A 'Shark Tank' entrepreneur wanted to keep manufacturing in the USA. An Iowa company made it happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRkqjeyjN9w
The Sharks wouldn’t bite because Donny McCall wouldn’t budge.
But McCall’s invention for pickup trucks survives and thrives more than a decade later because a Des Moines metro company made the promise they wouldn't.
Here's the previously little-told story.
McCall gained a share of fame on the legendary ABC "Shark Tank" show in 2012, where he pitched his invention called Invis-A-Rack ― a rack for hauling ladders, light boats and other hard-to-transport items that fits on pickup trucks and is retractable onto the bed rails when not in use.
He was seeking $100,000 for 10% of the company but was adamant that manufacturing of the product had to be done in the United States.
The product piqued the interest of the Sharks, but in the end, the celebrity investors balked, saying long-term profitability rested on production being done overseas, where manufacturing costs are lower and profit margins would be greater.
More: Des Moines metro's Dee Zee takes home national manufacturing award
McCall ultimately walked away, losing a deal with the Sharks but gaining widespread admiration from around the country for sticking to his guns in insisting on domestic production of his invention. He had hoped a deal from the Sharks would help him set up production in his hometown of Sparta, North Carolina.
"Let's just say that a manufacturer in Asia could make that for $150... in quantities of, let's say, 1,000," entrepreneur Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O'Leary told McCall on the episode. "That puts you in business right there, my friend. ... And yet you're saying, 'No.'"
"It's not what I'm going to do with my company," McCall responded, effectively locking himself out of a deal.
Dee Zee to the rescue
While famous Sharks like O’Leary and Mark Cuban shunned the product, help came soon after from the shark-less cornfields of Iowa in the form of Dee Zee Inc.
For Dee Zee, already an established and renowned manufacturer of car light truck accessories, the product fit right smack in the middle of the company’s wheelhouse. Dee Zee acquired the worldwide, exclusive licensing rights to manufacture and market the Invis-A-Rack, and continues to sell it, as made in its Des Moines metro factory.
McCall said in a recent interview with the Des Moines Register that Dee Zee officials contacted him very soon after the show aired.
“When I looked at their (Dee Zee’s) array of products and the size and scope of their capabilities, it just made sense” to accept its offer, he said.
McCall said he has a licensing deal with Dee Zee that pays him a percentage based on sales.
“More than 10 years later, we’re still going strong,” he said.
The exposure the product got from "Shark Tank" and the admiration McCall received from viewers for wanting the product manufactured in the United States has helped sales along the way, said Scott Moyer, director of marketing for Dee Zee.
Customers have not forgotten McCall’s dedication to keeping the manufacturing in the United States, as shown in customer reviews like this one on the Dee Zee website: “AWESOME. Well worth the money. Kudos to Donny McCall for not sending the manufacturing to China!”
“Every time that episode gets aired somewhere, we can see a spark in sales,” Moyer said.
While pricing has naturally gone up over the years (the list price on the Dee Zee site is $1,119.95, but it can be found at lower prices from other venders), Moyer said sales are still very good.
McCall, who calls himself “an entrepreneurial patriot,” is still involved in businesses in Sparta, including as president of Perrycraft Inc., which also produces car and truck accessories such as roof racks.
“I guess this whole story shifted from a ‘Made in the USA’ theme to a ‘Made in Iowa’ story,” McCall said.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Principled entrepreneur finds home with Des Moines metro's Dee Zee
