I have a small business making dog boxes for cars. They're made out of 5mm thick polypropylene, welded at the corners, and with an aluminium frame front and back to hold the doors. www.hundgubbe.se/hundburar.html
Of course, being polypropylene they're as tough as old boots, with virtually no chance of breaking, splitting etc. The problem I have though, is when describing them as made of plastic, many people think of the thin plastic boxes that you use to take your cat or dog to the vet. So when people see them, they're usually very pleasantly surprised that they're thick,solid and rigid, not thin and 'plasticky'.
So what I want to do is try and avoid the term 'plastic' as it has connotations of a cheap, flimsy, carrier bag type material. I'm thinking in terms of 'co-polymer' 'compsosite', 'thermo' etc. Any ideas?
|
|
Engineering copolymer. Engineering thermoplastic.
|
'Aircraft grade polymer' sounds good.
There will be some similar stuff on an aircraft somewhere, even if it's only the ash trays.
|
I think there is every chance of making more of this without bending the truth. Its not just "plastic" its aircraft grade copolymer ( a real master stroke that one!) which means that, as any marketer will tell you those three words are how you turn a feature (what it is) into benefits (what it does for the buyer, a reason to buy) . And just think of all of these - light yet impact resistant, can be hosed and wiped down, highly resistant to dirt and soiling, virtually unbreakable in normal use, can be cleaned with detergents and disinfectants without harm, very strong yet easily transferred from car to car and for storage, protects the car's interior from dirt and grime, keeps the dog and passengers safe when in transit etc etc You could even go further and borrow a trick from 3M. If you remember they offered a "lifetime guarantee" on their video tapes against breakage etc. in fact their research showed that on average a tape was only used three times and hence they rarely if ever paid out on the guarantee. if your dog crates are suitably robust then a guarantee provides an extra reason to purchase or even to pay a higher price. Crikey, this is such a great product I think I might have to buy one myself!
Good luck and I hope you sell a million. L
|
Blimey Lemma, I think I need to get a dog now just so I can buy one!
John
|
Thanks guys. I knew this was just the place for a bit of creative BS!
Lemma, I have some of those benefits already, but I will surely add the rest as soon as I can translate them. I may well do the lifetime warranty as well, as there really isn't much that can go wrong with them, and if something does go wrong, then it's not exactly easy (or cheap) to have it sent back to me.
I have thought of another one - structural polymer.
|
|
'High impact resin' suggests strength and durability.
|
A rigid plastic polymer.
Mind you, your dog boxes had better be as good as these...
www.lintran-products.co.uk/
Who make super custom boxes.
If so I might have an order for you come april.
|
>Mind you, your dog boxes had better be as good as these...
An infrequent visitor at a local Sunday morning shoot has a Range Rover kitted out like the bottom photo on that page. His has a lockable single drawer underneath to hold a couple of guns.
It really looks the biz for a country gent, unlike his shooting sadly.
|
Jings Zero, is that another cost I need to outlay for the pup!!!
At what point does it get its own credit card??????
|
|
Seriously Bobby getting your dog used to a cage is a very good idea. The current Spaniel was put in a cage from when I had him - the cage fitted exactly into the back of the Roomster - and he was happy in it. He would retreat into his open cage when he wanted some peace and quiet. Not used it in the last two years ago as my life changed following bereavement and not working- but it is to hand in the garage if need arose - it was a discounted one from a pet superstore but works fine and the catches are spaniel proof. The vet approved of it.
|
Pug, we are onto his second cage in the house - he has already outgrown his first one and he has slept, every night , in a cage. Quite often he will go in of his own accord at nighttime and curl up and go to sleep.
But this cage is too big for the car. Not been making too many car journeys as yet but if we do, will need to buy something for the car.
|
Bobby,
Check out dog tents. They go in the car, but they also double as somewhere for the dog when you are camping or staying in someones house or self catering.
Another solution is a dog harness
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 25 Jan 11 at 12:42
|
|
Would that be edible dog tents????? :)
|
while its still in "chewy" phase, possibly. That phase does not last too long.
Run out of slippers yet?
|
We now have grades of slippers, in fact we now have grades of various items like the good footstool and the chewed one, the placemats, the slippers, the socks.
Its the items that mysteriously change, like the remote control suddenly having a chew mark down one side but that must have been the other dog, certainly wasn't the little angel that flutters his eyelashes at us...........
|
every dog comes with another dog. The bad dog. You never see the bad dog, but he is to blame for everything.
honest.
The bad dog in our house, somehow, chews my t-shirts, and steals my socks.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 25 Jan 11 at 13:54
|
You know something Zero, there are times that I would just love to be able to not like you, then you go and say something so lovely and I can't:)
Pat
|
|
My old Cocker was like that - the face of an angel.......this one is a bit more honest, looks like a scamp a bit WYSIWYG - but is generally well behaved, not eaten anything yet !
|
Bobby, keep an eye on dining chairs - one of ours lost quite a bit of wood from one leg! He had been quietly chomping under the table.
Nowheels* ticked me off severely for having my dog/s in a cage in the car rather than on the seats - which, apart from the safety issues, at that time would have meant a 7 seater or putting children in the boot! How life changes. I think we must have very different dogs!
*Does anyone know how she is doing in her new life?
|
|
Just a thought but with regards lifetime warranty it might be better to state original purchaser, think car boots and associated problems.
|
Zero, I've had a few Lintrans over the years, and originally I was going to make mine from GRP, but it's a big job making the moulds and laying up the GRP. But I also saw that their custom ones are made from PP! Probably 95%of the ones sold here are just welded mesh sides/doors etc, with a plywood floor and over centre catches on the doors for use with a padlock - all pretty nasty really.
There is one product that is very popular here because it has been crash tested by the swedish institute of something or other. So many folk think it's the best for the dog. But on reading the full test report, the test was really to make sure the box wasn't so rigid that with a rear impact it would break the rear seat and injure passengers. As an aside, they noted that the box didn't split apart. As it is, car rear seats are pretty strong and tested anyway to make sure that loads from the boot are resisted. But no-one reads the full report, and being swedish they see 'crash tested' and believe it can only be a good thing. Of course, the reality is that the box could be made very safe for the dog, but then cause other problems, or vice-versa, but you can't have it both ways.
I have seen a couple of other companies stating their boxes have been crash tested, one of which comes from switzerland. But they don't say who crash tested them and what the result was. So I'm also tempted to add 'crash tested' to my list of benefits. After all, a Mini Metro was crash tested!
I have incorporated a rear 'escape' door, as everyone else offers this.
|
>> I have seen a couple of other companies stating their boxes have been crash tested,
>> one of which comes from switzerland. But they don't say who crash tested them and
>> what the result was. So I'm also tempted to add 'crash tested' to my list
>> of benefits. After all, a Mini Metro was crash tested!
>>
>> I have incorporated a rear 'escape' door, as everyone else offers this.
At the end of the day, in a severe rear end shunt, when it comes to my life or the dogs, the dogs loose every day of the week.
Happy for a cage to crumple with fido jam short of my cranium!
|
Well I've settled on the term 'engineering polymer'. Firstly, it translates nicely, and secondly engineers and engineering are/is still respected here.
I'm also incorporating a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser, against material or manufacturing defects during normal use as a dog box in a vehicle.
Following suggestions from Lemma, I'm revamping the list of features and benefits, as most of the ones I had were features, and not benefits.
And lastly, I'm writing a piece about how the box will perform in a crash, ie. deforms without splitting or transfering too much energy onto the back seat, no sharp edges, absorbs the energy from a flying dog, keeps the dog in the back etc. But without actually specifying whether or not they've been tested and by whom.
So thanks for the help guys.
This time next year I'll be a millionaire!
Last edited by: Dave on Mon 24 Jan 11 at 19:18
|
|
That Spaniel on that site looks suspiciously like mine !
|
|
Well you know what a keen cocker is like. Its the only dog I know that can be everywhere at once.
|
|
Mine is a bit of lad like that !
|
|
Bit like his Dad I guess!
|
|
Yeah, I do like the little cockers. They will always put a smile on your face, and I think they keep you young as well - especially when trying to train them.
|
|
Be wary of describing the material as being other than what it actually is. Presumably the supplier of the material will be able to give you the specification. www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/polymers/pp.aspx
Last edited by: L'escargot on Tue 25 Jan 11 at 09:30
|
|
I shiould be ok with engineering polymer, as it is a polymer (much like aluminium is a metal), and it's used in engineering as opposed to plastic bags or rope. Unless someone knows better of course!
|
|
Why not say what it actually is? If it's polypropylene, why not say so?
Last edited by: L'escargot on Tue 25 Jan 11 at 12:09
|
MADE IN ENGLAND
with a union jack the right way up
that helps lots to get people to think quality rather than chinese import rubbish
|
|
I get the impression it's actually made in Sweden !
|
ah mr P
i never clicked the link
i just assumed it was jolly old GB
|
>> Why not say what it actually is? If it's polypropylene, why not say so?
>>
Because I'm trying to make it sound fancier and more high-tech than it is. I, and you probably, are fully aware of PP and it's properties, and probably think it's quite a good material to use. But I've had the impression from some customers that as PP is a plastic, this equates carrier bags, food containers, drinks bottles etc.
|
>> >> Why not say what it actually is? If it's polypropylene, why not say so?
>> >>
>>
>> Because I'm trying to make it sound fancier and more high-tech than it is.
That sounds like sharp practice, to say the least.
|
That sounds like sharp practice, to say the least.
>
>> no
its called marketing
|
...Why not say what it actually is? If it's polypropylene, why not say so?...
Because the idea is to flog some boxes, not educate the public or bore prospective punters to death.
|
Well, you can say what it is and explain why that material is better than rubbishy 'plastic' or MDF or whatever. In doing so you're likely to cover the benefits, something our earlier contributor did very well.
|
>> Well, you can say what it is and explain why that material is better than ............
That sounds like a good (and honest) strategy.
|
Sharp Practice, L'es?
Sounds like standard practice.
I've never heard Coca Cola describing its product as "Heavily Sugared Artificially Carbonated Tap Water With Added Left Over Vegetable Matter From Other Industrial Food Making Processes".
Nor Maltesers as "Leftover Horlicks, Rolled In To Balls And Covered In Cheap Chocolate Substitute".
Last edited by: Alanović on Wed 26 Jan 11 at 14:37
|
>> Sharp Practice, L'es?
>>
>> Sounds like standard practice.
>>
>> I've never heard Coca Cola describing its product as "Heavily Sugared Artificially Carbonated Tap Water
>> With Added Left Over Vegetable Matter From Other Industrial Food Making Processes".
>>
>> Nor Maltesers as "Leftover Horlicks, Rolled In To Balls And Covered In Cheap Chocolate Substitute".
>>
I can't vouch for Coco Cola or Maltesers, but the packaging of food products often has a list of ingredients.
|
Yes, but that list of ingredients is seldom the headline marketing info for the product. That's the point.
The OP doesn't need to use the main constituent of the boxes as the headline for the product either.
Last edited by: Alanović on Wed 26 Jan 11 at 14:51
|
The major ingredient of shampoo is aqua.
Sounds almost worth paying for until you realise its water.
dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/aqua_1
OK, 'specialised' water for use in beauty products.
Presumably that means it tastes of soap.
|
Marketing help please - NortonES2
