April 2010 Broom, Brush & Mop Magazine SERVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1912 Company Interviews: The Mop Industry Ha-Ste Manufacturing Algoma Mop Lafitte Mop Co. EMSCO Group Company Interviews: Housewares Show Brushtech Unger Industrial Quickie Mfg. Butler Home Products FHP O-Cedar ® The Howard Berger Co. Housewares Show Photo Gallery Final 2009 Import/Export Figures
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April 2010
Broom, Brush & Mop MagazineS E R V I N G T H E I N D U S T R Y S I N C E 1 9 1 2
Company Interviews:The Mop IndustryHa-Ste Manufacturing
Algoma Mop
Lafitte Mop Co.
EMSCO Group
Company Interviews:Housewares Show
BrushtechUnger Industrial
Quickie Mfg.
Butler Home Products
FHP O-Cedar®
The Howard Berger Co.
Housewares ShowPhoto Gallery
Final 2009Import/Export
Figures
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Broom, Brush & MopA RANKIN PUBLISHING PUBLICATION April 2010 Volume 100, Number 4
OLD ADDRESS:Affix OLD mailing label or print old address here:
BROOM, BRUSH & MOP (ISSN 0890-2933) is published monthly at 204 E. Main St.,P.O. Box 130, Arcola, Illinois 61910. Telephone: (217) 268-4959. Subscriptions are $25 in theUnited States; $35 in Canada and Mexico; all others $110. The $110 foreign subscriptionsinclude first class air mail postage. Arrangements can be made for first class postage for theUnited States, Canada and Mexico. Single copies of issues are $2 for subscribers; $5 for non-subscribers, postage extra. The Suppliers Directory issue is $10 per copy.
BROOM, BRUSH & MOP is a monthly trade magazine devoted to news of broom, brushand mop manufacturers and allied industries. It was established in 1912 as the Broom &Broom Corn News. It was entered as second class mail matter Feb. 27, 1912, at the U.S. PostOffice in Arcola, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Periodical postage paid at Arcola, IL, and additional mailing offices.Postmaster: send address changes to P.O. Box 130, Arcola, IL 61910.
APRIL 26 - 29, 2010ISSA/INTERCLEAN®, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsInformation: 847-982-0800
MAY 4 - 6, 2010National Hardware Show, Las Vegas, NVInformation: 203-840-5622
MAY 22 - 25, 2010National Restaurant Association Annual Show, Chicago, ILInformation: 312-853-2525
NOVEMBER 9 - 12, 2010ISSA/INTERCLEAN®, Orlando, FLInformation: 800-225-4772
NOVEMBER 18 - 19, 2010National Broom & Mop Meeting, St. Louis, MOInformation: 800-626-7282 or 800-637-7739
MARCH 6 - 8, 2011International Home & Housewares Show, Chicago, ILInformation: 847-292-4200
MARCH 23 - 26, 2011ABMA Annual Convention, Austin, TXInformation: 630-631-5217
MAY 9 - 11, 2012InterBrush, Freiburg, GermanyInformation: www.inter-brush.com
Mop Companies Credit Innovation, CustomerService & Green Marketing With Helping Sales _____6
Industry Companies Exhibit At Housewares Show _________________________10
Import/Export Overview________________________22
December Imports & Exports____________________24
Housewares Show Photo Gallery ________________32
Broom Corn Dealer Survey _____________________38
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By Rick MullenBroom, Brush & Mop
Associate Editor
Broom, Brush & Mop Magazine recently spoke with exec-utives from four mop manufacturers who shared how theirrespective companies have remained competitive during
the current challenging economy.The four executives all agreed that making the extra effort in
areas such as innovation, customer service and marketing theenvironmentally friendly aspects of mops has paid big dividendsin their companies’ success.
Also, the executives reported, fast turnaround times and productdiversificationhavealsobeenkeyelements in remainingcompetitive.
Located just west of Atlanta, GA, Lafitte Mop Co., Inc., ofVilla Rica, has been producing and distributing mops andother cleaning products for industrial and commercial use
since 1974. Despite the recessionary times in recent years, LafitteMop has remained prosperous.
“Last year (2009) started out kind of slow, but it ended justfine,” said Cathy Lafitte (who co-owns the company with herhusband, John). “This year is starting out a little better than lastyear. I think people are still being cautious.
“We are watching the health care debate very closely and trying tosee how that issue might impact business down the road. There havebeen price increases across the board on materials such as polypropy-lene, corrugated (paper) and metal, which has had an impact.Nonetheless, everybody who can is trying to hold the line on prices.
“When it comes to the economy, we have ridden out a lot of
other storms over the years. This time it is a little different, but westill have a confidence that Lafitte Mop Company is going to beOK. We are going to continue to prosper.”
The company offers a variety of mops including launderable,finishing and general maintenance looped-end mops, wet controlspecialty mops, cut-end mops, roofing mops, dust mops and yachtmops. The company also offers a variety of brooms, wet mopholders and handles.
While Lafitte is proud of its reputation for offering quality prod-ucts at all price points, during tough economic times the tendencyis for many customers to purchase based on price. There are those,however, who continue to opt for higher quality items that maylast longer and may clean more efficiently.
“Right now, many people are buying economy, so our economyproduct lines are doing well,” Lafitte said. “Also, there are someof our long-time customers who are buying quality, so that side ofthe business has been very steady.”
Another aspect of the business that is also doing very well,Lafitte reported, is the company’s environmentally friendlyGreenWise line.
For restroom and general purpose floor cleaning, GreenWisewet mops are made with Enviro-Color Green and Enviro-ColorWhite yarns, which are spun using 100 percent post-industrial andpost-consumer recycled raw material along with post-consumerpolyester bottle flakes.
Lafitte Mop’s GreenWise dust mop, meanwhile, is made fromrecycled fibers such as pure green plastic bottle fibers and post-consumer rayon/polyester. The company’s Natural Dust Mop ismade using 100 percent cotton yarn with cotton canvas backing.
“Cotton is a renewable resource, and it is also very environmen-
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202 N. Oak • Box 250Arcola, IL 61910217-268-4955 • Fax 268-3113www.thomasmonahan.com
ArcolaBroom Corn Festival Race
2009
We Go The EXTRA MILE!
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tally friendly in that it biodegrades in a landfill,” Lafitte said.“People tend to not think about the cotton mop as a green product.Cotton doesn’t last as long as synthetic materials, but it is actual-ly more environmentally friendly.”
Also included in the GreenWise line are “bamwood” handles,whichhavereplacedhardwoodsinmanyapplications.Bamwoodhan-dles are constructed of 65 percent bamboo and 35 percent reclaimedhardwood with antioxidant properties to deter bacterial growth.
“Bamboo is a very renewable resource and bamwood handlesare also very durable,” Lafitte said.
Being a smaller manufacturer, Lafitte Mop’s success has beendue, in large part, to its forte of being a company that specializesin making quality products with rapid turnaround.
“People are keeping their inventories a little tighter. They likea quick turnaround in shipping, which is something we are ableto accomplish,” Lafitte said. “This is a real boost for us, becauseit is one of the areas where we can compete with imports.”
Lafitte said another boost in marketing domestic products is therecent trend of people looking more to buy products “made in theUSA.”
In addition to being able to routinely accomplish rapid turn-around times, Lafitte Mop’s smaller size has allowed it to developa long suit in making specialty items.
“Because we are a small shop, it is not difficult for us to changegears to meet a customer’s need for a specialty product,” Lafitte said.
Another important aspect of Lafitte Mop’s ability to remainprosperous in tough times is its commitment to customer service.The company accomplishes this in many ways including person-
alized service from the home office.“When a customer calls here, he or she will speak with a person
and not a machine, and this will always be the case,” Lafitte said.“Fast turnarounds, quality products, customer service, integrity —these are our foundational principles.”
Like many other companies in North America, Lafitte Mop tooka hard look at all aspects of running the company in its quest toremain on top of its game during these difficult economic times.
“We have looked at every factor, from how we ship to howwe package — any way that we could tighten our ship,”Lafitte said. “We have found several ways to improve ouroperation and we are very pleased.
“For example, we have been looking at making some changesin the way we package that would result in a more quality prod-uct. Most people think a mop is a mop and it is not that important.When buying and paying for a product, however, a person wantsit to be the best it can be, and that is what we want, too.
“We want the customer to be happy all the way from when anorder is placed until he or she opens and uses the item and seesthat it is a quality product.”
Lafitte explained that in recent years the household side of the mopindustry has shifted toward the use of flat mops vs. traditional mops.
“There is a market for flat mops, but also there is still a marketfor traditional mops that I think will always be there,” Lafitte said.“The market might shift again, but we have shifted with it in thepast. When we first went into business, we were a household prod-ucts producer. We just made mops strictly for household use, but
PAGE 8 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
P.O. Box 330065Fort Worth, Texas 76133 USA
Brand Handles and DowelsHonduran and Domestic Pine
While touring the 2010 International Home &Housewares Show, held annually at Chicago’sMcCormick Place, it became quite evident that there
is no shortage of new products and ideas designed for today’shome.
This year’s Housewares Show featured an estimated 1,900exhibitors and over 20,000 buyers from around the world.Products on display included various types of brushes, mops,brooms, squeegees and related cleaning wares. Many of theseproducts featured microfiber and proclaimed to be environmental-ly friendly, thus meeting today’s demands placed by retail part-ners and end-use consumers.
Broom, Brush & Mop Magazine talked with representativesfrom six well known companies that annually take part in theHousewares Show, held this year on March 14-16. These repre-sentatives not only highlighted new products that were beingintroduced, but discussed why attending such an event is soimportant for their respective companies.
A photo gallery featuring several cleaning industry HousewaresShow exhibitors from this year’s event begins on page 32.
The main objective for Brushtech while exhibiting at thisyear’s Housewares Show was a simple one — to help sellproducts. The company provides a wide variety of brush
and other innovative items that can be used in and around thehome.
Since Brushtech is a U.S. manufacturer, located inPlattsburgh, NY, it relies on product innovation and new ideas tohelp it compete against the flood of cleaning items arriving fromforeign countries.
“It’s important for us to be aware of new products (for thehome) that are being introduced. We know that once a newkitchen product, for example, is in the marketplace, somebodyis going to have to clean that item. This is where our productinnovation comes into play,” Brushtech Vice President of SalesZaven Gunjian explained. “For example, there are fewer peoplewanting to purchase disposable plastic water bottles. They wouldrather use one bottle all the time. The trouble is, how do you prop-erly clean that bottle? And so, (Brushtech’s) new foam tip brush-es are designed to properly clean these reusable bottles.
“These brushes feature a foam tip at the end and regular bristleson the sides. The foam will remain firm. The brushes can be used
Attendees from around the world traveled to Chicago’s McCormick Place in March for the 2010 International Home & Housewares Show.
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to clean water bottles, travel mugs, baby bottles and even bird feeders.”Gunjian said that every product has a life cycle. Therefore, it’s important
to look at ways to make products better. This is especially true for anAmerican manufacturer such as Brushtech that is continually competingagainst foreign imports.
“Once one of our products is copied, our sales for that item will often godown. However, where we can’t compete on price; we can compete withquality, innovation and service. This is what keeps us competitive,” hesaid.
Officials at Brushtech are also fast to point out that their items are pro-duced in the USA.
“This is important for our community and national pride. There are peo-ple who say Americans don’t make anything today. This is not true. It’simportant to us that we make products in the United States as this meansjobs for our community. As much as we try to automate the manufacturingprocess, we have employees as well,” Gunjian said.
Besides the company’s new foam tip brushes, other items featured at theHousewares Show this year by Brushtech included barbecue brushes thathave both long and short bristles to better clean cooking grills, and a wirebrush head that fits on the end of a drill bit and can be used for removingrust on a wide variety of outdoor items.
“Spring is right around the corner and when homeowners go outsidethey notice that many metal items, such as hand railings, have rusted.There is also old paint that needs to be removed before applying a freshcoat,” Gunjian said. “Our drill bit brush head is smaller compared to manyother rust removal brushes, which allows a person to remove rust in tightcorners.”
When reviewing the company’s vast product lineup, it becomes appar-ent that not all products provided by Brushtech are brushes. For example,there is a new item now available called the Cooking Wand that isdesigned for use on electric glass stove tops. The item is placed betweenthe stove top and a cooking pot to keep the contents of that pot from boil-ing over and causing a mess.
“This item changes the heating system from conduction to convec-tion. For example, soup in the pot will boil up a little slower and onceit boils, it boils into itself and not dramatically out of the pot,” Gunjiansaid.
Another new item is a Decanter & Bottle Washing Kit designed forcleaning narrow neck decanters and bottles. The kit features little steelballs that can be poured into the decanter or bottle from a funnel contain-er. The user then swishes the balls around for the cleaning process. Thefunnel container also features a lid so the balls can be properly stored whenthe product is not used. This kit can be used to clean delicate glasswarewith narrow necks or irregular shapes. The steel balls dislodge driedresidue, sediments and dirt.
Gunjian said those who would like more information about Brushtech’sproducts are welcomed to reach him via e-mail at [email protected] through the company’s other contact sources.
If there is ever a perfect setting to help introduce a new type of home-related product and/or cleaning idea for the retail sector it’s theHousewares Show. With this as a backdrop, officials at Unger
Industrial spent the show’s three days asking, “Do You Mamboo?” According to Unger Channel Marketing Manager Scott Machado,
Mamboo is a special type of cleaning cloth that features microfiber on oneside and rayon fibers derived from bamboo on the other. As he pointed out
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— microfiber and bamboo equals Mamboo™. Machado said as a new fiber, Mamboo™ is a good companion
to microfiber as it is very absorbent, doesn’t retain odors, is non-abrasive and features a high bacteria reduction factor.
“Independent lab testing shows greater than a 50 percent bacte-ria reduction in the cloth. This is a fun, emerging technology forus. It’s patented and we are very excited,” Machado said. “We alsohave our microfiber Quick & Clean Cloths and Pads used for floorcare. This is an alternative to the disposable pads in the market-place. One of the benefits of (Quick & Clean Cloths and Pads) isthe consumer can use them a number of times as they are wash-able. Microfiber pads also allow end-users to clean without chem-icals.”
Product innovation remains a critical element to the success ofUnger Industrial in the retail marketplace. Machado explained thatthe company makes good use of its own research and developmentdepartment.
“We conduct a lot of studies on exactly what the unmet needsare for consumers. It’s important to pay particular attention tohow a consumer is going to use a product. Implementing theright ergonomics is key,” he said. “We spend a lot of time con-centrating on the shape of products and the repetitive motionsa person makes while using a particular item.
“It’s not just about creating a new product. We must concentrateon what customers are really telling us.”
Keeping up on various home-related trends is part of that con-centration on the consumer that Machado spoke about. For exam-ple, many consumers are wanting to use cleaning products thathelp them with high-access areas.
“Our Connect & Clean system is designed to meet all of thehigh-access cleaning chores found throughout the entire house,inside and out. This includes a microfiber ceiling fan duster, whichallows consumers to clean both sides of today’s larger ceiling fanblades.
“We introduced this product at the end of last year and it’s doingvery well,” Machado said. “Microfiber continues to be an emerg-ing technology for us. People are seeking more eco-friendly waysto clean. All of our window cleaning products, for example,include microfiber.”
He added that Unger officials have specific goals in place whenshowcasing the company’s various products at the annualHousewares Show.
“It’s about not only meeting with existing customers and takingthem to the next level of our product offerings, but also listeningand learning more about their unmet needs. This is true for bothour existing customer base as well as new customers who we meetalong the way,” Machado said.
With a strong focus on product diversity, The HowardBerger Co., Inc., (HBC) headquartered in Cranbury,NJ, provides a large variety of items for the home
under several different brand names. Founded in 1971 by the com-pany’s namesake, Howard Berger, the business has since enteredmany market segments and has made numerous company pur-chases along the way.
According to RDL Marketing’s Robert Lebovitz, HBC con-
tinues to add to its extensive umbrella of businesses. Thus thecompany can offer many different types of products for bothindoor and outdoor home use. The company is also getting readyto introduce a full commercial cleaning department that includes awide variety of products such as cleaning karts, floor signs, mopsand related equipment.
“Plus, we have developed a proprietary system where with onehandle a person can switch and use a choice of various mop andbroom heads,” Lebovitz said.
HBC will focus on selling its commercial products to such cus-tomers as janitorial/sanitary distributors.
“We did not show that line here (at the Housewares Show),because we didn’t feel that type of buyer was in attendance,”Lebovitz said.
He added those products HBC did exhibit at the Chicago eventwere more focused toward mass retailers.
“Where a lot of companies stay focused on specific areas, TheHoward Berger Company believes in generalization. It’s now ahuge company that has manufacturing conducted in 37 countries,”Lebovitz said. “(HBC) also enjoys a very loyal customer base andships to all over the world.”
Contact: The Howard Berger Company, Inc., 324A Half AcreRd., Cranbury, NJ 08512. Phone: 609-860-9990.
Web Site: www.hberger.com.
Although the various types of cleaning-related productsproduced and sold by Freudenberg Household Products(FHP O-Cedar®) are numerous, the company placed spe-
April 2010 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP PAGE 13
• Galvanized & tinned wire for brush - broom - mop production
• Processed Broom Corn & Yucca
• Wood Broom - Mop - Brush Handles
• Craft Broom Corn And Supplies
• Other Materials - Broom Twine,Broom Nails, Mop Hardware
Supplier of Raw Materials to Manufacture Brooms,Mops, and Brushes
We ship by pup or truck load direct from Mexico, or LTL/ UPS from our Greensboro warehouse.
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 13
Royal Paint Roller
Royal Paint Roller — a name known in the industry for over35 years for top quality products, fine service and competitive prices.
Manufacturer of paint rollers in ALL SIZES—from Slim Jim to Jumbo 21⁄4”I.D. in VARIETY OF FABRICS—including lambskin, kodel, lambswool,synthetic blends & “Lint Free” woven line.
Also a complete line of frames, trays, paint brushes & painting accessories forthe professional and Do-It-Yourself markets.
Specializing in private labeling at competitive prices.
ROYAL PAINT ROLLER248 Wyandanch Avenue
West Babylon, N.Y. 11704Tel: (631) 643-8012 • Fax: (631) 253-9428
PAGE 14 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
cial emphasis on its new O-Cedar® ProMist™ Wet or Dry FloorCleaning System while exhibiting at the Housewares Show.
The product features a microfiber flat mop and built-in fluidcontainer placed onto the handle.
“You can put any solution you want (into the container),” FHPO-Cedar® U.S. Marketing Director Art Wilde explained. “Thisincludes water, water and vinegar or a cleaner. It’s designed forany consumer.
“The product’s microfiber pad cleans deeply and can simplybe taken off, due to its velcro backing, and tossed into the washafter use. A disposable pad can also be used. The O-Cedar®ProMist™ features an ergonomic handle as well that fits everyhand size and position. It’s simple to use and is intuitive. Thecontainer on the handle that holds the liquid easily slides in andout.”
Shipments for the item will begin in August and it’s expected tobe in retail stores thereafter. In anticipation of its release, FHP O-Cedar® is providing strong marketing support. This includes a $5rebate for those customers willing to purchase the new item. Thecompany is also partnering with cleaning organization expertPeter Walsh to help introduce ProMist™.
“Peter Walsh is often on The Oprah Winfrey Show and will helpus introduce ProMist™ to a large number of people,” Wilde said.“An advertising campaign will support the product’s release aswell. Promotion efforts through such digital social media asFacebook and Twitter will be included.”
Walsh will be featured on ProMist™ in-store displays and in aninfomercial. In addition to providing cleaning tips for consumers,
Walsh will also serve as a judge in a home cleaning contest whereone winner will receive a home “clean-over” with him.
“When we developed this product, we knew consumers likedthe concept. The proof at the end of the day is when you get it intotheir hands. We have found that they love the convenience of theProMist™. It saves them time and thoroughly cleans,” Wilde said.“It’s also very green. The pads are good for over 50 washes andthe user doesn’t have to use chemicals. Consumers can also pur-chase new pads separately.”
Regarding the overall condition of today’s retail cleaning sector,Wilde commented that on the whole, this category, like mostthings with the economy, is under a lot of pressure.
“We have found that the power of our brand has helped usthrough this period. It’s a time when people really don’t want totake too many chances, so they go with brands they know andtrust,” he explained. “We are one of the few branded competitorsout there gaining market share. Private label is also up a bit.”
Product innovation remains essential for FHP O-Cedar®. “We are owned by Freudenberg, which is a global company
based in Germany. Not only do we have R & D capabilities in theUnited States, but there is also a huge R & D facility in Europewhich has connections from all around the globe,” Wilde said.“We are able to find the best technologies available. This is acompetitive advantage that we enjoy and use in all of our mar-kets.”
Taking advantage of all that a major tradeshow has to offerwas a main goal for officials of Quickie ManufacturingCorporation while exhibiting at this year’s Housewares
Show. “First of all, exhibiting at an event such as this allows us to
get all of our new products, innovations and marketing infront of our customers,” Quickie CEO Michael Magermansaid. “This is really what tradeshows are all about. They pro-vide a lot of unfiltered and uncluttered time. Normally, with acustomer, we can only bring a limited amount of products infront of them. At a tradeshow, however, there is a great oppor-tunity to show people what we are doing with packaging, mar-keting and all of our products — and all in one place.”
Magerman and Quickie Chief Marketing Officer August DeLuca outlined several product highlights that the company had ondisplay at their booth. This included certain changes made toQuickie’s pushbroom line with its bracket system.
“We have simplified the connection mechanism. One of theissues that is seen with a lot of pushbrooms that have no brackets,is the handle will spin and release from the broom head. This dis-satisfies the consumer, making it difficult for them to have confi-dence in the product,” De Luca said. “Therefore, for years wehave included a bracket. The bracket, however, required tools toinstall, and a lot of times the consumer was not aware of this need.We would sometimes see the bracket hanging off the front of thebroom, even at some of our biggest retailers using the product.
“Therefore, we came up with an innovative way of incorporat-ing the bracket into holding the broom from a merchandising per-spective. We have also updated it to where the user can now putthis together with no tools. Our indoor and outdoor multi-surfacebrooms all will have this new feature.”
De Luca explained that work has also been done to the appear-ance and feel of several other products. This includes changingcertain color schemes.
“It’s nothing dramatic, although when we changed the fibercolor of our gong brush from grey to yellow, we received about a40 percent lift in sales,” he said.
The company has also made changes to its Professional RollerMop product line. This includes focusing more on the way peopleinteract with the refill process.
“We conducted recent consumer focus groups and found thatthey love (Quickie’s roller mop) and the way it works, but chang-ing out the refill was difficult. This can be a key factor when mak-ing the decision of what mop to purchase,” De Luca said. “If itlooks like it’s going to be difficult to switch that head, the con-sumer is less interested in buying the product and may go towarda competitor’s item. Therefore, we have developed the quick-locksystem where a person can replace the refill in seconds by justmaking a quarter turn of two nuts. It eases the refill process for theconsumer. No tools are involved.
“It’s a little change to the product that we believe is going todrive a better consumer experience. We hope this process will alsoget consumers to change their mop heads more frequently, whichcreates a better overall mopping experience. (Quickie) is alsomaking this change across its HomePro® line, which is the com-pany’s mid-tier line of products.”
When speaking of product innovation, Magerman explainedthat it’s important a company such as Quickie constantly findways to meet and exceed consumer expectations.
“Innovation is all about trying to identify what the unmet needsof the consumer are today, and then design and manufacture prod-ucts that meet those needs,” he said. “I think the best example ofthat is our new (HomePro®) Twist Mop featuring microfiber forgreen cleaning. It allows the consumer to clean without usingchemicals. Microfiber is a tremendous material when it comes tocleaning. This particular mop will absorb and release more wateror fluid than any of the competitive products that are currentlyavailable.
“Also, because of the way the microfiber strands are designed,this mop is easier to wring. We actually used a mechanism thatmeasured the actual torque pounds it took to wring a mop. Peopleare looking for faster and easier ways to clean, and this is a greatexample of innovation at work.”
Reaching out to the company’s target market is also vital. InQuickie’s case, women are more often found purchasing the com-pany’s products than men. Therefore, the company is working tobetter reach this main customer base. To help with this, the com-pany is using such social media outlets as Twitter and Facebook.
“We have found that most of where ‘mom’ gets her informationtoday is from friends and through the Internet. Therefore, we wantto speak to this group through people who have authority — thirdparty independent people who can basically tell about our prod-ucts,” Magerman said.
To help spread the message about Quickie ManufacturingCorporation, the company has brought aboard Tamra Barney ofthe Bravo network TV show The Real Housewives of OrangeCounty.
“She has a very large fan base that is comprised mostly ofwomen. We have been working with her, and she is going to behere (at the Housewares Show),” Magerman said. “She is some-body who we feel a lot of people in our target market can relateto. We also think getting our product message to those peopleonline, letting them talk about our products unfiltered, will help aswell and create a positive effect.”
Another key element to successfully selling such items as mopsand brooms to the retail sector is packaging. De Luca said theaverage consumer will spend 7 to 10 seconds evaluating a producton the shelf.
“We need to make sure that our packaging jumps out,” De Lucasaid. “An initiative that we are rolling out right now is to revise allof our packaging to make sure it properly speaks to the consumer.We have included focus groups looking at a very broad range ofpackaging samples.
“The idea is to narrow down a common look and feel, whilecommunicating to the target consumer the key information that ismost important when making a purchase decision. It not only mat-ters what the package says, but how the package interacts with theproduct.”
Spotting trends in household cleaning continues to helpButler Home Products develop new products, many ofwhich were on display at the company’s Housewares Show
booth. “In a tough economy, more people are cleaning their homes
Continued On Page 37
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PAGE 16 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
our product lines have shifted over the years to more of an indus-trial and janitorial focus.”
Lafitte praised the company’s suppliers for their assistance dur-ing challenging economic times.
“Our suppliers have been phenomenal. They understand whatwe are going through. They are also trying to maintain their placein the market as well,” Lafitte said. “They have been great in com-ing up with new products and new ways to save us all money. Oursuppliers have all tried to hold the line on prices. Everybodyunderstands that we are all in this together.”
Lafitte Mop’s management team and dedicated employees havealso been a critical element in the company’s ongoing success,especially during trying times.
“We have so much talent here,” Lafitte said. “We have about120 years of experience on our management team. We have a lotof ingenuity and a lot of great ideas.
“As far as the future of Lafitte Mop is concerned, we are veryoptimistic. We are strong. We have been in this business for a longtime, so we don’t have some of the problems that newer compa-nies might have. We have confidence going forward that no mat-ter what may come, we will continue to be successful.”
Ha-Ste Manufacturing, of Union City, IN, has been apremier manufacturer of industrial wet mops and dustmops in the Midwest since 1959. According to Ha-Ste
President Robin Stewart, the company is primarily a custommanufacturer offering more than 4,000 different products.
“We are a ‘Made in the USA’ custom manufacturer — whatev-er a customer wants us to do, we just flat out do it,” Stewart said.“We have a third generation coming on in the management of thecompany and we are excited about our increased focus on salesand marketing.”
While sales are up a little more than 6 percent this year over lastyear, Ha-Ste’s strategy to stay prosperous and competitive duringthese lean economic times has been two-pronged — develop newproducts and then aggressively market them.
“We have been developing new products and pushing market-ing like crazy,” Stewart said. “We are constantly marketing viaadvertising, the Internet, post cards — anything to get our faceout in front of someone. We have been hiring new sales reps. Oursales people are working with our distributor base to determinewhat we can do for them to help us both. Our attitude is, let’swork this farm a little bit to see if we can work it better.
“In the past two to three years, we have launched eight newproducts. We are always trying to do something new.”
One effective marketing tool is Ha-Ste’s reputation for quickturnarounds as many customers are seeking to keep inventories aslow as possible.
“We work on the premise that none of our customers want tokeep inventory; therefore, we are going to produce products asquickly as possible to meet their needs,” Stewart said. “Our cus-tomers definitely appreciate our quick turnaround capabilities.
“Wefulfill an importantnichewithourserviceandthequalityofour
products. Maybe we will never be the cheapest, but we will be closeand customers will still get a quality product with excellent service.
“Our customer service philosophy is very simple — the cus-tomer is No. 1, period. I’ll stack up our service with anybody. Wemake more than 4,000 custom made products and they are madeto order. Various color combinations, private labeling, bar codelabeling, whatever a customer wants, we will do. We will typical-ly turn an order around in two to three days — five business daysat the maximum. The reason we are in business is to manufacturea quality product and supply it with excellent service.”
Long before “green” became the buzzword for all thingsdeemed environmentally friendly, the mop industry made prod-ucts using recycled yarns, cotton, post-consumer polyester bottleflakes, etc.
“A U.S. made mop has been a ‘green’ product for a long time,”Stewart said. “We kind of led the way in the green products move-ment and didn’t know it.”
Ha-Ste has been aggressively marketing its new environmental-ly friendly microfiber products, including the GreenLoopMicrofiber Blend Dust Mop and the EarthKleen Supreme LoopRecycled Mop series.
EarthKleen Supreme Loop mops are manufactured with envi-ronmentally friendly GreenTex yarn. The yarn is made with 100percent certified recycled fibers of pure green PET plastic bottlesand post-consumer rayon/polyester. This product is also availableas a dust mop.
The GreenLoop Microfiber Blend Dust Mop line is made witha 50 percent microfiber synthetic blend, looped-end yarn for moreeffective dry mopping.
“We are seeing a positive sales trend with our conventional U.S.made mopping products that are manufactured with the microfiberblends,” Stewart said.
While microfiber blended items are important segments of Ha-Ste’s business, Stewart laments the overuse and overselling ofmicrofiber products.
Like many other companies that have successfully weatheredthe recession thus far, Ha-Ste has concentrated on running a lean-er, more efficient operation than ever before.
“We have had our slow times. We have been blessed with excel-lent employees over the years and they understand that it is toughout there,” Stewart said. “There have been weeks they haveworked two or three days and other weeks they worked four tofive. This year started out a little better than last year. They knowwe care about them. The main thing is I want my people working.”
One way Ha-Ste has been able to keep down production costsin by taking advantage of automation.
In relation to the ongoing economic situation, Stewart sees thedownturn of business in the janitorial cleaning sector and animbalance in foreign trade as two challenges facing the industry.
“End-users have less floor space to clean and that impacts busi-ness up the chain, all the way to the manufacturer,” Stewart said.“Also, the U.S.’s free trade agreements have left the doors open fortoo many foreign producers to come into this country. Foreign com-petition is going to be with us, but it needs to be more fairly bal-anced.
“Challenges notwithstanding, we feel very strongly about thefuture of Ha-Ste. As far as the mop industry as a whole is con-cerned, we have seen a trend the past couple of years of a returnto conventional mopping systems. Flat mopping systems will be
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around and have their place, but we have high hopes the trendtoward the use of conventional mopping systems will continue.”
Contact: Ha-Ste Manufacturing, Inc., 119 East Elm St., P.O. Box 168, Union City, IN 47390-0168. Phone: 800-228-6677; Fax: 937-968-4524.
Located on Lake Michigan just east of Green Bay, the smalltown of Algoma, WI, is the home of Algoma MopManufacturers, the largest producer of mops in the state.
Founded in 1926, the company was originally known as AlgomaMop Co. In 1981, East Shore Industries, Inc., purchased thecompany, changing its name to Algoma Mop Manufacturers.
East Shore is a not-for-profit organization that provides servicesfor adults with disabilities. East Shore purchased Algoma Mop toprovide a steady source of work opportunities for the people it serves.
“Working to make a difference” is Algoma Mop’s motto. Thecompany employs about 20 people and produces more than 200types of mops, including many that are customized to customers’specifications.
At the time of the purchase of the original Algoma Mop in 1981,annual sales were about $15,000. By 2007, before the recession wasin full bloom, the company was doing about $500,000 a year in sales.
During a recent interview with Broom, Brush & Mop, AlgomaMop CEO Ron Opicka reported business has been down double-digits since 2008, as the recessionary economy continues. The
Wisconsin state government’s economic woes have had a negativeimpact on Algoma Mop’s business.
“A significant part of our business is with state agencies andthat has hurt us,” Opicka said. “So far this year we are only down1 percent from last year, so we are holding our own. We have notreally cut staff, sales or customer service positions. On the mopside of the business, even though our sales were down 14 percent,we did not adjust our labor situation a great deal.
“We are located in a pretty rural area. The population ofKewaunee County is only 20,000 people. We have had some larg-er companies in this area go through some significant downsizingon the local level that has put economic stress on municipalities.”
Opicka said one challenge that has arisen due to the down econ-omy is getting paid for products and services. One upside is,despite the downturn in government business, that customer seg-ment remains Algoma Mop’s largest, and their state governmentpays its bills on time.
“Other than our business with the state, the accounts receiv-able side of the equation is a little more challenging than in thepast,” Opicka said. “You fight to make a product that hasvalue and has quality and provide a great service and then youget caught from the back side by somebody not paying.”
Opicka said there seems to be a slight trend toward people look-ing to change back to regular mops from the imported flat mopsthat had become so popular.
“Prices have been stable. Prices in the cotton world and the polyworld have been pretty firm,” Opicka said. “We have broadenedour product line by purchasing products that we resell as sidelinesto go with our mop business. We have also gone to the agricultur-al side of the marketplace in terms of trying to sell direct to farm-ers on some items. We have tried to augment sales where we can.”
In addition to wet mops and dust mops, the company also pro-duces dust mop oil treatments and provides accessories such ashardware, handles, frames and laundry nets. Algoma Mop alsobuys and resells some microfiber products as well.
“We also perform work for a company in Algoma that makesand sells rope hammocks,” Opicka said. “For years we have beenmaking rope hammocks that we weave by hand. This business hasbeen increasing for the past few months.”
Algoma Mop’s commitment to producing quality products forthe janitorial, maintenance and foodservice industries has earnedthe company nationwide contracts. In recent years, Algoma Mophas expanded its primary service area beyond Wisconsin to
include a customer base of more than 600 companies nationwide.Algoma’s nationwide efforts include supplying more than 200restaurants that are part of a nationwide chain.
Algoma Mop’s ability to produce products on a small scale hasallowed the company to gain business that larger manufacturerseither do not want or are unable to accommodate.
In February 2008, Algoma launched its own knitted, launder-able microfiber product called the Mission™ Mop. This mop ishand knit by company employees using a patent-pending process.
Algoma Mop is also doing its part in offering environmentallyfriendly products. The company sells recycled yarn and offers aline of Mission Mops with bamboo handles.
Over the years, Algoma Mop has established an excellent repu-tation in the areas of quality control and quality products.
“Other than a supervisor, our labor pool is 100 percent peoplewith disabilities,” Opicka said. “For this reason, some peoplemight view it as a risk to do business with us. It is not a risk; it isan enhancement. Our products are made by individuals with dis-abilities who are focused on what they are doing and who bringgreat value to the quality of the product.”
Founded in 1867 as the Theo J. Ely Company, EMSCOGroup, of Girard, PA, located a few miles southwest ofErie, PA, in northwestern Pennsylvania, still holds to its
original mission of solving problems through innovation andfunction, while always keeping value and customer service in theforefront. Today, EMSCO’s corporate motto is “Innovation,Function, Quality and Service.”
The company’s original product lines consisted of wooden mopbuckets, mop handles, carpet beaters, cross cut saw handles, cowpokes, buggy whips, all considered cutting edge in the mid-1800s.Since that time, EMSCO has broadened its scope and markets.
“As time went on, EMSCO began making metal parts becausewe made galvanized buckets and various things,” said EMSCOSales Manager Kimberly Cook. “We also started manufacturingplastic products and brooms.
“Today, EMSCO offers a full line of mops, including cut-end,looped-end, rayon blend, finishing and dust mops, along withframes. Complete lines of commercial and retail janitorial itemsare also available.
“The manufacturing of plastics has become both a large and alsoan integral part of our business.We make plastic snow shovels, scrap-ers, kayaks, snowboards and sleds. We also make lawn and gardenitems such as architectural rocks, stepping stones, fencing, etc. Wehave about 12 various lines with a wide array of products. Of thoselines, the cleaning segment is a strong part of the company.”
EMSCO has the manufacturing capability to develop and man-ufacture products in a wide variety of venues including metalstamping, injection molding, textile conversion, staple setting,wood handle conversion and market specific assembly.
“Injection molding is a large part of our business,” Cook said.EMSCO’s Girard operation consists of 500,000 square feet of
office, manufacturing, warehouse and distribution space. Thecompany’s sales and marketing department features more than
200 sales people serving such market segments as food, drug, dis-count, home improvement, retailers and wholesalers.
“We are very fortunate that we are able to manufacture agood percentage of our products here in Girard,” Cook said.“The majority of our shipping is done from the 13 loadingdocks at our Girard location.”
Cook reported that business has been “good.” A major factor inthe company’s ability to remain competitive during these times ofserious economic challenges is diversification.
“The recession has helped us to realize just how important it isto be diverse in products and to be on our toes in terms of manu-facturing,” Cook said. “The economy has caused many business-es to really focus on what they are doing. In addition to offering afull line of mops, brooms and frames, we also offer items notavailable from other companies.”
EMSCO’s diverse product lines have been beneficial as manydistributors and wholesalers seek places from where they can pur-chase several items at once.
“For example, distributors and wholesalers not only can pur-chase cleaning aids from us, they can also get snow shovels andscrapers as well,” Cook said.
As it says in the company’s motto, innovation is one of the driv-ing forces in EMSCO’s corporate culture. The company prides itselfin introducing new products, concepts and ideas to the marketplace.
“In today’s economy, quality service, quality products and compet-itive price points are extremely important,” Cook said. “We believe ininnovationandaremotivatedtobringoutnewitemsortrytocreatedif-ferent concepts or ways to improve items and make them more eco-nomical. Many of our innovative product offerings were ‘firsts.’”
Among EMSCO’s innovative products, those marketed as envi-ronmentally friendly are gaining traction.
“On the industrial and retail side, people are asking for theenvironmentally friendly items. We definitely have seen morerequests for environmentally friendly and energy saving prod-ucts and have created the Rescue line to support this trend.”
As the mop industry is quick to point out, mop making hasinvolved environmentally friendly techniques, such as using recy-cled and recyclable materials, long before “green” was a part ofthe fabric of business.
“EMSCO offers a mop that is made with recycled T-shirts. Wealso have bamboo handles,” Cook said. “We have a broom thathas no metal staple parts. This broom is made with polypropylene,so the whole head can be recycled.”
The company’s flagship green line is its Rescue EnvironmentallyResponsible Products. The Rescue line includes the Eco SpongeMop, the Microfiber Eco Deck Mop, the Jersey Strip Eco DeckMop, and the Multi-Colored Jersey Strip Eco Deck Mop.
Rescue products also include brooms, a soy-foam cleaning mitt,sponges, microfiber cloths and a microfiber duster.
Looking down the road, Cook is pleased with the direction thecompany is going.
“I feel very good about EMSCO,” she said. “We are focused onbeing strong in both the commercial and retail sides of the clean-ing industry. We really listen to our customers and we have astrong sense of what they want.”Contact: EMSCO Group, 607 Church St., P.O. Box 151, Girard,
PA 16417. Phone: 800-458-0839; Fax: 814-774-3463.E-mail: [email protected] site: www.emscogroup.com.
PAGE 20 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
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PAGE 22 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
Import, Export Totals For 2009 Give Mixed SignalsBy Rick Mullen
Broom, Brush & MopAssociate Editor
U.S. government trade figures for all of 2009 indicate raw mate-rial imports were down in two of the three categories outlined in thisissue, compared to all of 2008. Figures for metal handles prior toMarch 2009 are not available for comparison. For December 2009,raw material imports were down in two of the three categories out-lined, other than metal handles, compared to December 2008.
Import totals for all of 2009 were down in six of the seven fin-ished goods categories outlined from the same time period in2008. Also, in December 2009, four of the seven categories out-lined recorded increases, compared to December 2008.
RAW MATERIAL IMPORTSHog Bristle
The United States imported 9,806 kilograms of hog bristle inDecember 2009, down about 17 percent from 11,834 kilogramsimported in December 2008. During all of 2009, 320,949 kilo-grams of hog bristle were imported, about an 18 percent decreasefrom 390,524 kilograms imported during all of 2008.
China exported 318,523 kilograms of hog bristle to the UnitedStates during all of 2009.
The average price per kilogram for December 2009 was $18.03,down about 43 percent from the average price per kilogram forDecember 2008 of $31.55. The average price per kilogram for allof 2009 was $8.45, down about 45 percent from the average priceper kilogram of $15.37 for all of 2008.
Broom And Mop HandlesThe import total of broom and mop handles during December
2009 was 1.3 million, down about 38 percent from 2.1 millionbroom and mop handles imported in December 2008. During all of2009, 19.7 million broom and mop handles were imported, com-pared to 30.3 million for all of 2008, a decrease of about 35 percent.
During all of 2009, the United States imported 7.2 million han-dles from Brazil, 5.5 million from Honduras, 3.6 million fromChina and 2.2 million from Indonesia.
The average price per handle for December 2009 was 58 cents,down about 8 percent from 63 cents for December 2009. The aver-age price for all of 2009 was 68 cents, down 1 cent from the aver-age price for all of 2008.
Brush BacksDecember 2009 imports of brush backs totaled 248,222, up about 7
percent from the December 2008 total of 232,995 brush backs. Duringall of 2009, 2.8 million brush backs were imported, an increase ofabout 12 percent over the total for all of 2008 of 2.5 million.
The United States imported 1.5 million brush backs fromCanada during all of 2009.
The average price per brush back was 51 cents during December2009, up about 76 percent from the average price for December2008 of 29 cents. For all of 2009, the average price per brush backwas 44 cents, down about 30 percent from the average price of 63cents for all of 2008.
Metal HandlesThe import total of metal handles during December 2009 was
1.5 million, down from the November 2009 total of 2 million.Since March 2009, 28.6 million metal handles were imported.
The United States imported 13.9 million metal handles fromItaly and 11.8 million from China since March 2009.
The average price per handle for December 2009 was 54 cents,down from the previous month’s average price of 73 cents. Theaverage price from March 2009 to the end of the year was 62 cents.
FINISHED GOODS IMPORTSBrooms Of Broom Corn Valued At Less Than 96 Cents
The United States imported 13,392 brooms of broom corn val-ued at less than 96 cents per broom during December 2009, com-pared to 12,456 in December 2008, an increase of about 8 percent.During all of 2009, 151,788 brooms of broom corn were imported,down about 39 percent from 248,358 imported during all of 2008.
Mexico shipped 144,588 brooms of broom corn to the UnitedStates during all of 2009.
The average price per broom for December 2009 was 70 cents,up about 21 percent from 58 cents for December 2008. The aver-age price per broom for all of 2009 was 75 cents, up about 4 per-cent from the average price for all of 2008 of 72 cents.
Brooms Of Broom Corn Valued At More Than 96 CentsThe United States imported 570,016 brooms of broom corn valued
at more than 96 cents per broom during December 2009, comparedto 545,449 in December 2008, an increase of about 5 percent. Duringall of 2009, 8.4 million brooms of broom corn were imported, downabout 2 percent from 8.6 million imported during all of 2008.
Mexico shipped 7.9 million brooms of broom corn to the UnitedStates during all of 2009.
The average price per broom for December 2009 was $2.37, upabout 5 percent from the average price for December 2008 of$2.26. The average price per broom for all of 2009 was $2.44, upabout 7 percent from $2.28 for all of 2008.
Brooms & Brushes Of Vegetable MaterialThe import total of brooms and brushes of vegetable material dur-
ing December 2009 was 196,247, down about 10 percent from217,562 brooms and brushes imported during December 2008.During all of 2009, 1.6 million brooms and brushes were imported,down about 27 percent from 2.2 million imported during all of 2008.
During all of 2009, the United States imported 802,971 broomsand brushes from Sri Lanka, and 200,688 from China.
The average price per unit for December 2009 was $1.02, downabout 43 percent from $1.78 for December 2008. The average price forall of 2009 was $1.72, up about 12 percent from $1.54 for all of 2008.
ToothbrushesThe United States imported 65.1 million toothbrushes in
December 2009, down about 8 percent from 70.9 million import-ed in December 2008. During all of 2009, 775.8 million tooth-brushes were imported, down about 4 percent from 808.2 millionimported during all of 2008.
During all of 2009, the United States received 542.3 milliontoothbrushes from China, 81.7 million from Switzerland, and 38.2million from Germany.
The average price per toothbrush for December 2009 was 24cents, up 2 cents from the average price for December 2008. Theaverage price for all of 2009 was 22 cents, down 2 cents from theaverage price for all of 2008.
HairbrushesDecember 2009 imports of hairbrushes totaled 2.4 million,
down about 49 percent from 4.7 million imported during December
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 22
April 2010 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP PAGE 23
2008. During all of 2009, 47.2 million hairbrushes were imported,down about 23 percent from 61.1 million for all of 2008.
China sent 46.1 million hairbrushes to the United States duringall of 2009.
The average price per hairbrush was 29 cents during December2009, up about 16 percent from 25 cents for December 2008. Duringall of 2009, the average price was 26 cents, the same as for all of 2008.
Shaving BrushesDecember 2009 imports of shaving brushes totaled 10.2 million,
up about 28 percent from 8 million imported during December2008. During all of 2009, 150.6 million shaving brushes wereimported, down about 11 percent from 168.7 million for all of 2008.
The average price per shaving brush was 14 cents duringDecember 2009, the same as for December 2008. During all of2009, the average price was 13 cents, the same as for all of 2008.
PaintbrushesU.S. companies imported 18.4 million paintbrushes during
December 2009, up about 6 percent from 17.4 million brushesimported during December 2008. Paintbrush imports for all of2009 were 207.1 million, up about 2 percent from 203.3 millionrecorded for all of 2008.
During all of 2009, the United States imported 158.2 millionpaintbrushes from China, and 43.3 million from Indonesia.
The average price per paintbrush for December 2009 was 25cents, down about 19 percent from 31 cents for December 2008.The average price for all of 2009 was 30 cents, down 1 cent fromthe average price for all of 2008.
EXPORTSExport totals for all of 2009 were down in four of the five cat-
egories outlined, compared to all of 2008. In December 2009, fourof the five categories also reported decreases in exports, com-pared to December 2008.
Brooms & Brushes Of Vegetable MaterialThe export total of brooms and brushes of vegetable material
during December 2009 was 6,824 dozen, down about 4 percentfrom 7,072 dozen recorded for December 2008. During all of2009, 80,761 dozen brushes and brooms were exported, downabout 13 percent from 93,269 dozen during all of 2008.
The average price per dozen for December 2009 was $31, downabout 12 percent from $35.09 per dozen for December 2008. Theaverage price per dozen for all of 2009 was $39.06, down about 9percent from $42.96 per dozen for all of 2008.
ToothbrushesU.S. companies exported 5.8 million toothbrushes during
December 2009, down about 40 percent from 9.6 million export-ed during December 2008. Toothbrush exports for all of 2009were 86.4 million, down about 51 percent from 174.6 millionrecorded for all of 2008.
The average price per toothbrush for December 2009 was 88cents, up about 60 percent from the December 2008 average priceof 55 cents. The average price for all of 2009 was 77 cents, up about108 percent from the average price of 37 cents for all of 2008.
Shaving brushesU.S. companies exported 871,804 shaving brushes during
December 2009, up about 56 percent from 558,281 brushesexported during December 2008. Shaving brush exports for all of2009 were 9.7 million, up about 30 percent from 6.8 millionrecorded for all of 2008.
During all of 2009, the United States exported 4 million shav-
ing brushes to Mexico, and 3.1 million to Canada.The average price per shaving brush for December 2009 was
$1.59, down about 13 percent from $1.82 for December 2008. Theaverage price for all of 2009 was $1.47, down about 32 percentfrom the average price for all of 2008 of $2.16.
Artist brushesDecember 2009 exports of artist brushes totaled 505,490, down
about 29 percent from 713,056 exported during December 2008.During all of 2009, 7.6 million artist brushes were exported, downabout 13 percent from 8.7 million for all of 2008.
Canada received 4.1 artist brushes from the United States dur-ing all of 2009, while Mexico imported 475,347, The UnitedKingdom imported 462,579, and China received 394,847.
The average price per brush was $3.12 during December 2009,down about 4 percent from $3.26 for December 2008. During allof 2009, the average price was $3.28, down about 4 percent from$3.42 for all of 2008.
PaintbrushesU.S. companies exported 75,297 paintbrushes during December
2009, down about 4 percent from 78,779 brushes exported duringDecember 2008. Paintbrush exports for all of 2009 were 1 million,down about 47 percent from 1.9 million recorded for all of 2008.
During all of 2009, the United States exported 425,299 paint-brushes to Canada, and 188,478 to The Netherlands.
The average price per paintbrush for December 2009 was$15.38, down about 10 percent from $17.11 for December 2008.The average price for all of 2009 was $15.66, up about 27 percentfrom the average price for all of 2008 of $12.29.
Double LipSpur DrillsDrills For Plastics
Special Half-Round andSpoon Drills
Often CopiedBut NEVER EqualledStandard Sizes Normally In Stock For Rapid DeliveryFor Availability And Pricing Contact Our Parts Dept.
0502100000 Pigs’, Hogs’ or Boars’ Bristlesand Hair and Waste Thereof
December Year To DateCountry Net Q/KG Value Net Q/KG ValueFr Germ 59 7,190Thailnd 155 11,524China 9,806 176,802 318,523 2,668,842Hg Kong 2,212 24,071TOTAL 9,806 176,802 320,949 2,711,627
0502900000 Badger Hair and OtherBrushmaking Hair and Waste Thereof
December Year To DateCountry Net Q/KG Value Net Q/KG ValueMexico 6,080 6,688 8,648 14,410Paragua 22,086 246,909U King 496 57,886Fr Germ 7,118 131,093 9,532 253,261Italy 62 3,008Thailnd 16 2,871 1,681 87,788China 42 6,324 26,530 468,904Japan 413 13,062TOTAL 13,256 146,976 69,448 1,145,228
0511993300 Horsehair and Horsehair Waste, Whether or NotPut Up As A Layer With or Without Supporting Material
December Year To Date
IMPORTSBroom and Brush
December Imports By Country
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 27
PAGE 28 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
Country Net Q/KG Value Net Q/KG ValueArgent 20 2,208Fr Germ 700 10,981China 22,502 219,322 173,910 1,799,065TOTAL 22,502 219,322 174,630 1,812,254
1404903000 Istle Used Primarily In Brooms or In Brushes,Whether or Not In Hanks or Bundles
December Year To DateCountry Net Q/KG Value Net Q/KG ValueMexico 31,063 142,823 401,805 1,976,054TOTAL 31,063 142,823 401,805 1,976,054
4417002000 Broom and Mop Handles, 1.9 CM or More InDiameter and 97 CM or More In Length, Of Wood
December Year To DateCountry Net Q/No. Value Net Q/No. ValueMexico 98,950 33,148Hondura 514,528 185,407 5,526,373 2,532,967Colomb 18,360 7,753 116,046 67,056Brazil 320,766 300,039 7,218,722 6,215,276Argent 28,625 17,131 85,375 53,527Spain 193,384 90,649Israel 340 2,067 340 2,067India 10,896 3,704Sri Lka 191,200 217,231Vietnam 100,644 92,051Malaysa 204,600 186,982Indnsia 127,276 119,502 2,203,769 1,969,188China 282,175 117,956 3,635,375 1,779,108Hg Kong 27,500 16,050Taiwan 33,000 36,190Egypt 20,000 5,000TOTAL 1,292,070 749,855 19,666,174 13,300,194
4417004000 Paint Brush and Paint Roller Handles, Of WoodDecember Year To Date
Country Net Q/Variable Value Net Q/Variable ValueGuatmal 17,581Fr Germ 19,793Czech 76,175Poland 134,754Italy 112,904 4,300,179India 97,234Indnsia 93,127 1,008,616China 28,491 2,789,909Taiwan 2,321 12,767TOTAL 236,843 8,457,008
4417006000 Brush Backs, Of WoodDecember Year To Date
Country Net Q/No. Value Net Q/No. ValueCanada 32,847 18,332 1,471,972 569,034Hondura 166,864 68,537Brazil 50,225 59,087 102,900 127,467Sri Lka 253,211 212,560Indnsia 145,448 72,463China 165,150 48,010 609,672 149,430Hg Kong 25,000 16,944TOTAL 248,222 125,429 2,775,067 1,216,435
4417008010 Tool Handles of WoodDecember Year To Date
Country Net Q/Variable Value Net Q/Variable ValueCanada 5,348 65,969Mexico 5,225 137,104Salvadr 24,924C Rica 26,722Colomb 6,328Brazil 224,722 3,010,799Paragua 32,483 64,301Nethlds 5,533Poland 30,568Spain 18,514India 10,418 21,535
9603294010 Hairbrushes, Valued Not Over .40 EachDecember Year To Date
Country Net Q/No. Value Net Q/No. ValuePoland 13,824 4,460Thailnd 77,040 23,086Vietnam 86,112 28,445China 2,305,117 689,030 46,093,359 12,168,781Kor Rep 149,030 28,307Hg Kong 86,400 11,627 793,536 135,075Taiwan 10,080 2,866TOTAL 2,391,517 700,657 47,222,981 12,391,020
9603294090 Shaving Brushes, Nail Brushes,Eyelash Brushes & Other Toilet Brushes For Use On The Person,
Valued Not Over .40 EachDecember Year To Date
Country Net Q/No. Value Net Q/No. ValueMexico 2,900,700 189,636 42,011,197 3,434,510Nethlds 1,420,000 69,877Belgium 90,000 4,155France 564,364 141,117Fr Germ 4,005,040 694,976 48,380,869 8,296,327Italy 77,810 15,606 3,101,147 691,725India 1,058,580 32,574China 3,160,194 546,549 40,971,196 5,940,052Kor Rep 12,251,156 315,325Hg Kong 11,700 4,980 480,700 61,973Taiwan 247,240 56,872TOTAL 10,155,444 1,451,747 150,576,449 19,044,507
9603302000 Artists Brushes, Writing Brushes & Similar Brushes ForApplication Of Cosmetics, Valued Not Over .05 Each
December Year To DateCountry Net Q/No. Value Net Q/No. ValueCanada 282,500 9,451Canada 282,500 9,451Mexico 438,000 12,647 6,015,200 108,174U King 500,000 12,337Fr Germ 2,782,500 80,436 25,998,500 678,843Italy 2,904,000 37,519 37,181,900 425,533India 1,980,000 27,196Thailnd 45,000 2,674 4,365,000 18,286Indnsia 67,392 2,854 67,392 2,854China 5,443,648 151,511 120,152,594 2,913,495Kor Rep 380,000 12,773 28,210,000 757,493Hg Kong 3,296,020 105,729Taiwan 1,578,208 35,750TOTAL 12,060,540 300,414 229,627,314 5,095,141
9603304000 Artists Brushes, Writing Brushes & Similar Brushes ForApplication of Cosmetics, Valued Over .05 But not Over .10 Each
December Year To DateCountry Net Q/No. Value Net Q/No. ValueMexico 4,636,940 375,684 65,042,792 5,214,382Dom Rep 33,060 2,874Brazil 96,000 6,988 576,000 40,691U King 104,000 8,626Fr Germ 364,299 27,769 1,596,799 116,582Italy 62,208 4,323 62,208 4,323India 739,308 60,200Indnsia 293,328 21,656 554,832 49,132China 8,895,044 701,221 119,493,291 9,645,425Kor Rep 600,000 35,950 6,113,320 408,882Hg Kong 1,800,576 151,547 2,452,576 206,033Taiwan 70,560 6,636 1,612,056 114,161TOTAL 16,818,955 1,331,774 198,380,242 15,871,311
9603306000 Artists Brushes, Writing Brushes & Similar Brushes ForApplication Of Cosmetics, Valued Over .10 Each
December Year To DateCountry Net Q/No. Value Net Q/No. ValueCanada 35,983 10,463 41,679 233,874Mexico 10,853,833 1,691,769 124,502,885 19,801,347Dom Rep 190,830 183,439 1,951,125 1,987,774Denmark 220 3,020U King 229,433 352,073 1,935,720 2,997,604
Anuruddha Dias has been appointed as the chief executive offi-cer of Ravi Industries Limited effective upon the retirement ofR.R.I. Fonseka from the company.
Dias holds a degree in chemical engineering from the Universityof Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He also holds a Master of BusinessAdministration from the University of Colombo and a fellowmember of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Dias has an extensive background in the fields of finance and con-trolling, business development and planning, governance and con-trol. In 1998, he began his career as a qualified assistant at Ernst &Young, and has extensive experience in servicing large domestic andmultinational organizations operating in the businesses of industrial,gas, apparel, engineering, insurance and other service organizations.
Prior to joining Ravi Industries Limited, Dias served as the chieffinancial officer of Hayleys Industrial Solutions Limited. Mostrecently, he was the head of internal audit at Holcim (Lanka) Limited.
Ravi Industries is a manufacturer of household, domestic andindustrial brushes.
O’Dell Corporation AnnouncesPromotion Of Jerry Goldman
The O’Dell Corporation, of Ware Shoals, SC, hasannounced the promotion of Jerry Goldman to EasternRegion sales manager. Goldman joined the O’Dell teamas production manager in 2006 and entered into sales in2008.
Goldman’s product knowledge and commitment earnedhim the position of Southeastern Region sales manager.During his time in this role, Goldman captured an under-standing of the jan/san industry and began developing rela-tionships that extended his reach beyond the southeasternpart of the United States.
In his new role as Eastern Region sales manager,Goldman will have responsibility for the 16 easternseaboard sates as well as Alabama, eastern Tennessee,Kentucky, West Virginia, southern Indiana, Ohio andMichigan.
Industry Personnel
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 31
Harper Brush Works, Inc., of Fairfield, IA, manufactures a varietyof cleaning products. The company’s items include brooms, mops,scrub brushes and squeegees. Shown is the company’s sales &marketing team at the Housewares Show, left to right, SteveGilworth, Amanda Marr, Patty Adam, Meghanne Thompson,Candy Pfeifer, Molly Cassens and Jesse Henderson.
Harper Brush Works
PAGE 32 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
MMany leading companies involved in theworld’s home and housewares mar-ketplace once again met at Chicago’s
McCormick Place for the International Home &Housewares Show. The 2010 edition
was held March 14-16.This year’s show included many exhibitors ofbroom, brush, mop, squeegee and related
cleaning products, including those companiesfeatured on the following pages.
Cleaning items available from the EMSCO Group, of Girard, PA,include various styles of brooms, mops and brushes. Shown isKimberly Cook, national sales manager — cleaning division.
EMSCO Group
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 32
The Libman Company, of Arcola, IL, manufactures such items asbuckets, indoor and outdoor brooms, scrub brushes, spongemops, toilet bowl brushes, upright brooms, dust mops and wetmops.
The Libman Company
Various cleaning products and supplies are among the items man-ufactured by L C Industries, of Durham, NC. Shown are, left toright, Justin Stalek, national account manager - commercial sales;Jeffrey Hawting, executive vice president of sales; and LauraFahner, sales account manager.
L C Industries
Linzer Products, of West Babylon, NY, provides various typesof cleaning products and supplies as well as painting acces-sories. Shown here is Richard Munder, national sales manag-er, demonstrating the company’s new ScreenKleen™ product.
Linzer Products
April 2010 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP PAGE 33
Unger Industrial, LLC, of Bridgeport, CT, supplies the cleaningindustry with such items as microfiber products, car washingbrushes, dusters, scrubbers, squeegees and extension handles.Shown at the Unger booth is Scott Machado, channel marketingmanager.
Unger Industrial
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 33
Among the various cleaning aids from Butler Home Products,LLC, are brooms; kitchen, vegetable and scrub brushes; buckets;and mops. The company is located in Marlborough, MA.
Butler Home Products
Offering a variety of cleaning products including squeegees,scrubbers, dusters, car washing brushes, buckets and microfiberitems is Ettore Products Company, located in Alameda, CA.
Ettore Products
Quickie Manufacturing Corporation, of Cinnaminson, NJ, suppliesthe cleaning industry with various products such as brooms,brushes (kitchen/vegetable), car washing items, mops, scrubbersand squeegees. Shown, from left, are Michael Magerman, chiefexecutive officer; and August De Luca, chief marketing officer.
Quickie Manufacturing
PAGE 34 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
Brushtech, of Plattsburgh, NY, provides a wide variety of itemsincluding barbecue brushes, bath brushes, car washing brushes,wire brushes, kitchen tools and various types of accessories.Shown is Zaven Gunjian, vice president of sales.
Brushtech
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 34
Freudenberg Household Products, of Aurora, IL, features the O-Cedar®
brand. Houseware items include brooms, mops and scrubbersponges. Shown is Art Wilde, U.S. director of marketing, with thecompany’s O-Cedar® ProMist™.
Freudenberg Household Products
Offering a variety of brushes, dust pans, latex gloves, microfiberproducts and other cleaning housewares is Kleen Maid, ofCommerce, CA.
Kleen Maid
Eagle Home Products Inc./Eagle Hygienic Rubber Co., ofHuntington, NY, supplies such items as toothbrushes; bath andscrub brushes; scrubbers; brooms; mops; and sponges. Shown,left to right, are company representatives Andre Chemtob, RobertChemtob and Jeff Stahl.
Eagle Home Products
Howard Berger Co., Inc., of Cranbury, NJ, features such house-ware items as brooms, mops, gloves and painting accessories.Shown, left to right, are company representatives Robert Lebovitzand David Berger.
Howard Berger Co.
April 2010 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP PAGE 35
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 35
AquaStar, Inc., of Los Angeles, CA, provides many cleaning itemsto the housewares industry including its Starfiber® brand ofmicrofiber products. Shown, from left, are company representa-tives Thomas Yuan, Adam Byrne and Dan Blom.
AquaStar
Offering a variety of products for the cleaning industry isHayco Manufacturing Ltd., of Hong Kong. The company’sitems include brooms, brushes, mops, squeegees, carpet andfloor sweepers. Shown are company representativesCharston Yip and Suanne Wong.
Hayco Manufacturing
PAGE 36 BROOM, BRUSH & MOP April 2010
Report Takes Snapshot Of Housewares Industry The average U.S. household spent $609 on housewares in 2008,
a 0.7 percent increase from the previous year, according to the2009 International Housewares Association (IHA) State of theIndustry (SOI) Report that was released in early 2010.
Put into perspective using U.S. government data, U.S. house-holds spent more on housewares than on dairy products and justslightly less than on fruits and vegetables. Those households spentthe most on gasoline and motor oil, on average nearly four timesthat for housewares.
Key findings from the 2009 SOI report include: • Global housewares market data show an overall decrease of
0.3 percent, driven in part by a decline in the U.S. dollar. The sta-tistics used in these global projections reflect only modest changesfrom 2007 around the globe;
• The average U.S. household spent 3 percent less on house-wares in 2008, in the midst of a deep economic downturn. Among5 major categories, 3 declined (furniture, appliances and miscella-neous household equipment), while 2 increased (housewares andpersonal care products);
• More than half (58 percent) of IHA member companies pro-duce all their products offshore. Another third (34 percent) makesome products in the United States;
• Most IHA member companies (65 percent) export product toother countries. At least half of those companies focus on Canada,
Western Europe, Mexicoand Latin America;
• Discount stores andsupercenters remainedthe sales leaders in allhousewares categories,yet other channels didpick up market share forthe second consecutiveyear; and,
• Virtual retailers dis-tributed 13 percent ofthe 2008 housewaressales, which was slightlydown from 2007, butgains were seen frommanufacturers’ direct to consumer Web sites.
“SOI Insights” included on many pages of the report offer anexecutive summary. One such nugget based on household incomedata, for instance, says consumers are apparently becoming thrifti-er, even as most earn less income.
“If gasoline prices remain moderate,” the report states, “the impli-cation for housewares manufacturers is a more discerning and price-sensitive —yet still active — consumer for the immediate future.”
Recent IHA report indicates new trends among buyers of housewares.
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 36
themselves. They are also spending more time at home, so theywant them to be even cleaner. However, they don’t want to pay anarm and a leg for the products that help with this cleaning,” ButlerHome Products Vice President of Marketing MichaelSilverman said. “I also think the whole eco-green cleaning move-ment is important, which is why we havefocused on expanding the use of microfiber inour product lineup. It allows consumers to usejust water as a cleaning agent if they want to,but they can also use other cleaning agents.It’s also reusable, thus keeping material out oflandfills.”
Silverman added that the Housewares Showprovides a perfect opportunity for companyrepresentatives to meet with many differentlevels of management as it pertains to cus-tomers.
“When you go to a retailer to make a spe-cific presentation, you can only carry in somany products, meet with so many peopleand have just a limited amount of time,” hesaid. “At a trade show, however, we get topresent our products the way we feel is best.”
During this year’s Housewares Show,Butler Homes Products celebrated its 10thanniversary of working with the Mr. Clean®brand. It also showcased several new productsincluding its Love To Clean™ line which isgeared toward impulse purchases. This line includes modern, col-orful and bright eye-catching items.
“This product line will complement what we do with ourDawn® and Mr. Clean® products. With our Mr. Clean® program,we are expanding the microfiber offering,” Silverman said.“Microfiber is a very strong growth category right now. We arelaunching a new stick item called the Dust N Mop, which is a two-sided mop featuring different microfiber pads that are replaceable.One side (of the mop) is used for damp mopping, while the otherside is used more for dry dusting. The mop head can flip overwithout having to bend down.”
The same two-sided microfiber technology is also being usedfor the company’s MicroReach, which is a bendable extensioncleaner. It includes an extension handle that goes up to 68-inchesto clean such items as ceiling fans and crown moldings.
“The other nice feature about this product is the consumer canunscrew the head from the handle and use it as a hand duster,”Silverman said. “We have also taken that same two-sided technol-ogy for our MicroSponge.”
Another category of products that have done very well forButler Homes Products is the company’s Magic Eraser® fran-chise. To expand on this franchise, Butler Homes Products hastaken the Magic Eraser® material and added it to a traditionaltwist mop called the Mr. Clean® Super Mop with Magic Eraser®Scrubber. The pads for this product are replaceable.
“We also feature a cone mop, which is a very popular way ofcleaning. The cone mops that are on the market now are made ofsynthetic strips. But, data tells us that the American consumerprefers to clean with cotton. What we have done, therefore, is cre-
ate a cone mop that uses cotton,” Silverman said.He added that in the past, cotton wasn’t used for this type of
application due to the difficulty of creating a cone that effectivelywrung out the material.
“What we have done, however, is create a product that willwring the cotton mop even better than synthetic strips. We useinternal teeth that flex both up and down as the cotton is being
passed through to properly squeeze out the water,” Silvermansaid. “It’s an easy mechanism, so the consumer doesn’t have totwist at all. All they do is push. We have taken a lot of time, effortand testing to make sure this mop is at the proper performancelevel.”
Keeping up with changes in consumer habits is vital for all com-panies. Butler Homes Products is no different.
“We have learned that overhead cleaning is an importantarea for today’s consumers. This is partially due to new homeconstruction. Two-thirds of perspective home buyers say theywant houses with high ceilings, such as cathedral ceilingsfound in family rooms,” Silverman said. “To help meet thisdemand, we have created the Mr. Clean® Reach It All kit that pro-vides cleaning help up to 12 feet with the use of an extension han-dle. This includes a window cleaner, window squeegee, overheaddusting attachment for ceiling fans and a light bulb changer.”
Staying true to the times allows Butler Homes Products to keepup with changing consumer trends and needs.
“It’s not just about taking a well known name like Mr. Clean®and putting it on a product. It’s taking innovation and adapting towhat the needs are of consumers. We work to create products thatmeet challenges in everyday cleaning,” Silverman said. “With ourpartnership with Proctor & Gamble, which owns the Mr. Clean®license, (Butler Homes Products) is also able to participate inmany cross-promotions. Customers can receive the benefits ofboth companies.”
Contact: Butler Homes Products LLC, 237 Cedar Hill St.,Marlborough, MA 01752. Phone: 508-597-8000.
Web Site: www.thebutler.com.
April 2010� BROOM, BRUSH & MOP PAGE 37
Housewares ShowContinued From Page 15
The International Home & Housewares Show’s Design Center was one of many stops for attendees.
BBM.April.x 4/5/10 8:44 AM Page 37
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, a total of 10short tons of broom corn was imported into the United States dur-ing January 2010. Total value of this import was $27,553, with acost per ton of $2,755 ($1.38 per pound). All of the month’s broomcorn arrived from Mexico.
In comparison, according to the government, 14 short tons of broomcorn were imported into the United States during January 2009, with atotal value of $47,077. The cost per ton of this broom corn, which alsoall came from Mexico, was $3,363 ($1.68 per pound).
It should be noted that Broom, Brush & Mop is still in theprocess of working with officials from the U.S. Department ofCommerce about the possibility that not all imported broom cornentering the United States as of late is being correctly classifiedand/or counted. An informal poll taken among several U.S. broomcorn dealers in March revealed that at least 21 short tons of broomcorn actually were imported into the United States during January.
Richard Caddy of R.E. Caddy & Co., Inc., in Greensboro,NC, said both the total amount of short tons imported for Januaryand total value of the broom corn seem too low to be accurate.
“Most of (the current imported broom corn) is hurl, and hurl is a lotmore expensive than $1.38 per pound,” he said. “It’s true that theamount of broom corn being imported today compared to years agois lower, but this amount is still higher than 10 short tons a month.”
When interviewed on March 24, Caddy added that there remainsbroom corn for sale in Mexico and that quality is steady.
“I have not seen any drop in quality thus far, which often can hap-pen in late spring and early summer as the Torreon harvest drawscloser,” he said. “I also haven’t had any problems getting certainsizes of broom corn. For a couple of months, 14-inch hurl was hardto find. Then it was hard to receive 16-inch insides. Right now, how-ever, this doesn’t seem to be an issue.”
Caddy expects a pretty decent planting to take place for the firstTorreon broom corn crop of 2010. This expectation is partiallybased on Mexican broom corn prices remaining fairly high as of themiddle of March.
Bart Pelton of PelRay International, LLC, in San Antonio,TX, agreed with Caddy that the dollar figure as well as the totalamount of broom corn reportedly imported during January wereboth too low.
As of March 24, he added, the Mexican broom corn processingrate is somewhat slow.
“At the moment, however, processed broom corn is fairly availableand so is unprocessed (raw corn),” Pelton said. “The Apatzingan cropharvested early and some of this broom corn has arrived in Cadereyta(for processing). At this point, unless sales pick up some, it looks likethere will be a few hundred tons of broom corn carry-over on handheading into the new (Torreon) crop.
“This should keep a lid on prices and provide a chance for somerelief this summer until the new crop (from Torreon) arrives. Themain thing I would like to see at this point is for the (Mexican) pesoto decline some in value. It’s value, however, has been going up forthe past few weeks.”
Looking forward, Pelton said it remains very difficult to attain
accurate information about this summer’s first broom corn cropfrom Torreon. This is due to the area’s ongoing battle with violencebrought on by drug cartels operating in northern Mexico.
“We are hearing that there is a possibility of a decent planting tak-ing place, but it’s really hard to say because it’s not safe to travelinto Torreon; and it’s becoming increasingly unsafe to travel toMonterrey and Cadereyta,” Pelton said. “All of this makes for a lackof firsthand information. You can still communicate. The phones allwork down there, but there are not that many people traveling to theregion.”
Tim Monahan of The Thomas Monahan Co., in Arcola, IL,also feels January’s broom corn import information is in error, not-ing that “10 short tons is barely a pup load.”
He added that as of the middle of March, there does appear to bean adequate supply of broom corn inventory in Mexico.
“I’m seeing a little increase in demand. This is hopefully a sign ofimprovement,” Monahan said. “Mexican broom corn pricingremains about the same, with some slippage taking place. It looks tome that there will be enough broom corn available as we get closerto the new crop (from Torreon).”
Regarding yucca fiber, he added that U.S. demand continues todrop.
“Prices are still steady, but most production is for grass broomsbeing made in Mexico,” Monahan said.
U.S. Imports 10 Short Tons Of Broom Corn In January
INDEX OF ADVERTISERSABMA ......................................................................39