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
Tony Pietropaolo
Congrats on your success and pushing through the tough times and working towards your goals. One question, whatever happened to the wallet?
Marty Merritt
I love my Grip6 belts! I got one, then two, then three, and now am up to six! I wear a lot of tools on my belt and it handles that perfectly. Please bring back Light Khaki straps! I have lots of light khaki pants, and the khaki belt is too dark (I wear it anyway).
Julius A.
I have several belts and buckles the black and silver carbon buckles are my two favorites. I wear these belts with everything, even suits (black carbon).
I think you should offer a very limited edition of TITANIUM buckles. Etched in the lower right corner in small script should be “Ti” (it’s symbol from the periodic table)). It will naturally cost more but that’s fine. I’m sure it will sell out quickly and I’ll be your first customer!
Thanks for your elegantly simple solution to a 150+ year old problem!!
Jo Visschers
Great to read about your struggles, your commitment and your results. Fully agree, almost everything is produced as a throw away product. I share your approach to produce quality, long lasting products.
I own 3 belts and 6 buckles. I enjoy wearing them.
Even as a non American I am proud of your results and the products you provide.
Based on the belts I purchased, I decided to be a backer for your Grip6 Wallet. Still waiting for version 2.0 Wallet to be delivered. But I am confident you deliver again an excellent product.
Thanks for sharing your history.
Regards
Jo.
Jo Visschers
Great to read about your struggles, your commitment and your results. Fully agree, almost everything is produced as a throw away product. I share your approach to produce quality, long lasting products.
I own 3 belts and 6 buckles. I enjoy wearing them.
Even as a non American I am proud of your results and the products you provide.
Based on the belts I purchased, I decided to be a backer for your Grip6 Wallet. Still waiting for version 2.0 Wallet to be delivered. But I am confident you deliver again an excellent product.
Thanks for sharing your history.
Regards
Jo.
Flemming
Hi guys. Like in another comment I was looking for a belt on the internet. Somehow I stumbled over GRIP6 and thought it looked interesting. After a bit of research I ended up deciding for for one. Now I have got two buckles – one of each ‘broad’ and ‘narrow’ with belts to it. I have used it with a suit and enjoyed the easy adjustment and it looked great.
I bought a jacket (US made) in a great shop in Copenhagen. The stuff they’ve got made me contemplate asking them if they would sell GRIP6 would that be possible. I haven’t asked them yet but do you actually sell them through clothing stores? I think you could gain a few customers here in Denmark if more people knew about your product. I love it.
Will be looking forward to reading about your woolen socks.
Nate Rosenau
I first saw your belts on Jomez Production disc golf and since trying with a hopefulness I hadn’t had in a while. Now I have 5 buckles and 3 different belts and have a prototype wallet and v2.0 on the way. I can’t wait. I’ll be buying socks very soon. I tell everyone I can and if you guys make a car, I’ll buy it. Keep it up and stay local!
Shirley Covington
I bought my son one of your belts. I noticed the name of your company and wondered about it. Now I know! It is a wonderful belt, and I thought it was a great break through. My son will be wearing more of your belts! You persevered and congratulations. I wish you would develop women’s belts without holes/or flaps. I wear a lot of belts and love the look. Keep up the good work.
Joe Schuster
I have several of your Grip6 belts, with more straps than buckles. Is there a way you could add one or two slots on your belt hangar for extra straps to be hung?
E T Bradley
Two things come to mind: Innovation is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. And nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Michael Stultz
I’m so happy for your success and the success of the company! I think your products are excellent and wear them everyday. Thank you!
Daniel A. Melchior
Great article, I have purchased 2 GRIP6 belts so far and plan to buy more. Love the simplicity of the belts and the warranty can’t be beat! Keep up the good work, looking forward to new products coming out. Made in U.S.A. all the way. Thanks for a great product.
Toby Johnson
Great article! Way to stick with it and prove ‘em wrong. My family has close to 20 of your belts. I was able to come tour your new facility and meet some of your staff. They were wonderful and offered to re-do the buckle end of all my old belts with your new process. It was great to see what you have accomplished first hand. As an engineer myself I totally get where you are coming from and am so impressed with what you have done. During my tour I was able to meet Cassidy Keyes who is over your sock production. As a runner I had some input that may or may not be useful. He gave me a pair running socks to try out and I have to say that they are every bit as good as my favorite running socks. Keep up the great work!
Jason P. Hagle
I think you have a great product and I’m encouraged by your story and commitment to manufacture your products in the United States. I have 6 total with about 5 buckles. After I bought my first one I inquired about an exchange because I had lost a good amount of weight. You sent me a new one absolutely free and I have been a huge fan ever since. I’ve also turned several people on to your products and will continue to spread the word about Grip6. Thank you!
Kathy
Several years ago, I bought narrow classic versions for my husband and my adult son. They tried the belts for several days, and determined that the Grip6 belts were the best belts they had ever worn! No slipping, infinite adjustment, comfortable, low-profile. Neither of them wears any other belt now. My son has been waiting for the honeycomb version in the narrow width. Please make your conservation series buckles in narrow widths! And thank you for making your fantastic products in the USA!
Justin
I have purchased two belts so far and I love them. I use one daily. My wife recently came out as bisexual and I am supporting her to the best of my ability. She would like a way to show off what she has recently discovered without making it extremely obvious and a belt would be an awesome way to do this. I would bet if you offered belts in some of the different LGBTQ colors that you would increase your sales with a certain demographic. I honestly think that the buckles themselves would be great for this because in our case we are looking for something more subtle but I know a lot of people would love for the belt itself to be in the pride colors. Quite honestly, for me I would love for some of the buckles to be printed or etched with something funny on them, like a cocky belt buckle.
Paul J
I only wear Grip6 belts now and have done for a year. They’re by far the best belts I’ve ever owned, but the best feature is the ability to mix the straps and buckles. They are amazing quality and I will never buy another sort of belt!
Dani Rocha
Well done! Quite long but interesting story…keep it up. I bought my first belt some months ago and I’ve been amost wearing it ever since! Doesn’t move a mm. Very good quality and I love the simple/sober design (and idea!). Bought my second one now which is on its way to Luxembourg.
Maybe at some point you could do a chrome buckle and maybe some more (simple/neutral) designs? I’d love that…greetings from Luxbg.
M AKMAL
The belt was great… but after around 8-9 months the black ver got scratch damage to it and the paint chipped, which i am surprised myself that it can scratch haha.. and the Grey belt was smooth and awesome, but Black and Brown is stiff, it can still be used no problem but not as smooth as Grey… Maybe you can look at these feedbacks for improvement.. i would want to buy more but already have 3 which i am using daily… huhu
Sam
Just a great belt!
You guys should try CAMO and SPORTS. (Nfl nba nhl etc)
If possible.
You guys rock!
Al Robinson
Love the belts. I’ve only purchased3 so far but plan on more in the future. I really enjoyed reading your story.
Keep it up!
Christian
As a backer of the original Kickstarter that began your journey, I enjoyed watching the process unfold from your early backer updates where you were working your thumbs raw in your home “factory,” all the way to this latest update. I appreciate that you are working hard to continue to provide an excellent product while maintaining your values and goals as a company… and for sharing it with us! :D
BJ Minson
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I’m kind of blown away at the number of comments. I honestly didn’t think very many people would take the time to read this article. It’s kind of long.
I was really hoping there was a way to respond or reply to each comment, but it doesn’t look like we can do that at this point. We’ll work on it a bit more to see if we can get a more robust comments section working soon.
Thanks again! BJ
jay calhoun
I was looking for casual belts, primarily for the golf course, since most of the rest of my time was in suits with traditional leather belts. As I am now dressing more informally most of the time, I am wearing your belts almost exclusively. I think you have a great minimalist design that is very functional. I purchased some for my three sons for Christmas presents.
Congratulations on the successful effort to establish production here in the U.S. I went down that trail myself many years ago making lightweight wheelchairs for children. It’s a challenge but can be done with some creativity and ingenuity. Best of luck as you expand your product line, but be careful that you don’t overextend yourself before you’ve fully tapped the potential of your current product.
Regards,
Jay
Meng
Thanks for sharing your story, it was very insightful. All the more reason to support your mission. “Made in the USA” – can’t beat that! I’m a sucker for products that are well engineered, functional, and practical. Grip6 belts fit that mold and my waist perfectly! Keep being inspired and keep doing what you’re doing BJ. Wishing you success in 2020 and beyond. Thanks for being inspired to making a difference and thanks for creating a wonderful consumer product. Cheers.
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