info icon Helene Disaster Assistance: View information and resources available to North Carolina businesses impacted by Hurricane Helene. [ Go Now ]

LinorTek

Winston-Salem, NC

The American Dream

Liyu Nalven was born in a small village in China with few career prospects. For much of her childhood, Nalven and her family did not have enough food to eat, but her hardworking parents instilled in her the value of a strong work ethic. Despite her humble beginnings, Nalven earned degrees in accounting and international trade and immigrated to the U.S. But when her husband, Gary, lost his job in 2012, the pair decided to start their own business focused on products Gary built using his industrial engineering background. They kickstarted the business on personal savings and crowdfunding and worked overtime for several years before realizing they needed to make a change if they wanted the business to be sustainable.

A Sustainable Business Plan

First, they niched their product offerings to ensure LinorTek was the best provider for their specific systems, focusing on easy-to-use, reliable ethernet I/O controllers for industrial automation. “We don’t have the resources to compete with Honeywell or another big company,” Nalven said. “So that’s why we focused on the niche market, like the school bell.” They developed a wireless bell system that could be used in schools and manufacturing plants to signal breaks and shift changes. But they would need additional funding if they were to continue developing their products and expand into international markets. 

Expanding Internationally 

Over the course of several meetings with the SBTDC from 2012-2017, Gary and Liyu Nalven worked to refine their seventy-six-page business plan–specifically their value proposition. They pitched their business to investors at two Investor-Ready Entrepreneur events, created and run by the SBTDC, and worked to better identify their target market. 

By 2018, LinorTek was making a healthy profit with their first products and was looking to export goods to Canada. Nalven felt Canada would be an easy target because of their common language. In preparation, she attended SBTDC’s Export Bootcamp, a program started by the International Business team, to improve her understanding of the world of exporting. Following that event, LinorTek was able to access the Canadian market and begin their journey selling their products abroad. But the export compliance documents were long and confusing, and Nalven continued to experience issues with the process. SBTDC counselors helped her to work out the Canadian Import Tax requirements, improving customer satisfaction and creating a seamless end-to-end process from sale to delivery. “The SBTDC has connected me with important resources and trained me to have the ability to export,” Nalven said.

“In the beginning, when I worked with SBTDC, it was like counselor and client, and now it feels more like friends that I can talk to whenever I need resources.”

Liyu Nalven

Growth Stage

From there, LinorTek’s exports grew. Nalven wanted to expand into markets in developing nations where there was less competition for their technologically advanced products. To assist with that goal, the SBTDC identified trade shows for LinorTek to attend and even translated for Nalven at a trade show in Mexico. 

For the last five years, LinorTek has grown by 30% year over year. They have numerous Fortune 500 customers, including Boeing, Ford, L3Harris Technologies, and others. They now support twelve full time employees and several part time assembly workers. In 2024, LinorTek was honored with the SBA’s NC Small Business Exporter of the Year award. Since their first foray into international business in 2018, they now export to dozens of countries, with exports making up 20% of their total sales. 

Lasting Impact

Nalven counts her SBTDC counselor among her team, calling him up whenever she has export compliance questions or needs advice on LinorTek’s next move in international markets. “If you want to scale your business,” Nalven said, “you have to work on the business. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned.”

Ready to take the next step?

Find Your Local Office