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PASCO -- A Pasco company is helping anglers and boaters chart a new course while plotting its own growth.
The Bogert Group is relying on its recently launched Uncle Norm's line of marine products that includes an innovative fin system and a "never-miss" hitch system to help it diversify and expand its manufacturing business.
Bogert is a Federal Aviation Administration-certified airplane parts manufacturer and maker of hydraulic jacks that can help change a flat on an armored Humvee in about three minutes.
The fin system, which can be attached to any outboard or stern drive, provides better rudder control at slow speeds and low power. It also stabilizes the boat against currents and winds, said Richard Bogert, who developed the fin system and has several fin system design patents pending. The systems start at $59.99.
His $59 hitching system consists of a pair of wings and a set of foldable side rods that provide visual cues to help a driver to align the hitch and trailer accurately. The wings prevent backing up too far and help place the hitch directly above the hitch ball.
Some of those products were developed almost eight years ago, said Bogert, the founder of the company that was recognized as the Small Manufacturer of the Year by the Association of Washington Business a few years ago.
But Bogert never could get around to commercially launching them, because he was busy promoting other products including the Bogert jack.
The 27-employee company, which already has supplied 20,000 jacks to the Army as part of a contract to provide 108,000 jacks over a five-year period, is using its expertise in manufacturing to branch out.
It was natural for the company, which has been making aircraft battery cables since 1986, to begin offering marine cables to boaters, along with a line of fuel kits and tilt/trim hydraulic hoses that have a stainless steel braid on the outside and Teflon on the inside, Bogert said.
The company operates from a nondescript building next to the railroad tracks close to the Tri-Cities Airport, but provides "simple solutions to complex problems," Bogert said. "We're an innovation company," he said, adding his company currently is working on about 27 research and development projects.
That's unusual for a company the size of the Bogert Group, said Patric Sazama, regional project director at Impact Washington, a nonprofit that helps promote manufacturing in the state.
Bogert's desire to grow, take risks, diversify and improve has made the company strong, said Sazama, who has worked largely as a pro bono consultant to the company since 2004. He has helped the company look for opportunities, set priorities, and map out a course for growth.
Bogert named his company's latest line of products after his uncle Norm, his mother's brother. It's about honoring his uncle and the wonderful memories they had together fishing and hunting almost 50 years ago, said Bogert who grew up on a farm in the Yakima Valley. He said his uncle got him his first fishing pole, took him fishing and deer hunting for the first time and gave him his first pump shotgun.
"Uncle Norm thought I was kidding when I told him that I plan to dedicate a product line to him," Bogert, 58, said. "He was pretty surprised."
Bogert, a trained aircraft mechanic, began thinking about marine products after he bought a big boat in 2002. He said he often was frustrated with the boat's performance at slow speeds. "It seemed it had a mind of its own." That prompted him to explore ways to fix the problem.
The idea of using a rudder wasn't new, but nobody seemed to have thought about it, Bogert said. He added aluminum fins, made by a machinist friend, to an outboard motor on a boat and saw the performance improve.
"As long as it had a forward motion, it could turn easily," Bogert said. "I was looking for control but found that the engine performed better because it wasn't sucking air into the propeller."
He refined the angle at which the fins were bent for greater efficiency after testing the fin system on different boats. "It was more an investment of time than money," he said.
Bogert said he wants to reach out to the 18 million registered boat owners in the U.S. Also, the relatively small size of the aviation market is making him explore newer revenue-generating avenues, he said.
He is working to commercialize his hydraulic jack and pump for other automotive, industrial and agricultural applications.
The Bogert Group also has begun manufacturing steel bed frames in different sizes. The frames will be on display at Kennewick's Northwest Mattress Center beginning this week.
The bed frames have extendable legs that can be adjusted to give the frames a tilt if needed, he said. They have been tested with about 2,600 pounds of weight and come with a lifetime guarantee, he said. Heavier users or those with special medical needs may find it particularly useful, Bogert said. An overhead lift and side rails can be added to the frame without much modification.
Innovation is not about invention, but helping solve a problem, Bogert said. It's about responding to a need in the marketplace.
* On the net: http://home.bogertgroup.com
