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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tantalum wire product development strategy : gaining a competitive advantage in a commodity market

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

In the face of growing competition and the commoditization in the Tantalum Wire business, H.C. Starck must find a way to differentiate their wire products from competitors in order to survive in this market. This thesis studies the possibility of developing a new product into the market by launching a product development process, with the goal of gaining a competitive advantage and sustaining it, thus increasing profitability over time. For this purpose a decision support model was developed to analyze the economical and operational feasibility of a new product. All aspects of launching a new product development process in H.C. Starck Wire department were modeled to simulate uncertainties across the Tantalum supply-chain, and recommendations were drawn based on results. A number of goals were addressed in this study: First, a robust link was created between the scientific potential and the economical potential of a new wire development. Second, a recommended strategy was defined for H.C.Starck Wire department in order to differentiate their products in lieu of low cost competition.

Degree

thesis:*
Department dc:contributor.department
Leaders for Manufacturing Program at MIT
Grantor dc:publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Year dc:date.issued
2006

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Hovav, Michal
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Daniel E. Whitney and Sharon Novak.

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Language dc:language.iso
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37130
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37130

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
MIT
Base URL
dspace.mit.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Hovav, Michal. Tantalum wire product development strategy : gaining a competitive advantage in a commodity market. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37130