Cactus Coatings
Cactus Coatings
ob Elliott likes the juxtaposition of thousand-year-old clay kilns in China,
where he buys ceramic coffee mugs, and the technology of the process at his business in
Grand Junction, Colorado, where he adds an invisible polymer coating that allows easy
application of high-resolution images to the mugs. He's intrigued by the horse-drawn carts
carrying the raw products that will end up being sold in shopping malls in the United
States with a while you-wait personalized photograph on them.
Elliott developed a love of travel and a penchant for solving problems
while he was growing up in his family's carnival business. "I was working full-time
when I was 12 years old, and supervising six people when I was 15," he said. When it
became evident that the carnival business could not make a profit if he operated it
according to his standards for quality, Elliott regretfully closed the business, which had
been started in the 1920s, and moved on to other ventures.
He had worked several years at a "winter job" at a mug
coating business in Boulder, Colorado, and had talked with the owner and with chemist Mick
Eminger about opportunities for changing and expanding that business. However, the owner
was comfortable with the business as it was, and Elliott and Eminger decided to form a
partnership and launch their own business.
. . . today Cactus Coatings is a leading manufacturer in the industry of coated ceramics for the sublimation and photo mug industries.
After two months on their own, Elliott and Eminger decided to move to a new location. They both liked New Mexico, and they were on their way there to scout possible sites when they stopped in Grand Junction, Colorado, to visit friends. Those friends told them about Grand Junction's small business incubator, and after checking it out, they decided western Colorado might work just as well as New Mexico for their business.
(photo)Coating mugs is a high-technology process, but inspecting them for quality depends on human eyes and hands at Cactus Coatings.
That was seven years ago, and today Cactus Coatings is a leading manufacturer in the industry of coated ceramics for the sublimation and photo mug industries. They also distribute equipment and other products, and continue to manufacture the mug presses used by other entrepreneurs for businesses such as producing those coffee mugs with pictures at shopping malls and fairs.
They graduated from the incubator in 1992 and . . . . they were producing 250,000 pieces a year. Now, they produce 2.5 million pieces per year. . .
The need for high-quality ceramic mugs led to a worldwide search for
suppliers. With a dependable source for mugs, and with the proprietary formula Eminger
developed for a high-quality polymer mug coating, Cactus Coatings established a profitable
position in the market. In 1995, they also began putting images on the mugs, using
sublimation inks that turn from a solid to a gas to produce high-resolution images. They
plan to expand their products this year to include coatings and images on plates.
When Elliott and Eminger moved their business into the Western Colorado
Business Development Corporation incubator in the Spring of 1990, they had annual sales of
around $325,000. They graduated from the incubator in 1992 and moved into a small building
they had purchased--which has been expanded every year since.
In 1992, they were producing 250,000 pieces a year. Now, they produce
2.5 million pieces per year, with orders ranging in size from 36 to 50,000. They have 25
permanent employees and currently have 10 temporary employees, a number that varies
depending on order sizes.
When asked about what has led to his success, Elliott said, "I
like challenges and I'm not afraid of hard work." He's scrupulously honest in dealing
with people, and he emphasizes quality. That commitment to quality has led to Cactus
Coatings being the supplier for other companies who emphasize quality in their products,
such as Hallmark, Kodak and Fargo Electronics.
"I like challenges and I'm not afraid of hard work."
Elliott also expects high quality from suppliers for Cactus Coatings. They have bought mugs for three years from a manufacturer in Northern Shandong province in China. "We've negotiated a contract to be able to buy the 'pick of the kiln' from this supplier," Elliott said. "That means we can select 10 to 12 percent of a kiln run and get only the very best mugs, instead of having the whole run shipped to us, which is how it was typically done in the past." Cactus Coatings' insistence on being able to select for quality has resulted in development of a new system of grading standards for ceramic goods shipped from China.
. . . the Internet has also been an effective marketing tool, and has attracted customers in the Middle East, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and Brazil.
Cactus Coatings' website answers the question, "What the heck is sublimation and why should I care?" and provides specifications about products and equipment. Most of the marketing for specific Cactus Coating products is done by the businesses that resell their mugs. However, the Internet has also been an effective marketing tool, and has attracted customers in the Middle East, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and Brazil.
. . . they expect to open a processing plant in China within the next year.
Elliott and Eminger have plans to keep Cactus Coatings growing. They
now have distribution warehouses in several locations in the United States, and they
expect to open a processing plant in China within the next year. They currently run two
shifts at the Grand Junction facility, and can run one more when needed.
A lone fiberglass saguaro cactus stands in front of the Cactus Coatings
building in Grand Junction, where cactus do not thrive. We asked where the name
"Cactus Coatings" came from. "When we were new in business," Elliott
explained, "we were inundated by sales people calling to sell us things. We thought
if we had an unusual enough name, people would be so puzzled that they would leave us
alone." With plans to move to New Mexico--where cactus are plentiful--they decided
that "Cactus Coatings" would adequately puzzle people. They adopted the name for
their business, and made the saguaro cactus their company logo.
. . . being an incubator tenant enabled them to focus directly on their product, and to share ideas with other business owners . . .
Staff at the Western Colorado Business Development Corporation said they think Cactus Coatings would have succeeded whether they had gotten support and assistance through the incubator or not. Elliott said that is probably true, but that being an incubator tenant enabled them to focus directly on their product, and to share ideas with other business owners--"mostly over beer on Friday afternoons!" Now, Elliott serves as a mentor for businesses at the incubator, volunteering his time to help others more easily learn the tough lessons of starting and expanding a small business.
"I've learned that if I persist long enough, I can usually get what I want."
Renting space at the incubator also put Elliott next door to Laura Bradford, owner of Pro-Safe Professional Linens, who is now his wife. "She rejected me for the first six months I was there," he said, "but I kept persisting. I've learned that if I persist long enough, I can usually get what I want."