Manufacturing Today - November/December 2016 - 171

Danby

International

tionships as partners, and the more it can build close ties
with vendors, the better the parties can work together to
reduce costs and find competitive advantages for Danby. "As an example, we ship in some items from Asia and
have found ways to fill the containers to make it more
cost effective," Estill says.

"we're not focused on the large appliances necessarily; instead we focus on
those appliances that can be found in
places like the garage and behind the
bar." - Jim Estill

Charging Ahead

display wine cooler is another adjacent area," Estill says.
"Table top appliances are another adjacent area. When
we sell to our retail customers, it is easier to sell those
kinds of adjacent products. Supply chain and logistics
is another important area for us because we do a lot of
online business and have to handle special packaging
for shipping processes. We go to market online through
channels such as Amazon, Walmart and Home Depot.
Those distribution models continue to change, as we
used to ship mainly to distribution centers in bulk but
are now doing more independent ships directly to consumers. We must continue to leverage those distribution
models as best we can." mt

Some of the big product initiatives that Danby has engaged in recently have gone beyond traditional manufacturing. Indeed, the company has invested in re-manufacturing. For example, the company does business
with many major retailers. Often, appliance products are
returned and need to be addressed. Danby can maximize
value for the returns it gets by thinking in an out-of-thebox capacity.
"We can make new products from those returned
products, such as a herb growers in what was a wine cooler," Estill says. "By taking out the compressor and adding
grow lights and a fan, you can grow herbs in an indoor
environment in a product that looks like a wine cooler.
Customers are interested in scrap reduction, and that is
one of the ways we can accomplish that goal."
The kinds of trends that Danby tends to capitalize on
are specific to its industry. As an example, consumers
have become more interested in products such as wine
coolers because they have become aspirational and
more common. The same is true of outdoor appliances.
To some extent, Danby's volume is tied to the economy,
but consumers buy Danby's type of appliances in up and
down economies based on their individual desires.
Indeed, Danby is in position to succeed in both strong
and weak economies because it is a value brand. People
may buy fewer products such as wine coolers when the
economy is down, but they'll look for more economical
appliances. And when the economy is good, those are
the times that consumers look to purchase their secondary appliances.
Danby is comfortable with the niche it has carved out
for its brand, and it will continue to look for ways to disrupt markets in the future. For example, it was the first
company to bring down the cost of wine coolers for consumers, and it has pioneered the herb grower. All the
while, it has disrupted markets in cost effective ways,
such as keeping waste out of landfills. In the future, the
company plans to continue to grow by establishing niches in its current markets as well as in adjacent markets.
"The herb grower is an adjacent product, and a wine

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