The Botex discovery story by the guy who invented it, VP Kevin Parkinson
Hi, I'm Kevin Parkinson, the inventor of the Botex process. Botex came about as a result of a lot of hard work, chemical sleuthing, and a dash of luck.
This is how it happened:
In the fall of 1989 I was water-skiing with my friend, the then Canadian Barefoot water-ski Champion. While he went through the ritual of putting on a latex sock and then a neoprene sock, it struck me that the order was wrong. I thought the latex should go on the outside, so its elastic properties would hold the neoprene in place, and the neoprene should go next to the skin, to keep the feet warm. I was told that this wasn't practical because the latex tore when it hit any debris in the water. The socks are expensive.
At this time I was consulting for a factory that powder-coated metal frames. This company also coated metal in a hard plastic. Their product intrigued me - could this material be used in making a boot for water sports? I asked the owner if this material could be given elastic properties. He said no, that if softened, it would act like a plastic bag: it would stretch, but wouldn't return to its original form.
I wasn't convinced so in lieu of payment, the owner agreed to let me use his facility after hours to try to develop a formula with elastic characteristics. He also suggested that I talk to his supplier to see if it was worth my time. The supplier confirmed that the material could not do what I wanted, but he agreed to open an account and send me some sample material.
Over the next two years, I think I mixed every possible combination of the product. Yes, I missed out on a few parties and weekend camping trips, but I really do enjoy creating things so I kept plugging away. I established a working relationship with chemists who began giving me tips and suggestions as to how to achieve the desired characteristics in the product I was trying to create.
I was near the end of Year 2 when a formula mix gave me my first success. When I removed that first successful product from the mould, I stretched it many times and with joy, I watched it return to its original form. I wondered if I had actually done it. The longest half-hour of my life was waiting for a second product made from the same formula to finish. When it came off the mould with all the same characteristics as the first, it really was a Eureka! kind of
moment.
People in the plastics and rubber field told me I couldn't do what I did. I was told it was impossible to create a product such as ours and that what I was trying to do would never work. And you know what? If I had had any chemistry background, or any experience in the industry, I probably would have believed them and stopped right there. I didn't know any better, so I persevered, and succeeded.
With my first successful product in hand, I visited the University of British Columbia Plastics Division. They said they recognized the smell of the product to be plastic but had never seen plastic with properties like this. This was the confirmation I needed.
Various provincial and federal grants and loans allowed me to perfect the formula, develop the process and build the machine necessary to make a marketable product. I was still trying to perfect an aquatic boot and this is what I took to my first few trade shows. The response was not what I was expected. While the aquatic market showed strong interest in the boot, the main interest came from manufacturers in a wide variety of industries who saw endless possibilities for this new material.
I must say I came back a little confused as to what the future would hold , so I decided to talk to a businessman whom I had known for some years. He told me that he had a friend in Portland, Oregon who might be able to put this product in front of someone in the athletic footwear market. This turned out to be a very positive move. I sent sample products to this individual who opened my package at his golf & country club in the presence of the ex-VP of Reebok, Bill Dragon. Bill called me the next day and asked to come to Vancouver to meet with me and view my process.
Once he saw the process, he advised me to forget the aquatic boot and
concentrate on making soles for athletic shoes. He had been in the industry for over 20 years and had never seen a process with such diversity. He wanted to introduce my product to a company called IMG in Los Angeles. IMG is International Management Group, the largest sports management company in the world. On Bill's suggestion, the President of their subsidiary company, Stuart Jenkins of IMG Technologies, flew to Vancouver and within the first hour of seeing the process, offered to represent my company as the exclusive agent in the athletic market.
Today I'm the vice president of Botex Industries Corp. We are a public company that has successfully raised several million dollars. At our new production facility, we create products, which are eagerly embraced by the athletic shoe industry.
While we produce Botex for many applications, that one market will keep us busy for at least two years. |
