Closing the Gap Between Vision and Reality: A 2025 IEC Content Preview

As EBITDA Growth Systems (EGS) Principals, we are really looking forward to presenting on the title of this article at the NFFS 2025 Industry Executive Conference in New Orleans at the end of this month. To set the tone for the presentation, we would like to have NFFS business owners think about three things.

First, the nonferrous foundry industry is a tough industry. And over the past five years, a perfect storm of events has conspired to make it even more difficult. The good news is that there is consensus amongst those who study the industry, that things may be looking up. They are expecting the industry to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) at 5.29% - going from $233B in 2024 to $355B in 2032. The growth will be driven by a rising demand for nonferrous metals in space, aerospace, electric vehicles, smart buildings, etc.

Second, NFFS business owners should be contemplating a vision for how their company is going to increase their profits in a more favorable economic climate. The textbook definition of profit is – “a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something”. From our vantage point, profit is so much more – it is the reward that one should expect for taking on an entrepreneurial risk. The business owner should expect to generate a profit each and every month; otherwise, the enormous risk associated with spending money on labor, materials, tooling, and overhead is simply not worth it.

It is amazing how cavalier many small to medium-sized business (SMB) owners are about profits. There is a much greater emphasis on revenues even though a wise man once said “you can’t buy groceries with revenues”, you need profits. It is as if they are unaware of the risk/reward relationship that should define the entrepreneurial pursuit. Profit is the oxygen that you breath at every stage of the business lifecycle.

Lastly, value, which may be defined as “the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something”, implies that value is beyond profits. Profits come in the form of money. Value comes in many more forms. In fact, it is up to the business owner to determine what value looks like for their company, for their families and for their employees. If profit is the oxygen to sustain the business, then value is the reason for having the business at all.

It is important to see the symbiotic relationship between profit and value. It is difficult to have one without the other. A highly profitable company will have tremendous market value and will also be valuable to the business owner that is maximizing their vision of what their company could be. A business that is valuable to its stakeholders – it’s owner, employees, customers, and vendors – must be solvent (e.g., profitable) in order maintain that value in the long run.

The most successful business owners that we have encountered have a vision for how their company will build value in the marketplace. It is not by coincidence that these business owners also run extremely profitable companies. One begats the other.

Our message to business owners that attend our session in New Orleans is this – if you will bring your vision of value from your company, we will provide you with a highly effective framework for bringing your vision to reality.