The Challenge
STERIS Corporation – a global leader in the areas of infection prevention and contamination control – serves customers who operate in the highly regulated healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The company was seeking to develop relationships in Washington as part of its expanded business plan. STERIS, however, had a limited presence on Capitol Hill, was not engaged in government relations outreach beyond its headquarters region, and its new leadership team was not well known outside its traditional industries.
The Solution
APCO's challenge was to design and implement a program to introduce STERIS to a much broader audience on Capitol Hill and within the Executive Branch. APCO identified those Members of Congress who represent states and districts where STERIS facilities are located, then immediately began outreach to them to introduce STERIS as a constituent, familiarizing the Members with the benefits of STERIS's core technologies and processes. This effort was repeated throughout the Executive Branch.
The goal of the effort was to help STERIS build alliances on Capitol Hill (with both elected officials and staff) and in the Administration, developing relationships with individuals who could become advocates for the company as it sought to expand the application of its core technologies.
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The Result
APCO's assistance in broadening STERIS's presence on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch paid off following the bioterror incidents in the autumn of 2001. The company's CEO was invited to testify before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on how infection and contamination prevention products and technologies could be used to address similar threats in the future. APCO helped arrange over 300 meetings on Capitol Hill and within the Executive Branch that contributed to STERIS receiving crisis exemptions from the government to use their products and technologies for decontamination of anthrax and other biological agents.
Services Provided
- Coalition building
- Crisis management
- Government relations
- Issue management
- Media relations
- Positioning
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We were convinced that our technologies had the potential for significantly broader application in both the government and private sectors. Government relations was a key component to help unlock this potential, but we had little presence in Washington. APCO's assistance in building relationships on Capitol Hill and with the Bush Administration has been critical to our growth plans, leading us to many new business opportunities.
