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Send to KindleCartons unveil masks during 'swine flu' outbreak
An eye for unique design
Bowen says that the cost for employing the window “was inconsequential.” He explains, “It lets people see the mask variety and our patent-pending bent-nose piece that helps show users how to wear them.
“In the medical industry, a lot of the [packaging] is pretty boring. We wanted people to take notice of the box on the shelf when it was in the hospital. If a worker has 15 different boxes of masks on the shelf, we wanted his or her eyes drawn to our masks because we believe once they try our masks, they’re going to like them.”
The companies employed design/branding firm The Young Co. (www.theyoungcompany.net). Bowen explains, “Bob Young met with us and Encompass at a sales meeting and designed a carton that one rep [found so appealing that he] thought it was an iPod giveaway. “We are always interested in making our product more appealing, without adding a lot of cost. We’re some of the most outside-the-box people you can imagine. When a supplier comes to us, invariably we’re the ones who want to see that ‘box that glows in the dark.’ We want whatever the new thing is, and we think we’ll get the return [on investment] by offering something unique in the marketplace.”
Buying American
Therefore, a slight cost upcharge isn’t an overwhelming concern, he says, even in a recessed economy. “As stupid and politically incorrect as this may sound, we buy American products, even if they’re more expensive. We believe in America. We believe in putting people to work here. Americans are fixated on price. In a price game, we know that [China and/or Mexico] wins.”
Bowen’s strong “buy American” sentiment traces back in part to when the face mask maker’s predecessor company moved its operations from Texas to Mexico to reduce its labor costs. “We saw 2,000 of our friends sent home in one day. It was sickening,” he says.
Looking to the future, Bowen recognizes there is an element of uncertainty. “We’re a private company, and we’re trying to make rational decisions about the future, how fast and how many mask manufacturing machines we should make, how many products to produce, and if this current growth of volume is real and sustainable, because the last thing we need to do is build too many machines and then go bankrupt because nobody is buying masks.” What he can’t mask is that the present is quite healthy for the partnering companies.
Interestingly, Prestige Ameritech and the Encompass Group view potential protectionism by other countries as a business ally. “There are concerns that other countries may stockpile masks for their own citizens,” says Encompass’s Hanson. “Since our masks are manufactured in the United States, we are ready to supply U.S. citizens with large quantities of masks, should it become necessary. There is also a concern that face masks manufactured in Mexico may become difficult to get if Mexican workers are ill, or their plants are closed. Additionally, masks could become the target of the drug cartels operating in Mexico if the demand becomes great enough.”
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