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Product Magazines: Product Trends |
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UMBRELLAS are a wonderful way of keeping dry in the rain Ä a personal, portable, lightweight roof. However, a wet umbrella indoors can become a liability, leaving pools of water by the entrance, just where people are most likely to slip and fall.
At best, such slips and falls can prove embarrassing for the owners of properties. At worst, they can result in long-term, time-consuming and enormously expensive litigation. Precautions are obviously worth taking.
The Sunmate Raindress from Sun Mak Int'l Co provides a solution to the problem of indoor umbrellas. The 77.5-centimetre stainless steel and ABS stand has a plastic-rimmed hole in the top which guides the umbrella into a plastic sheath, preventing rainwater from dripping on to the floor.
Stocks of replacement plastic sheaths are only available from the company and they are priced at HK$0.13 each for a minimum order of 30,000 pieces. There is no minimum order for the Sunmate Raindress. For an order of 100, or one TEU, the price is US$104 per piece FOB Hong Kong and delivery can be expected within 30 days of confirmation of order.
Manager Anderson Mak believes that the Raindress will "appeal to shop owners and hotel managers as well as finding good use in business offices". The company was formed in 1992 and produces a range of "household products and magnetic items, such as neck and back-massage pillows", says Mak.
The company's 900-square-metre factory in Guangdong, China, has a workforce of 100 producing about five million plastic sheaths a month. It has yet to go into mass production of the stand. ABS and stainless steel are imported from Japan.
Sun Mak markets most of its products in the US, though it is seeking markets worldwide.
Written by Roger Cave
THERE are many situations in which a little extra power can make all the difference. Motorists can find themselves stuck in their vehicles and many use the car battery to power a range of comfort-enhancing and practical devices. The standard access point for that power is the cigar lighter socket.
Fans, lights, televisions, kettles, shavers and even ovens that operate on 12V DC are available on the market. Sometimes drivers may want to use more than one of these devices at once, and that is where Hung Hing Leung Electric and Hardware Factory Ltd has found a niche.
The company produces a Dual Outlet extension that plugs into the cigar lighter socket. This allows long distance truck drivers, campers and stranded motorists to keep cool while shaving, or watch television while brewing a cup of tea or coffee.
Design of the Dual Outlet was carried out in-house. The unit is a toy car design made of plastic. An electric element, which plugs into the cigar lighter, sticks out of the back of the car, and the front and rear axles each house a socket into which additional devices can be plugged.
A green bulb inside the car lights up when the Dual Outlet is carrying current. Alternative colour schemes can be produced on request and the model sells for US$1.40 FOB Hong Kong.
The 20-year-old company is no newcomer to the automotive accessory market. It also manufactures a range of driving lights, fog lights, extension cords and ashtrays.
The firm has a 1,300-square-foot factory in Guangdong, China, with 50 workers turning out 10,000 pieces of the Dual Outlet per month. Metal comes from Japan, plastic from Taiwan and electronic components are sourced locally.
The minimum order for the extension is 2,000 pieces per colour and delivery takes three weeks.
Written by Roger Cave
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