Recently we invited local customers to meet us and take a tour of our facility. Customers were excited and surprised with just how much manufacturing we do right here. They saw skilled people working with lasers, custom machines built by our own engineers, looms, knitting machines, robots, and more. It seemed to strike a chord with people. We realized we do a poor job communicating our purpose and why we work so hard to make things ourselves. This year we’re opening up and talking about our past, our principles, our current struggles, our future products, and what it takes to Manufacture in America. We’d love to have you join us! Happy 2020!
BJ in his basement, melting straps in his homemade, version 1.0 cardboard melting station.
Hi, my name is BJ Minson. I started GRIP6 five years ago with a vision of a company that created things that were simple, functional, long-lasting, made in the USA, and that people loved. We started with a belt.
The Problem
As a father of five young children, I felt like I was throwing out broken toys constantly. I have a low tolerance for waste and it bothered me more and more over time. I began to notice most products, not just toys, were cheap, low quality, and disposable.
I was also dismayed by the lack of products being made domestically. Almost nothing in retail stores had a “Made in the USA” label. Something didn’t feel right. After some research, I discovered that manufacturing is vital to economic strength. Over the last half century, the United States has been slowly losing its manufacturing infrastructure and know-how. Watching the United States slowly and steadily lose that vital competency made me concerned that we weren’t thinking properly about our future. Losing knowledge is losing power.
Doing Something About It
I needed to do something. As an engineering student, I loved product design and manufacturing. So when I designed a unique belt that worked well, I saw an opportunity for a step toward making a difference. At the time, Kickstarter was peaking in popularity. I made a short video of my new belt and 30 days later, with no marketing, I had an order for 10,000 belts.
So I started GRIP6 and was excited to get to work making the new belts. I quickly realized I couldn’t make 10,000 belts by myself. I began looking for domestic factories to weave, cut and sew webbing as well as metal shops to cut and bend the buckles. I was committed to making the belts and sourcing the materials all in the USA.
The original Kickstarter campaign page.
The Obstacles
What came next was... enlightening. The companies I contacted took weeks to respond. When they finally did, their pricing was high and timelines were months long. At their quoted prices, I would lose money making the belt. However, most of the manufacturers gave me another option; they could guide me through the process of using Chinese factories. It was far more affordable and they pushed the option on me as the most desirable. I found it strange they were so willing to give business away to their competition. In other words, even the manufacturers were telling me I couldn’t do it without China. If that was true, my concerns about making things in the USA were right. US manufacturing wasn’t competitive.
I felt I had two options; I could follow my principles and lose money by making it in the USA or make it overseas for a profit. The frustrating thing was that I wanted to give someone my business and they didn’t even want it! Why was it so expensive and slow? The raw materials were a tiny fraction of the price. Even factoring in the labor costs, it didn’t add up. I got the impression they just didn’t want to do it.
I was struggling - I wanted to make a product and start a business, but I wanted to do it the way I thought was right. I guess I’m stubborn that way. I’d rather have refunded the money to the Kickstarter backers than make a low quality, outsourced product.
My Moment of Truth
There was one more option. I knew it deep down but it was scary. I could do it myself. In fact, I had planned to do that all along. I specifically designed the belt to be simple enough that I could make it in my garage. But that was when I was planning to sell a few hundred belts, not 10,000. I had no experience as a manufacturer and I had no equipment. And 10,000 belts is a lot! If I could make a belt every 5 minutes, it would take 833 hours of labor. That’s 40 hours per week for 5 months! It was a sobering thought, but it became clear that this was the only way to make these in the USA. I needed an industrial sewing machine and a vibratory tumbler.
BJ’s basement during the kickstarter project. A portion of the 10,000 straps organized by size and color.
Fortunately the math worked in my favor. The machines would easily be paid for with this first batch. I began to accept my fate. This would be tough, but I could do it, especially if I could convince some foolish friends to help.
It’s an understatement to say that the next six months were pure hell. It was literally the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. My friend Winslow (and now co-owner) and I worked a full shift at night after our day jobs. It was tedious manual labor week after week, month after month. Winter set in and the garage was frigid. We were exhausted, but six months later, we delivered our first batch of 10,000 belts. They looked pretty good for being made in a garage. What’s more, the feedback was great. Customers loved them and were asking to buy more. It was a proud moment for us.
Our Progress
As we moved forward with our in-house manufacturing plans, more seasoned “business people” continued telling us it was a losing strategy. We heard over and over, “You’ll never make it” and “it won’t scale”. This of course only made us double down to prove them wrong. It took us a while and we made mistakes along the way, but we figured out a way to manufacture our belts in the USA.
Making the belts ourselves, while challenging, provided some immediate benefits. We had direct control over the quality. We made sure we only produced and sent the best products we could make. Over time, we improved, got faster and reduced mistakes. Our product got better as we made changes based on customer feedback and testing. None of those improvements would have happened if someone else was making our belts.
What Works For Us
From the very beginning, we learned that purchasing machines and producing as much as we could in-house kept our costs low. Early on, I built custom hand tools that would make us faster. Later, we built custom machines to make our slowest and most tedious processes faster. We expanded from manual machines to more automated ones. Now we have a handful of excellent engineers and a machinist that work together to build our next generation production machines. About once each year we redesign our main production machines and replace them. Each iteration is more automated, takes fewer labor hours and improves the consistency and quality of the product.
Our buckles going through the tumbling process.
Whenever possible, we purchase our own machines. In almost all cases, we are able to do it faster, better and for less cost than outside companies. It’s a demanding approach because it forces us to learn completely new things, but it’s rewarding. In the few years we have been in business we have purchased and become proficient using lasers, knitting machines, looms, grainers, tumblers, robots, vision systems, lathes, CNC mills, press brakes, plastic injection mold machines, boarding machines, and clicker presses. Additionally, our engineers have designed and built dozens of manual and automated machines.
Domestic Manufacturing Today
Our motivation to grow American manufacturing isn’t about bringing back jobs that were lost or isolating ourselves from global trade. We enjoy doing it and believe it’s unwise to give up too much manufacturing knowledge and ability. We’re trying to demonstrate that American businesses can be competitive in a high-tech, global economy. We understand successful manufacturing doesn’t look the same as in the past. We believe winning strategies will include modern tools like 3-D printing, robotics, automation, and in-house marketing. Domestic manufacturing is not impossible or impractical. Staying competitive is vital to our economy, our future, our independence and our spirits.
Our Masterplan
At GRIP6 our mission is to create high quality products that last decades and to strengthen domestic manufacturing. What you buy from us with your hard-earned money should be something you love and want to use daily for the rest of your life. We know it’s a lofty goal, but it is something we strive for. This approach has worked for belts and we believe it can be applied to other products. Our intent is to be more than a belt company.
Get to Know Us
I hope you will get to know us better and allow us to earn your trust. I’m excited about this year as we continue stepping outside our comfort zones and introduce new products. Please join us on the journey as we make new products and bring new processes in house. Follow us as we struggle, misstep and learn. We usually get much better as we go along :).
Thanks for your time! Also, we’d love to hear what you think about our products and our approach!
Next time... We’ll be talking about one of our newest additions to the GRIP6 product family... High Quality Wool Socks!
175 comments
Ralph
I love your belts, they’ve been the only belt I wear since I injured my back. Can you make a thicker belt (.250") and accommodating buckle for Concealed Carry
Rolie Mans
80% of life is showing up. You showed up. As a kid from the 50’s and growing up in the Canal Zone, EVERYTHING my parents purchased for our survival was made and shipped from the good ole USA. Stuff worked forever…. built tough and was dependable. Your persistence resulted in GRIP6… kickass products with an edge and like my garage band…. nothing synthetic. Much success.
Michelle Mattena Harden
Such a cool story and beginning to your business! I was actually watching a YouTube video and up popped an ad for the Grip6 wallets and there on the screen was it’s founder BJ Minson. I had to pause a moment and thought “I went to Jr High with a BJ Minson!”
Yay! For the Glendale kids making their mark in the world AND making a difference! You probably don’t remember me since jr high was a million years ago, but good luck in all you do and keep up the good work! Now I’m going to go shop for some wallets! 😀
Paul M
there is definitely many of us who deeply desire to see made in USA again! Your tenacity and passion for high quality is inspiring! Thank you and very best wishes.
Brian Malone
Wonderful story on your development of your products. Best of luck with your sales and future development. You have done what I am attempting to do for a product – make a quality product and hire people from the local community. Congratulations on your success!
Pietro Nguyễn
I’m living in the Netherlands. My family living in the USA and so I came very often to visite my family. I love products made in the USA. Since president Donald J. Trump said: Make America great again. I hope more people to buy products made in the USA. So I did… I got 2 GRIP6 Wallets from my family. I’ very happy with the GRIP6 WALLET made in the USA.
Thanks for your nice and hopeful story. It’s a beautiful story. Go on and good luck.
I support your company and try to tell my friends and family to buy your products.
Make America great again. Keep America great.
Jason Wengerd
I am a big grip6 fan!! It is such an awesome USA product. Thanks to BJ for not letting china make these awesome products, because they wouldnt be awesome then. i have a grip 6 belt and just ordered a grip6 wallet. I am into discgolfing and want to get a few disc golf buckles.
Frederick Abeysundera
As a Canadian, it is so heartening to see that Americans still have the courage, skills and determination to compete with cheap Chinese goods and win. I try hard to buy North American goods, but I’m sure everyone knows how difficult that can be. Big business has taken the easy and cheap way out, sending all the manufacturing jobs to China. They are looking for cheap labour and easy profits. But while they may be successful in those goals, they are slowly destroying our economies. It is up to the ordinary person to resist this trend and insist on supporting our home-grown industries. Thank you. You have my admiration and support.
Lance
Never thought I’d be saying this – I got distracted from the video I’d queued up to watch an ad for… socks. And I was impressed. Had to send an email to your customer service folks saying so. In decent weather I walk 6k every day – as you say, people go nuts buying great shoes, then cheap out with junk socks. I appreciate your approach – quality stuff made in America – so I ordered a pair to check out. Before I’d even finished ordering (it took all of 5 minutes) I had a response from a real person at Grip6. Wow, fast! I closed my iPad and went to make a mug of tea (Vulcan’s Forge, from Phoenix Pearl Tea in Red Lodge, MT – not affiliated, just a happy customer… check them out!) before I’d taken my first sip I got a notice that my order had shipped from Grip6! Wow again! Maybe I’m a little strange (okay, I am. No maybe about it.) but I’m really looking forward to a new, comfortable, high quality, American made pair of walking socks. Can’t wait for decent weather!
Sue Britton
It’s extremely refreshing to see creative, insightful, hard working Americans willing to buck the current trend and produce quality products at a reasonable price. So much of what we see out there any more is simply junk with no thought, quality or time put into producing things that last and work like they’re supposed to. I have always lamented the way our once amazing craftsmen have gone by the wayside in favor of things slapped together and designed to replaced regularly.
I must admit, I had been looking for a decent belt for years and was very skeptical of finding one that met my criteria! I hated that there was no quality in what was out there and they never fit right. The holes were spaced too far apart and I always seemed to need somewhere in the middle, which meant trying to create another hole. It all ended up an ugly mess! Then I discovered your belts! What a change. When the one I ordered first arrived, I was not convinced it would work. It did take some doing to get used to it. But I’ve never looked back! I love, love, love your belts. They can be set to any place, as tight or as loose as you’d like, they stay secure and look awesome. Mine has not shown an ounce of wear even though I wear it daily. I threw all my other belts out and would never return to that style again.
I so admire and respect what you do, and how hard you work, and tell everyone I meet how great your products are. I’m buying some of your socks for a friend. Now, if you could ever see your way clear to making a good athletic shoe, I would think I had won the lottery! Currently, athletic shoes costing $200 are made in the cheapest ways possible, with no real thought put into what people need. All the shoe companies must consult one another before coming out with the new line. Right now, all brands have gone to cheap toe boxes that are not only the flimsiest material possible, but they are not waterproof! If you live in snow country like I do, and here we all wear these kinds of shoes year-round, you can’t even go out in the snow without having wet, soggy, frozen feet. And the wind whips through them like crazy. Totally impractical. I have neuropathy and the thin, miserable insoles they have are worthless and break down after a month, and my feet hurt a great deal! If you could figure out how to build a real shoe that was made for all weather and have an insole that was not all rubber or a thin little piece of foam, imagine how many people would flock to your product! For the sake of our feet, please consider it.
In the meantime, please accept my sincere thanks for being a cut above and trying to bring quality designed products produced with pride. Such a beautiful example of ingenuity. You have my undying gratitude!
Thank you!
Vi Johnson
My sons are in LOVE with your products. (Gonna get them socks next.) All I can say is KEEP IT UP!!! If I had seen your Kickstarter, I would have invested just to be able to say that I did. Please let me know if you go for a second Kickstarter round. AANNDDD if you ever seek stock holders, count me in. I may be on Social Security but I know a good investment when I see one.
Cheering you on,
Vi Johnson
Raina Shey
Love our GRIP6 belts we recently ordered! My dad loves his wallet I got him. What a great story of your beginnings! I appreciate your sharing it. I agree on someone else comment that I would like to see some camo product and like the pocket knife idea.
Nicholas DeSiato
Great story and great belt! You probably are getting no end of business advice but I do think you could do well in looking to the custom pocket knife industry for inspiration and partners. I think teaming up with some of the well known knife designers to make custom buckle designs could be very interesting. You will have to differentiate your brand before the cheap Chinese knockoffs undercut you. Consider reaching out to the major outdoor clothing companies to get their logo on your belt buckle before they just steal your design. REI, Burton, Northface, Patagonia.
Dave
I just ordered my first grip6. I have been looking for something to replace traditional leather belts for work clothing. I work as an industrial electrician and these look like they will work out just great. Can’t wait to try it out. Loved your story about how it all started.
Luan
Love your belts and your company. Came accross this while browsing Youtube. When received the belt and tried it out I knew right away it was something special. After a week of use I bought another one and 2 additional buckles. I know what I’ll be getting for my family this Chrismas.
Love that it is made it the USA. As an immigrant to America find it disheartening that we produce so little here. I tired of paying for cheap made in China stuff that is constantly breaking of is viewed as disposable. I want good old made is USA product that I can own with pride and knowing it is quality stuff that will last.
Mary Cortez
I came across your ad in Youtube so i checked it out. I have used a military belt last 40 years. I had my brothers belt from the Marine Corp and i found a vendor selling them at a local Swamp Meet (out door market place although they were lots cheeper). I love these buckle belts because they have no holes and are adjustable. They last forever even when you gain weight. Just don’t cut the belt too much. Finally someone made a comfortable one size fits all belt. You need a store in Los Angeles or Torrance, California. I will buy one soon…..Mary, Torrance, California
I will buy one of your belts soon.
John warren
Bought my first grip 6 belt and loved it so much I bought 4 more. I have tried other belts in the past and they just didn’t meet my style. These belts are awesome!!! Glad you guys are making it in the USA and hope all of your other future products come out as great as the belts. I have already told people about your belts and I plan on purchasing more in the future. Thanks again and good luck!!
Edward Palmer
Ordered on 24 April and arrived in London, UK 5 May. Very pleased: I now have one for formal and one for casual.
Jim Copus
I just ordered my belt, Moss black, can’t wait to receive it.
Sue
I ordered a belt a few years ago because the flat-front look was appealing. I love it, and 3 years later it’s still going strong! Am planning to order another, only because I want more colors. Absolutely delivers on every promise the company made.
Mike Motto
Ok just saw these today on a youtube ad. Just looked at my old leather belt 2 days ago and thought “boy that cheap made belt didn’t last long.” then as if the Internet was reading my mind, imagine that your ad shows up. I like the idea of how the belt works and LOVE the part about it being made in the USA! So I ordered 2. I made a mistake when I ordered and I contacted your company through the online chat. All I can say is if your belts are as good as your customer support they will be stellar! Ordered about 2 hours and I just received email that they have been shipped! I can’t wait to try the belt out. Good luck with your endeavors!
Adrian Bogdan, COO, Khamelia Software Inc. www.khamelia.com
I love your product! I have ordered 5 belts and 3 buckles. They look and operate amazingly. I just had a Zoom meeting with my family, we are a large family stuck in quarantine due to the Coronavirus, and I showed them the belts. They laughed at me because I ordered five. But I like them! Someone commented that it would be great if you could put a corp logo on them. I would be very interested to put Khamelia.com on them as a promo for our core customers. Also, I love that they are MADE in the USA!! Supper cool! Check us out at khamelia.com, maybe you could use our software for your operations. Let me know and I will give you a discount. God bless and keep it up!
Don Boyer
Buckles! And you make some very stylish buckles. The custom buckles are probably a niche market. I can’t see you selling a hundred special buckles (unless the order is for corporate promotion). Have you thought about franchising custom buckles? It would allow to you sell more buckles across the country (those that lend themselves to laser etching). How much equipment would it take? Would offer a small business oppurtunity to vets, Boy Scout troops to raise money, schools to pay for for outings or sports programs (all of the above could be done as mail order) Set up in malls or out of the house.
Also, set up a page to display the custom buckles (with permissions of course). It would be interesting to see what some people have done. Might inspire someone to design something for themselves or for someone special. I have submitted a number of designs for your perusal and if anyone wants to use them. Go For It!!
Cheers
Jonathan Boehman
What a great story! It makes me even happier to support you now.
Idea for you:
I love the different style options you’ve had so far. My favorites are the honeycomb in the Buffalo designs. But I also appreciate having some thing more straightforward. One more coat you have not tapped yet with his belt is the geek market. I would love to see some licensed belts, with symbols such as the Star Wars rebel alliance and empire logos in the buckles.I’m sure you could do well with Transformer Autobots and Decepticons as well. I’m sure it would require a premium in order to pay for the licensing, but I personally would be willing to pay that. Just a thought; keep up the good work!
Bryan Smith
I found you guys through a Facebook ad a few years ago. I finally got the bullet and bought my first $45 belt. Now, it’s the only thing I wear. I’m up to 4 straps and some 6 or 7 buckles. And you’re right, they’re better now than 2 years ago. Enough so that at least two people I work with have bought in. And would I do it again? Spend $45 on a belt? Damn right!
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