{"546661":{"#nid":"546661","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Engineer\u2019s entrepreneurial passion fuels success in global farming and forestry manufacturing business","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENot many businesspeople could lay claim to having launched their first business \u2014 while still in grammar school.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut at 10 years of age, Mark Sauer convinced his dad to help him finance the acquisition of a tractor, so that he could start a lawn mowing business in his hometown of Schoolcraft, Michigan, a small farming community located 150 miles west of Detroit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was my first experience to understand what financing equipment was like, and I had borrowed money to buy a mowing tractor and was very active in the community, mowing as many yards as I could during the summers and going well into fall,\u201d Sauer said. \u201cThat was my first foray into small business ownership and being an entrepreneur.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday, Sauer is still in the farm equipment business, though his customer base has expanded quite a bit from the days of mowing neighbors\u2019 lawns. As owner and president of Savannah Global Solutions, Sauer leads a 30-person company that makes equipment used in the forestry and agricultural industries in soil and site preparation work. Savannah Global has customers in more than 30 countries around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESauer is the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership\u2019s (GaMEP) June Face of Manufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe is one of more than 365,000 men and women who form Georgia\u2019s manufacturing industry, a key segment of the state\u2019s economy. Sauer\u2019s life and career in manufacturing serves as just one example of how those in the industry play an integral part in helping to keep their local communities and the state overall economically competitive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough tests he took as young man suggested he would be great at a career in forestry, the harsh winters of the Midwest had him considering other possibilities and interests. Having an aptitude for math and science, Sauer focused his energies on industrial engineering and mathematics, earning degrees in both from Western Michigan University.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut he also had a love for machines. It was a discovery made in high school when he worked in a machine shop. He found that he liked to imagine parts, draw them on paper, and then make a physical product.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat job, as well as others he subsequently held, allowed him to develop the skills he would need to run his company.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBesides working as a machinist\u2019s apprentice, Sauer also took positions as a millwright assistant, worked at an industrial paint company in payroll and estimating, and assisted on a preventative maintenance plan.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe also learned about supervising processes and startup teams in a position he took at a cereal manufacturer upon graduating college.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEvery job I\u2019ve had gave me the experience to get me to where I am today,\u201d Sauer said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeveral companies later, Sauer had an opportunity to take a management position with a small forestry firm just outside Savannah.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was clear I was going to have to wear a lot of hats,\u201d Sauer said, explaining the company only had 10 employees at the time. \u201cMy experience in engineering, sales, and process and product management, coupled with my background in manufacturing, the paper industry, and growing up on a farm made the job at Savannah Forestry Equipment a perfect fit.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETwo years later, the owner of the company, a native Australian, expressed a desire to return home, and Sauer saw it as an opportunity to put an investment team together to purchase the firm.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter the acquisition, Sauer decided to expand and diversify the company to better address the cyclical issues of the forestry industry. The company fulfilled customized project orders and designed parts both on-site and in the field. He also changed the company\u2019s name to Savannah Global Solutions to reflect its strategy of building an international customer base.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat strategy was key, Sauer said, explaining 95 percent of the company\u2019s business was in the Southeast. A self-described calculated risk taker, Sauer felt certain it was a gamble that would pay off: the firm now sells 50 percent of its products to overseas customers in more than 30 countries. That success has led to recognition for the company and its impact on the state economy. In 2014, Savannah Global Solutions was named Georgia Small Exporter of the Year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAs a kid, my domain was two miles on a lawnmower,\u201d Sauer said. \u201cToday, it\u2019s the entire world.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout Savannah Global Solutions\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBased in Pembroke, Georgia, Savannah Global Solutions employs 30 people and is a leader in the forestry cultivation industry. Originally founded as Savannah Forestry Equipment, the company manufactures equipment to address soil and site preparation needs in forestry and agriculture.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELocated on the I-16 corridor 30 miles west of Savannah, the company has easy access to the Port of Savannah, which helps to support the growth of its exporting business, with sales in more than 30 countries across four continents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Faces of Manufacturing\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach month, GaMEP highlights a different person as the Face of Manufacturing. Selections are made by a committee composed of representatives from Georgia Tech, economic development groups, manufacturing companies, and related associations.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Each month the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership profiles Georgians who play a critical role in the industry."}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2016-06-21 17:19:53","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:57","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"546781":{"id":"546781","type":"image","title":"Mark Sauer June Face of Manufacturing (Still)","body":null,"created":"1466604000","gmt_created":"2016-06-22 14:00:00","changed":"1475895341","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:41","alt":"Mark Sauer June Face of Manufacturing (Still)","file":{"fid":"92234","name":"dsc_0946.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0946.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dsc_0946.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1654714,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dsc_0946.jpg?itok=1quF-lsF"}}},"media_ids":["546781"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/facesofmanufacturing.com\/portfolio\/mark-sauer\/","title":"Faces of Manufacturing: Mark Sauer"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"121581","name":"Faces of Manufacturing"},{"id":"16331","name":"GaMEP"},{"id":"136201","name":"Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership"},{"id":"170395","name":"Mark Sauer"},{"id":"170396","name":"Savannah Global Solutions"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor media inquiries contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor more information about GaMEP contact:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKatie Takacs\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGaMEP Marketing Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:katie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ekatie.takacs@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}