Top of their game: despite a dwindling number of alleys, manufacturer strikes a place in the market as it meets demand for wide variety of bowling-related products. (Small Business).THERE are all sorts of inspirations for starting a business, but Keith Kenworthy Sr. has a novel one: trying to pick up a woman at a bowling league. At the time, Kenworthy hadn't even taken up the sport -- and did so only to get to know Biruta "Birt" Strain, a bartender he had met at the Los Angeles Athletic Club Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) is an athletic club in Los Angeles, California, USA. It awards the John R. Wooden Award to the outstanding men's and women's college basketball player of each year. . He was so intent on getting into Strain's bowling league that he forked See forked version. forked - (Unix; probably after "fucked") Terminally slow, or dead. Originated when one system was slowed to a snail's pace by an inadvertent fork bomb. over $100 and the promise of any prize money won that year in exchange for someone's spot. The divorced Kenworthy, now 76, wound up living with Strain. And in 1985, he founded Donkee Products Inc., a maker and distributor of bowling products. "You know one thing leads to another," he said. (Strain heads up Donkee's Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, bowling tournament, and Kenworthy remains a consultant for the company, now headed by his son, Keith Jr.) The South El Monte-based company, which last year generated $3.8 million in revenues, has a product line that includes bowling tape dispensers A tape dispenser is an object that holds a roll of tape and has a mechanism on one end to easily shear the tape. Dispensers vary widely per the tape they dispense. Abundant and most common, clear tape dispensers (like those used in an office or at home) are commonly made of , bowlers' tools and bowling pin-shaped sipper bottles. Prices range from $2.50 for a bowling ball-shaped coin bank to $225 for the "Donkee Spinner' a ball polisher. Looking to diversify The company's name was born out of a joke. Keith Sr. was starting an earlier business with a partner named Don, and they decided to use their first names. When they told their attorney about Kee-don Enterprises, Keith Sr. recalled they were told: "I hope nobody gets it backwards' So they went ahead and switched it to Donkee. While most of Donkee Products' business is bowling-related, Keith Jr. has begun a new division, Promoblasts, to make and distribute promotional and fund-raising items, such as pens and key chains. Only some of the products, such as bowling ball coin banks with logos, are bowling-themed. Bowling has been through some tough times in recent years. Alleys began closing their doors in the 1980s when higher insurance rates prompted bowling centers to raise their prices, which pushed some people away from the sport. Innovations like glow-in-the-dark bowling have increased the game's popularity, but the number of L.A. alleys is on the decline. This year, one of the city's 25 lanes shut down, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Magnus Sr., second vice president of the California State Bowling Association, and another, Hollywood Star The Hollywood Star was an idiosyncratic gossip tabloid published on an erratic schedule in Hollywood, California by William Kern, who wrote much of the magazine under the pseudonym "Bill Dakota. Lanes, is set to close on Aug. 7. Magnus, a veteran bowler who is a past president of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Bowling Association, can't remember the last time a new bowling alley opened in the area. Growth at Donkee slowed in 1999 and 2000 but over the past year and a half Keith Jr. says that business has increased by about 50 percent. Down to only five employees in 1999, he now has a staff of 12 and plans to soon add two more people. Keeping up with demand has become Donkee's biggest problem, he said. "If I had time, I'd reorganize re·or·gan·ize v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. everything," Keith Jr. said, walking through the maze of cardboard boxes cardboard box n → caja de cartón cardboard box n → (boîte f en) carton m cardboard box card n → in Donkee's distribution center. The small office from which he runs the company is cluttered clut·ter n. 1. A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble: sorted through the clutter in the attic. 2. A confused noise; a clatter. v. with furniture, computers and file cabinets. "Look at my desk. I have orders I can't even (find time to) type," he said. Tournament Inspiration The elder Kenworthy, who used to own a firm that manufactured scissors scissors Cutting instrument or tool consisting of a pair of opposed metal blades that meet and cut when the handles at their ends are brought together. Modern scissors are of two types: the more usual pivoted blades have a rivet or screw connection between the cutting ends lifts (a hydraulic platform lift often used in construction), got his start in the bowling business with a wheeled bowling ball carrier, or what became known as "Roll'n Donkee." He says the inspiration for the wheeled carrier came on the way to a tournament in Reno. The bowling center was only a few blocks away but he didn't want to struggle with a bunch of heavy balls along the way. He began Donkee Products with just two employees and asked his son to join the company in 1994. Last year, Keith Jr. spent $50,000 to promote the company through trade magazine advertisements and trade shows. This year, he has put $10,000 into promoting Promoblasts. While bowling items still account for most of Donkee's business, Keith Jr. wants to push Promoblasts products at PTA PTA or parent-teacher association: see parent education. gatherings and souvenir shows. But he's not about to give up on bowling. "I love going into a bowling center and seeing our products used," Keith Jr. said. "I'd like to see my stuff all over the place." RELATED ARTICLE: PROFILE Donkee Products Inc. Year Founded: 1985 Core Business: Manufacturing and distributing bowling products Revenues in 2001: $3.8 million Revenues in 2002: $4.2 million (projected) Employees in 2001: 9 Employees in 2002: 12 Goal: Sell products to every bowling center and pro-bowling shop worldwide. Driving Force: A desire to succeed and sell American-made products. |
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