Galaxy International is a small privately held company in the Northeast U.S. which manufactures high- tech carbon composite skis for...

Galaxy International is a small privately held company in the Northeast U.S. which manufactures high- tech carbon composite skis for the U.S. market. The company has been in business for 20 years, has 125 employees, and has $50 million in annual sales. Its owner, Jeremy Riven, is an ex-Olympic skier who developed the proprietary technology and bonding polymers that give Galaxy skis their unique flexibility, durability, and propensity to need low maintenance—all of which serious skiers in the U.S. have come to prize. Major costs involved in the manufacturing of skis are oil polymers, carbon fiber, and labor. Ski technicians are highly skilled machinists, and manufacturing the finished product is as much an art form as it is a science.