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GARBAGE SOLUTION IN THE BAG
Boston Herald, March 18, 2005
Item tackles tough trash
By Jennifer Heldt Powell
Bruce Williams, a real estate developer, had what he thought would be an easy problem to fix. The garbage bags he used to toss out construction debris just weren't working.
They would tear on the way out the door or they couldn't hold enough.
"It was almost like throwing money out the window," he said.
Unable to find a good bag and unwilling to continue doubling up, he decided to create his own. His company, based in Faneuil Hall, now markets The Demo Bag.
But it turned out to be a much more complex answer to his problem than he anticipated.
His research into materials led him to use polypropylene rather than the more typical polyethelyne. Thin strips of the stretchy material are interwoven to create a tough fabric. The bags can be punctured but won't tear, even when dropped from a high window (which Williams doesn't recommend).
"It's almost like a grain bag," said Keith St. George, a senior buyer for Rafferty Aluminium & Steel Co., which distributes the bags. "It's very hard to rip, and they're not that expensive."
Designing the bag turned out to be the easy part. Williams' expertise was in renovation, not manufacturing and marketing.
Undaunted, he plunged into the process. It turns out he didn't know what he was in for.
"If I had known, I might not have done it," he said.
Williams had to search the world over for the right manufacturer. He tried several before choosing one. Then he had to design print for the bag and the packaging.
Marketing the Demo Bag has turned out to be as complex as getting them made. Williams started on his own, meeting with store owners and managers but realized he couldn't cover enough territory. Instead, he's enlisted the help of distributors.
So far, he has signed up enough distributors to cover much of the East Coast and into the Midwest.
In the midst of selling, he's been tweaking the packaging so the bags can be displayed in a way that will be more appealing to consumers.
Williams could have turned the whole project over to an experienced company, but said he doesn't regret trying it on his own.
The market for contractor garbage bags is $400 million a year and growing.
Demo Bags sell for an average price of $11.99 for 20 bags, which is comparable to their competition.
Still, breaking into a market with many established players is hard.
St. George said the key has been handing out a lot of samples.
"Once they try it, people really like it," he said.
Williams now is traveling around the country hawking the bags and looking for more distributors. If the product takes off as he hopes, he'll consider moving into other markets, such as household garbage.
Copyright Boston Herald Library Mar 18, 2005
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