Management of technology in an SME: a case study of Hind High Vacuum Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Vacuum technology is a critical technology. Hind High Vacuum Co. Pvt. Ltd. started as an entrepreneurial venture to produce simple vacuum equipments. It has grown into a medium sized company focusing on innovations. The initial phase was a product development phase involving learning and credibility building. In the subsequent phase, there was deepening of technological capability and later the market expansion stage emerged. In the later phase the focus on building systems and taking up complex tasks. In the first phase the challenge was learning and credibility building. In the second phase, developing processes for quality manufacturing. In the current phase the focus has been on developing complex and innovative systems. The main reasons for the success of HHV has been its entrepreneurial orientation, continuous seeking of challenging opportunities and close relationship with users. Understanding user needs and developing systems closely with the users have been the main features of the success. The success of any entrepreneurial firm is: look beyond the entrepreneurship and grow financially through balancing business growth, innovation and risk.