Small Business Stories - JCMS

Alex Fees: I'm Alex Fees on Small Business Television, we're coming to you from SEMA 2008 that's Specialty Equipment Market Association at the Las Vegas Convention Center and joining me here now is Serge Agopian, Serge I appreciate you being here. Serge Agopian: Thank you, glad to be here. Alex Fees: He is with Jackson Cargo Management Solutions out of Oxnard California, is that right, I have done that justice? Serge Agopian: Yes that's correct Alex Fees: Alright, so just tell me about your company, is this your product? Serge Agopian: Yes this is a product that we came up with recently, this is called an auto cart. Alex Fees: Auto cart? Alright. Serge Agopian: Yes, it's an auto cart. It's a portable cargo career, you can load it up with whatever you want, tools, supplies, groceries, camping, you name it. And you take it directly to your vehicle, push it in, you take out some pins, roll it up and you are good to go. Alex Fees: So it all stays as one unit. Serge Agopian: Yeah, you don't need to unload anything, you don't need to take it apart, it takes about 30 seconds to get all that cargo in your vehicle. Alex Fees: It looks like, it's about the size of what -- a deluxe model shopping cart perhaps? Serge Agopian: Yes that's correct, that's about the size of a shopping cart. Alex Fees: Okay so if you have a pick up truck, you open the tailgate of your pick-up truck, roll it out like a shopping cart and then just sort - the gasket portion sits on the back of the tailgate, and then the cart portion kind of swings up and you just push it on board. Serge Agopian: That's correct Alex Fees: How does that work? Serge Agopian: It's actually very simple. It's a simple principle. We call it a load transfer system. When you push the cart, normally the cart is supported by the frame and then when you push the cart in the back of the tailgate, the vehicle takes over that load and so you're able to unlock two pins, release the frame and you just swing it right up along side there, push it in and you're good to go. Alex Fees: And the major use of this is designed for what for construction for...? Serge Agopian: Yes it's primarily designed for the construction industry so that tradesman can park wherever they want to, and then hold all their tools and supplies pretty much in one trip for the job, directly to the job site. So they don't have to make 10 or 20 trips back and forth for every little item. Alex Fees: But I can see a tool like this could have many different applications. Serge Agopian: Yes absolutely, actually we originally designed it as a substitute for shopping cart, so we could go to grocery store, load it up, take the vehicle and then just like tools take it directly where they need to go, take it home. Alex Fees: Well, how did that evolve into use it like a truck -- Serge Agopian: It's very interesting. We started off as I said with the shopping cart substitute and then as we got some feedback from people and customers, we found out that it is actually very useful for the construction industry, they use it almost everyday back and forth and so it has also the general cargo management product vehicle accessory, you can put sporting gear in there, you can put you know fishing camping - Alex Fees: Absolutely. Serge Agopian: Laundry, luggage you name it. Alex Fees: So you found a need and you made it, this is your company. Serge Agopian: Yes, this is my company Alex Fees: 14 employees, tell me about your background, how did you get to this point? Serge Agopian: Well, that's interesting. I've a business degree from college and I went to Law school for three years, got a law degree and practiced law for little bit, and I got tired of it and I said you know what - there's got to be something else out there to do and basically -- necessity being mother of invention. I sort of looked around, and I said, what is a need for -- I realized -- I see people hauling stuff around all the time, they don't need to right, so I said well let's put our heads together and see what we can do. Alex Fees: Very interesting. Well Serge, what about this? Any idea how many of these things, tell me what you call it again? Serge Agopian: It's called an Auto cart. Alex Fees: It's called an autocrat, how many auto carts have you made? Serge Agopian: We produce small quantities about a hundred a month and we're fortunately, we hooked up with the company called Top Line Manufacturing. Alex Fees: Okay. Serge Agopian: And they're going to take it up to the next level. We are going to do about thousand a months, starting in January and they make mostly RV and the truck accessories, so they figured, this was a good match for new product for them. Alex Fees: Absolutely, I could certainly see some application to that. Serge what about your participation in SEMA 2008, have you been to this convention before? Serge Agopian: Interestingly, I came last year as an attendee. This is our first year exhibiting and before I'd never even heard of SEMA, a little over year go, and I want to a couple of minor trade shows in Anaheim for other industries and I thought wow, is this it? When I came here, about a year ago, I was just, wow! Alex Fees: The mother of all trade services. Serge Agopian: Absolutely, we've got to be here next year, this year. Alex Fees: Over a hundred thousand people here, what about that, what's your experience being here, you have a booth here. Serge Agopian: Phenomenal, absolutely, we have a booth here, we're at 39561, it's been phenomenal, I mean, well, the management itself has been very good, very professional. I don't think I could expect anymore from them, they've been super. We had a press conference earlier today. I could not be more pleased with folks at SEMA. Alex Fees: You guys were at a press conference? Here at SEMA, you were featured at a press conference? Serge Agopian: Yes, we held a press conference earlier today. All around with the new products area -- we're in the green zone also -- we're in the new products area, we're also in the green zone because when this cart is used for shopping, you don't need any paper or plastic bags. Alex Fees: So you can -- because you can take this in the grocery store. Serge Agopian: Yeah absolutely. Alex Fees: And then I guess when you get home. Serge Agopian: It's all there. You don't need -- you just take it directly in your home, you don't have to carry all those bags in 2 or 3 at a time. Alex Fees: So because of that you say it's considered green technology as well. Serge Agopian: Because you don't need any paper or plastic bags when you get to the store, you get your purchases, you can walk out with everything in the cart as opposed to paper or plastic. Alex Fees: Well, Serge, you're hitting on many different fronts here. Where could people go to get more information about the auto carts. Serge Agopian: They can go to our website www.autocarts.net. That's autocarts.net. Alex Fees: Yeah, that's autocarts.net, we're talking to Serge Agopian, Serge I appreciate you being here. Serge Agopian: Thank you for having me. Alex Fees: Thank you, good luck to you Sir. You're watching Small Business Television coming to you from SEMA 2008 in Las Vegas, I'm Alex Fees.