Wednesday, February 6 2013 6:21 PM EST2013-02-06 23:21:04 GMT
Some 'As Seen on TV' products are not only made locally, they're also tested, designed and brought to life in a Mid-Michigan lab. Marc Jacobson will show you how they do it, Wednesday on ABC12 News
Many of the infamous 'As Seen on TV' products are made in Caro, Michigan by Wow Products USA.
CARO (WJRT) -
(01/30/13) - You've seen them advertised on late night television. The 'As
Seen on TV line, is a worldwide, multi-billion dollar brand. And a big surprise
- many of those quirky products are dreamt up, made, packaged and shipped out
across the globe by Wow Products USA - based in Caro, Michigan.
"This is our 60,000 square foot warehouse and assembly area. We're running three
shifts a day. We employ between 30 and 60 people," said David Allen, Wow
Products USA President & CEO. "I'm sort of a mad scientist at work, and to
really see those products come from cradle to grave right here in the plant is
exciting."
Allen says the Twisty Clip is a "smash hit."
"We're pumping out about 150,000 of these a day," he said. "Originally, they
were supposed to sell 4 million units over 4 years. We sold over 5 million units
in the first 6 weeks."
Another hot As Seen on TV item made in Mid-Michigan is the Chop'N'Serve, along
with the Tread Ahead.
"You get stuck on the snow and ice and there's no way out without a push or tow
truck. You put this under the tire that's slipping here and as the tire tries to
throw it, it actually bites right into the ice or snow, while the tire grips and
pulls you right out. It's also an ice scraper as well," Allen said.
As for Wow's biggest holiday seller, it was the Booty Slide. Due to specific
manufacturing requirements, it was actually made in China, but still assembled,
packaged, and shipped out of Caro.
Wow has been making As Seen on TV products since 2010, and while other As Seen
on TV product suppliers have sold their ideas and allowed production to move to
China, Wow has resisted that temptation.
"When we first were introduced to the As Seen on TV folks, they wanted to take
our products over to China, too. They never considered making them here. They
didn't feel we could be competitive and we insisted that they be made here,"
Allen said.
That decision has paid off. In fact, Wow plans to pump out a new As Seen on TV
product every month. Allen says he expects business to increase by close to 400
percent this year, and the best part - that could mean more jobs down the road.
"To know that we write paychecks to 30 to 50 families every week out of here and
we're growing and growing, that's the real excitement," he said.
Next week, we'll show you the place in Mid-Michigan where many of the ideas for
the 'As Seen on TV' line come to life.
