Transcript of the Judy Amabile chat

Poly Button DailyCamera.com hosted an online chat Monday, April 28, with Judy Amabile of Product Architects Inc. What follows is a transcript of that chat.MODERATOR:Welcome to today's Business Plus chat with Judy Amabile of Product Architects Inc., maker of the Polar Bottle.MODERATOR:This chat forum is moderated. To submit your question or comment to the moderator, type the question in the field below this box. Then click the "Send to Moderator" button in the bottom right corner of the window.MODERATOR:Please do not click the "SEND" button - your message will not be sent to the Speaker and Moderator.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:Hello, thanks for having me on the chat. This is my first chat experience. Feel free to ask about Polar Bottle.wallacea:Hi Judy! What makes the Polar Bottle different from other water bottles?SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:Polar Bottle is insulated. It keep you water cold. It also has a removable valve for cleaning. Polar Bottle is the only bottle with the removable valve.wallacea:I saw recently that there was a lawsuit filed against Nalgene, alleging the company knew it had a chemical that caused health problems ... do a lot of water bottles have the BPA chemical and what goes into Polar Bottle?SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:Only bottles made from Poly Carbonate have the chemical Bysphenal A. Poly Carbonate bottles are clear and hard. They are also identified by the recycle #7 stamp on the bottom.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:It is important to note that not all hard shell bottles have BPA and not all recylce #7 bottles have BPA. Consumers should call the manufacturer if they have a question about the plastic.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:Polar Bottle has no BPA's It is made from Low Density Polyethelene and is identified at recycle #4. It is FDA approved food grade plastic and has never been identified as leaching dangerous chemicals.wallacea:What was the impetus behind the founding of Product Architects?SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:Robert Heiberger, my partner and the co-founder of Polar Bottle was sick of drinking warm water when bike riding. He is an engineer and came up with the patented insulation system in Polar Bottle.wallacea:About how long ago did you launch the company and have the products met your expectations (in terms of sales and reach)SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:We started Polar Bottle 14 years ago. We had no idea what to expect. We got a break early on when Dick's Sporting Goods decided to carry our product and things have been going great ever since.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:Polar Bottle is distributed by most ot the big bicycle distributors like Trek Bicycles, Quality Bicycle Products, J&B importers and Seattle Bike Supply. We are also carried by chain retailers like Dick's, Sports Authority, REI and LL Bean.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:Most of the independent bike shops around the country carry Polar Bottle. We also do a large international business. We sell in 30 countries around the world.wallacea:How difficult is it to compete within this industry, and what kind of actions have you taken to make the Polar Bottle stand out?SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:There are a lot of water bottles to choose from and many of them retail for a lot less than Polar Bottle. But we are the name in insulated bottles because our bottle is simply the best insulated bottle out there.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:We compete on quality and on customer service. We have never missed a ship date to our retailers or distributors. We manufacture locally so we control the quality and the inventory. We do whaterver it takes to make our customers happy.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:With regard to the end consumer, we guarantee our product. If you have a problem with your Polar Bottle we will send you a new one or refund your money. We supply new caps for free if you loose you cap or if it is damaged.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:We build our bottle to last. We don't want Polar Bottle in the landfill. We have people calling for a new cap who bought their bottle 10 years ago.wallacea:You offer custom-designs for the polar bottle, have you had a lot of odd, unique or amusing requests? Do you have a favorite design?SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:We have supplied custom Polar Bottles to a wide variety of customers. Locally we have done bottles for GoodAcre & Co realestate, Vectra Bank, Premier Mortgage and FirstTier Bank.SPEAKER_JudyAmabile:We did Polar Bottles for Daylight Dougnuts and the NBA. And we have also done custom bottles for Cirque Lodge and The Betty Ford Clinic. The National MS Society has also been a great account.