation that showcased its varied portfolio of cast iron and steel products for industry (Harsco, 2015). Because of this success, Harrisburg Steel was able to make its first annual dividend payment, which is a stretch that continues unbroken even today. During World War II, the employment roll of the company grew to over 5,000 people winning many awards from the Army and Navy for reliable, high-volume manufacturing. During the 1950’s, Harrisburg Steel Corporation went on an intentional course of industrial change. They expanded its scope beyond manufacturing metalcrafts to incorporate different new areas of business, from internal metal recovery at their steel mills to high-pressure gas cylinders (Harsco, 2015).
In its ever changing mode to exceed more in business, and to its growth, Harrisburg Steel, on January 28, 1956, became The Harsco Corporation. Through a multitude of acquisitions, over five decades, Harsco moved itself into new businesses and markets throughout the world. The Harsco Corporation united all its business within three business groups: Rail, Industrial and Metal & Minerals (Harsco, 2015). Harsco is now a major player in all of these sectors that operates 170 locations in 35 countries around the world.
The new product that has everyone at the Harsco and their investors jumping for joy is the new; four-way power support system for their Air-X-Changers. In the past, they were comfortable with the standard electrical plug and run power system. Unfortunately, if there is a power outage, the loss of this critical system to your manufacturing environment could cost a company production, product loss, and clients. Harsco new four-way power system offers a company dependable power from three sources, the electrical grid, solar, gasoline and natural gas.
The primary use of power comes from a central substation powered by the national grid. It is where everyone usually gets their power here and around the world. The negatives of this system are that if the primary goes down from the power company, the business is down until power is restored. Also, with the way people are hacking computer systems, an external system puts a business at the hands of threats from hackers. Harsco has gotten around this problem with its new four-way power support system with an internal control system. The control system could be a PLC (Process Logical Controller) or a Delta V system. These systems can be run internally at the site and monitored by site technicians. This will help remove the possibility of outside intervention by hackers.
Next, if there is a loss of power from the main grid, the system control system would have a battery backup that would allow it to keep running its program to make the adjustment to an alternative power source. Its command program would go down a series of steps, looking for the next source of power, and then execute the command to switch over to this power source to keep the cooling going. By being able to switch from getting power from the grid to using gasoline, natural gas, or using solar energy, will open up a variety of options for a company to expand into the future. For a company, that wishing to lessen their environmental footprint, we will give them the ability to do so. This way they can move from fossil fuels to renewable ones. The system can run automatically or it can be put in manual control giving the user the choice of power usage.
As always Harsco has twenty-four hour support for any system that they install, and since they build them, there will always be parts on hand for repairs and support teams to fix them. By being on the cusp of new ideas, this keeps Harsco at the forefront of innovation. It is said that innovation is an ‘initial commercialization of an invention by producing and selling a new product, service, or process’ (Pearce, p. 400, 2014). Harsco has continuously strived to be one step ahead of their competition. Their business system is as such:
Acquisitions & Divestitures: Execution of a portfolio-based strategy in support of Harsco global growth objectives (Harsco, 2015).
Talent Development: Structured approach throughout the employee life cycle emphasizing individual growth and achievement in alignment with business strategy (Harsco, 2015).
Continuous Improvement: The relentless pursuit of improvement in all aspects of our business (Harsco, 2015).
Environmental, Health & Safety: Disciplined programs and procedures that align with our organizational commitment to Zero Harm to people and planet (Harsco, 2015).
Strategic Planning: Rigorous and consistent processes to identify opportunities for growth and competitive advantage (Harsco, 2015).
Harsco wants companies to lower the amounts of emissions that they are releasing to the atmosphere, and there is development to remove the use of gasoline as a power supply and replace it with wind energy.
Harsco values are:
Integrity: We demonstrate an uncompromising commitment to moral and ethical principles. We act ethically and in the interest of customers we serve. We treat others with dignity and respect, and value honesty above all else (Harsco, 2015).
Passion for Winning: We are passionate about winning through creating exceptional value for our employees, customers, and shareholders. Excellence is not an act, but a habit (Harsco, 2015).
Employee Care: We are committed to safe, appealing work environments, market-competitive benefits programs and investment in personal development. We must treat our people as we would like to be treated ourselves, and we must attract and retain the very best talent throughout our organization (Harsco, 2015).
Respect: We respect all individuals and their contributions. Harsco will not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind. Our employees have a right to safe, respectful workplace. Our management has the mandate to provide it (Harsco, 2015).
Satisfy the Customer: We are in the relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction by listening to the customers’ needs, and consistently delivering value that exceeds their expectations (Harsco, 2015).
Harsco has for years followed these guiding principles and because of it, their profits, growth, and customer loyalty has never swayed. This new product will show customers and our competition that Harsco is committed to continuous innovation and as environmental stewards. To continue this process they named F. Nicholas Grasberger, III as CEO, and he has continued to keep Harsco moving in the right direction (Bloomberg, 2015). Harsco has always been a company that likes to move in new directions. They have done this with an excellent management staff, quality people, and innovative products. With Harsco leading the way, the future of the world’s environment is beginning to look brighter.

References

Bloomberg, (2015). Harsco Corp. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=HSC

Harsco. (2015). Harsco: About Us. Retrieved from Harsco Annual Report: http://www.harsco.com/about-us/history.aspx

Pearce, J. A. (2013). Strategic Management: Planning for domestic and global competition (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.