Learn More About this Product Here

Order This Product Here

I have a lot of problems with pain in my lower back. Collecting leaves, picking up brush, and stacking logs are frequent tasks around our summer cottage in northern Michigan. Until we started making the Gator Grabber I could end up in agony for days after only a little bit of yard work. The Gator Grabber allows me to do all of these things without bending and compressing my lower back. It’s really easy! Watch this crude little video to get a sense for how much fun I had the first time I used the Gator Grabber for these tasks. Also, notice the Trillium in bloom!

Learn More About this Product Here

Order This Product Here

Bill is responsible for all sales activities at Radius. Bill is also a computer guru who keeps our infrastructure humming.

Junning is our Sourcing Manager in China. Based in Guangzhou, Junning is responsible for Product Quality, Sourcing, and Logistics.

Radius was Bruce’s idea. He imagines tools, makes them real, and is thrilled when people enjoy them.

I founded Radius with some new ideas about how to make ergonomic garden tools. Radius is the fourth Michigan company in which I’ve been either a founder or a part of the startup team. I’ve had a hand in creating many good jobs in the U.S., so I of course had a strong desire to find a way to manufacture my products here. After about two years of searching for qualified facilities in the U.S. I finally had to concede that it would be an impossibility to locate factories capable of manufacturing high quality goods at reasonable prices in the U.S.

Today, we design our products in Ann Arbor, Michigan and build them in China.

Although different types of products have different types of economics, I found that manufacturing garden tools in the U.S. would cost an average of 3 to 5 times what it would cost in China. Apparently, I am not alone in coming to this conclusion. Every major garden implement company in the U.S. manufacturers most or all of their products in China and has done so for decades. The reasons are simple:

1. China has transformed itself into a manufacturing economy. At least for now, China has abundant, low cost labor. It has vast manufacturing regions, such as Guangdong Province, where factories that produce every conceivable component are clustered together. This minimizes ground transportation costs and maximizes manufacturing efficiency.

2. U.S. contract manufacturers are not well-equipped to address the needs of smaller companies like Radius, who begin with modest orders and often unique manufacturing requirements. Instead, many of them concentrate on feeding some of the industries that still remain very strong in the U.S. and can produce a larger, more reliable stream of orders.

3. Most U.S. consumers purchase most manufactured goods from very large, big-box retailers. These companies pioneered the use of off-shore manufacturing to lower the prices of the goods they sell. This forever changed Americans’ expectations of what is reasonable to pay for a shovel or a garden trowel. Measured in constant dollars it is now cheaper to buy these goods in the U.S. than ever before while it would be more expensive than ever to make them here.

I’ve learned quite a lot over the years about manufacturing in China. Mostly, I admire the people and find it a joy to work with such industrious, conscientious business partners. So, I work very closely with the factories, visiting several times per year and auditing for quality and labor practices. I can say quite proudly that the factories that produce our goods find it cost efficient to run safe, clean businesses. They are as clean or cleaner than factories I’ve visited in the midwest of the U.S.

I have certainly seen some factories in China where the working conditions were poor and unsafe. We don’t use those factories. I am only comfortable working with suppliers who run operations I would be comfortable showing to my wife, or to good friends, or customers.

China is a grand country filled with hard working people. Our economies are very closely intertwined, so I believe it serves both countries well to work together. I believe that economic engagement is the best path toward a future with a level playing field and more equal opportunity for all, regardless of geographic location.

As for Radius Garden, we have already created jobs from nothing for Americans. We do the best we can.

–Bruce

Learn More About these Products Here

Order These Products Here