BioPlastics, BioThane Belting and the Equine Market

[Jan Welling <frank@bioplastics.com>]

BioPlastics, BioThane Belting and the Equine Market

Over the past year I have been asked by a number of people to do a paper
on the origin of BioPlastics and our history with the equine market.  I
put that on my things-to-do list and it finally rose to the top.

To my knowledge, the first company to make plastic coated webbing for
equine applications was Empie Manufacturing in Latham, NY.  They
introduced a bridle, parts of which were made from plastic coated
webbing, in the mid 1970's as part of their standardbred racing
harness.  Empie produced this product in-house and captively consumed
100% of their production.

Tom Elsner, at Walsh, was a competitor to Empie.  Tom wanted to use a
plastic coated webbing in his racing harness.  However, he could not
find a source.  After having determined that the coating was
polyurethane, Tom called BFGoodrich, a supplier of polyurethanes, and
asked their assistance in finding a company who could make the product. 
Goodrich had a difficult time locating a company to undertake the
project.  Times were good and most of Goodrich's customers were busy. 
This was 1976.

There were four individuals at BFG who were aware of Tom's dilemma. 
They decided to make Tom's product and set up a 3/4" extruder in one of
the partner's basement.  The first order was shipped in January 1977 to
Walsh.  The product was 1/2" Black Standard.  That was the beginning. 

From 1977 to 1984 numerous products were added and the company grew. 
Other end use applications such as dog collars, hand tools, sporting
goods, and safety belts were established.  In late 1983, sales had grown
to a point where the business would support 1 or 2 full time employees. 
At that same time, BFG offered an exit offer to all employees.  Although
BFG's offer wasn't exactly a "golden handshake", it was good enough. 
Three of us took the offer and went full time at BioPlastics on March 1,
1984.  BioPlastics was now legitimate.

Throughout our history, the equine market has remained the cornerstone
of our business.  It began with racing harness, then moved into work,
driving and show harnesses.  The Amish community began using BioThane
belting in the late 1970's and word spread about two particular benefits
of our product -  1) ease of cleaning and  2) lightweight.  As our sales
grew to the Amish, novel ways of fabricating, assembling, and designing
harness began to emerge.  The Amish embraced the product and developed
the techniques to make it work.  Keep in mind that our background was
plastics, not horses.  Quite frankly, we had no clue about what was best
for harness.   Fortunately, our customers taught us and suggested
product improvements which greatly enhanced the value of BioThane.

The world of tack was a different matter.  In the early days we couldn't
get to first base with the tack manufacturers.  They would take our
samples and make a headstall or breast collar using leather patterns. 
The resulting product did not have the proper fit or appearance.  It got
thrown into the scrap barrel and BioThane was written-off.

In early 1985, we began an association with Stormy Dixon of Eagle Tack. 
Stormy saw the potential of BioThane and began developing patterns. 
Unlike other tack manufacturers, Stormy had horses on the property.  She
would create a pattern, make the product, and put it on a horse to check
the fit and appearance.  In this manner, she created patterns for many
products which she graciously shared with the market.  With Stormy's
help, we began to make inroads in a number of saddlebred markets. 
Today, BioThane is used in endurance, pleasure, eventing, racing, and
show applications for tack and saddles.  Both our harness and tack
markets continue to grow.  Since 1977, we have sold over 15 million feet
of BioThane into those combined markets.  Our best sales tactic has been
the word of satisfied customers which is a reflection on how we've
treated those customers over the years.

Indeed, we have competition in the equine arena.  We routinely evaluate
their products - Oputhane and Ohiothane.  We also have had many
conversations with people in the market about our competitors' policies,
service, commitment, and integrity.  I have been asked repeatedly "What
makes us better than them?".  I think you have to ask our customers that
question.  I can comment on how, perhaps, we are different.  From a
company standpoint.....

	 	We are committed to a long term relationship with the equine
industry.  This is manifest by  1) the new products we have developed, 
2) the inventory we carry, and  3) our investment in quality control.
	 	Our sales and customer service people will present the truth - even
when the news is bad.
	 	We tend to make decisions in behalf of the customer, not BioPlastics.
	
I noticed this sentence in a recent piece of competitive literature -
"We believe that our individual and business relationships should be
conducted on the basis of the highest ethical standards."   Believing is
one thing...honoring that belief is another.  For example, I wonder if
using your competitors trademark to coax customers to your Internet
website is covered by that sentence.  There are other examples which I
will defer to another time.  In short, Buyer Beware!

From the product standpoint...

	 	Originally, the competition used a colored web with a clear coating. 
We have always used a natural web, except where otherwise specified,
with a pigmented coating.  The pigment protects the coating from UV
degradation which can destroy the coating.
	 	The competition states they use nylon webbing.  We switched from
nylon to polyester a number of years ago because it provided a more
durable product for our customers.  If you want to know why, submerse an
end of their webbing along with ours in a jar of water and see what
happens.
	 	For years our adhesion between the coating and web was superior to
that of the competition.  This is important because of delamination
problems.  Although they have made improvements, we continue to hear
about delamination of their products.
	 	Physically and dimensionally their products look like ours.  Buyer
Beware!

The long and short of it is the fact that we have retained most of our
customers in spite of competitive pricing which is often 20-30% lower
than BioThane.  That tells me that people are willing to pay for our
quality, service, and new product development.   And it also tells me
that our customers are making money using BioThane.

I'll leave you with several observations we've made relative to equine. 
The more successful customers have

	 	positioned their BioThane products against leather, not nylon.
	 	worked their business full time, not part time
	 	not challenged leather directly, but offered BioThane as an
alternative
	 	taken pride in what they do and try to present the highest quality
product that is practical and within their means

It is incredible how fast the time slips by.  I have been involved with
BioPlastics for 19 years.  Over that time, we have gone from serving one
market to sixteen.   I have been fortunate to have made many long term
friendships across our land.  Indeed, the equine market has given me a
fair share of heartburn because you all want something different from
us.  However, I have had a great deal of fun and satisfaction in dealing
with you.  Thank you for your patience and trust.

If you have any questions or comments, you know where to find me.




Frank T. Boron
President
BioPlastics

800-487-2358
frank@bioplastics.com


3/11/98