Case Study: HEROBOARD
Opportunity in the midst of Covid
At the height of Covid, Donald McIntyre approached us with a product.
He’d already proven the concept in his initial prototypes but now he wanted to take the next step. He worked with a designer to come up with the HeroBoard, a versatile and revolutionary fitness product to allow a full body workout without the gym, and without a lot of space.
We reviewed the design and, aside from the usual design for manufacturing considerations, it was good to go.
Initial Conversations
Before investing in the tooling on what was still just an idea, it was decided to 3D print the board for promotional purposes. And after painting and touching up, the board not only looked like a finished product, it withstood all testing in the field.
During the time the mold was being cut, Don would show up frequently to take videos and post on social media. His audience got to see an upclose personal shot of the manufacturing process right up until the product launch.
While the tooling was being machined, we were discussing assembly, painting, and distribution. Don wanted to keep as much of the manufacturing/logistics in the US as he could. The only exception are the wheels and axles which he imports from overseas.
Branding is Everything
The initial samples we molded were assembled, air brushed, and shipped to Don. At that time, we proceeded with the first round of 1000 boards scaling up with temp employees. Don got us set up with ShipStation and we could now ship directly to the consumer.
Not long after, something became apparent. The current image we were air brushing did not communicate the brand loud enough and worse, it rubbed off with sweat and repeated use. After some back and forth between screen printing and pad printing, we invested in our first pad printing machine. The results looked great and further pushed the brand’s name in the fitness community.
Best Tool's New Capabilities
As the Heroboard brand grew, we purchased a second pad printer, designed additional holding and assembly fixtures, and increased our storage capacity. Don has since extended his product line with accessories, partnered with gyms and clubs, created limited edition boards with varying colors, and created an app to work out with.
This product has expanded our manufacturing services. Our inhouse turnkey solutions now include:
- Design
- Tool Building
- Injection Molding
- Plastic Welding
- Leak Testing
- Pad Printing
- Assembly
- Distribution
We are grateful to be a part of the Heroboard journey and look forward to the brand’s continued success.
Want a HEROBOARD for yourself? Buy one here!
