We tend to think of technology in terms of gadgetry. If it
isn’t as complex as rocket science, then it’s not tech. However, in the
well-known Macroeconomics text co-authored by the Nobel Prize-winning
economist, Paul Krugman, the point is made that technological progress, the
factor most responsible for economic growth, has depended on rather mundane
innovations such as the flat-bottomed paper bag (patented in 1870) and the
Post-it note (introduced in 1981). Technology is not all about bells and
whistles; it’s about ideas. And innovative ideas make up the foundation on
which OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) was built.
In a recent MissionIR OPCO interview (http://dtn.fm/uZK5M),
co-founder Dr. Steve Tsengas remarked that one of the main rationales behind
the founding of OurPet’s Company in 1994 was the lack of innovation in the pet
industry at that time. In fact, so intent on the knowledge-based aspect of the
enterprise were its co-founders, Dr. Steve Tsengas and Dean Tsengas, that they
decided to focus on generating new, improved solutions for pet owners and ways
of getting product to market rather than manufacturing. So, on the one hand,
OurPet’s Company concentrates on innovation and design, and, on the other, on
marketing and distributing its product line.
OurPet’s Company began as a one-product company. Its
OurPets® Big Dog Feeder® was introduced at a classic pet show in Cleveland,
Ohio, in 1994. After sales of $6,500 in three days, the founders realized that
their insight of the need for innovation in the industry was right on point.
The OurPets® Big Dog Feeder® makes it easier for big dogs to eat by elevating
the feeding bowl. It is also a much healthier way for them to eat. Feeding from
a bowl at ground level may compromise their physical structure, leading to
arthritis at the joints.
Since then, OurPet’s Company has gone from a start-up with
one product and annual sales of $100,000 to a publicly-traded company with over
a thousand products and annual revenues reaching for $30 million. The company
also has a potent IP pipeline of some 30 or so products and an IP portfolio of
about 160 patents.
The confluence of ideas that has created such experimental
and operational energy at OurPet’s Company is derived from two main streams.
First, Dr. Steve Tsengas must confess to being a serial entrepreneur. He has
been elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, to be a member of which
‘the inventor must have had a U.S. patent that has improved the welfare of
humanity and promoted the progress of science and technology’. He has started
seven other companies, all, save one, successfully, and has, in the process,
accumulated a rich variety of experience and expertise in engineering,
electronics, plastics and rubber technologies. Second, his love of pets has
driven an academic interest in the pathologies that, unfortunately, accompany
their aging. He holds a PhD in naturopathic medicine with a specialty in pet
geriatrics and animal behavior. The combination of Dr. Tsengas’s engineering expertise
with his knowledge of animal physiology is exploiting market opportunities.
In spite of its successful launch with the relatively
low-tech OurPets® Big Dog Feeder®, OurPet’s Company is just as much high-tech.
In July 2015, OurPets® Catty Whack® received the Best New Cat Product Showcase
Award at the pet supply industry trade show, SuperZoo. OurPets® Catty Whack® is
an unpredictable game of hide and seek designed for cats of all ages. Cats love
the electronic RealMouse® sound and the erratic movement of the feather keeps
the cat guessing as it darts in and out at random. On the top of the Catty
Whack® there is a carpeted scratching area where cats can groom their claws on
a texture that they find satisfying. The bottom of the toy has non-skid rubber
feet, which keeps the toy from sliding. There is also an auto-shut off feature
and a replacement feather prey wand is included.
Building on this progress, last month, OurPet’s Company
introduced its Intelligent Pet Care™ product line at the Global Pet Expo.
Intelligent Pet Care™ products use Bluetooth technology to communicate
information to pet owners’ smartphones about their pets. The company also
displayed its Whirling Wiggler™ Spinner Toy, new waste management products, and
new designs for its bowl and feeder line. With all of this in mind, it’s clear
that OurPet’s Company is not high-tech or low-tech. OurPet’s Company is
all-tech.
For more information, visit the company’s website at
www.ourpets.com
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