All-natural products for our green future
BY MARY JO MARTIN
Editorial director
As American consumers are becoming more interested in -- and educated on -- environmentally friendly and all-natural products, vendors are adopting a more green approach in their product lines. One company, Organic Products of South Carolina (OPSC), anticipated this trend and has embraced it wholeheartedly.
Founded in 2002, OPSC originally offered a selection of all-natural products for septic systems and wastewater plants. After a year of working through local contacts and regional points, OPSC began national distribution as a supplier to Ferguson. Through this affiliation, OPSC gained recognition coast to coast for its innovative and all-natural approach to septic systems and wastewater systems. Currently, the company manufactures and distributes its entire line of products from their 22,000-square-foot facility in Sumter, S.C.
Jeff Reed, president of OPSC, noted, “We continue to work to be a leader in the development and application of all-natural products to safeguard the environment, benefit our distributors and reps, and providing end users with a choice to toxic chemicals. Our goal now is to build additional distribution in all states to make our products readily available -- from the smallest, privately owned business to the largest.”
Building on this growth, the company has continued to research additional product needs in the plumbing, janitorial and wastewater areas. Today, OPSC offers a line of products specifically tailored to the fine balance of wastewater plants, lift stations, wet wells and holding ponds. In an effort to combat the numerous problems faced by WWTP before they arrive, maintenance and cleaning products were developed to provide assistance and support at the beginning point instead of treating the end results.
The janitorial and plumbing products provide an exceptional, safe alternative to the toxic chemicals routinely used in homes and businesses. These all-natural products range from standard cleaning products for kitchens, bathrooms and most other areas, and eliminate the risks for poisoning and contamination of our environment. In addition, the plumbing products include specific items for maintenance of pipes, drains and lines that are a compliment to the WWTP products. These plumbing products treat the most difficult problem area in any city -- restaurants. Most states carry stringent rules and guidelines to prevent restaurants and other food serving locations from releasing excessive grease into the sewer/water lines. OPSC ’s products reduce the costs of pumping grease traps, maintain good flow of drain lines and improve employee safety -- and benefit the public WWTP. The company takes the approach that maintaining is more cost efficient than treating and repairing problems.
Ready for additional growth
“The goal at this point is to reach more end users/residential customers instead of remaining in limited industrial/commercial supply,” said Reed. “The majority of our customers are repeat business and they have shown a tremendous support of our products. The government is encouraging all states to ‘go green,’ which is the most opportune time to branch out our distribution. We are also looking at boosting our representation. Our reps earn 20% on most individual sales -- 10% on house accounts. We give our reps the ability to fit the products into budgets instead of just using a main price list. In addition, we have built incentive and reward programs that benefit the distributor/wholesale and rep alike.”
With the recent events of product recalls and unemployment, OPSC takes great pride in its ability to offer safe, non-hazardous, non-toxic products made here in the U.S. According to Reed, “Our mission from the outset has been to maintain our role as a leader in the manufacturing of environmentally friendly products. We intend to continue to bring new ideas and approaches to the problem of waste management, cleaning and, most importantly, maintenance for these specific industries. There are a lot of products claiming to be environmentally friendly when, in fact, their claim is nontoxic, biodegradable and environmentally friendly packaging -- not contents. Basically, its their plastic bottle that is nontoxic and biodegradable, but not what’s in the bottle. We put the all-natural product in the bottle. That’s a big difference.”
While Organic Products of South Carolina heads up the business management, sales and marketing, the company works directly with a bio-tech research team holding degrees in chemistry, molecular/cellular biology and organo-metallic chemistry. This relationship has created a line of products and sales support for the everyday problems facing the average homeowner to the largest municipalities and privately owned businesses that are either directly involved with wastewater, plumbing, or simply looking to do their part in preserving the environment that is at hand.
“We have found that personal attention to customers -- from the distributors and reps down to the end-users -- is the best way to market and sell our products, along with a strong marketing and advertising campaign,” explained Reed.
In a world of recorded voice-activated menus, impersonal online ordering and e-mails to unknown customer service points, OPSC maintains a culture that deals with all customers directly, by personally answering phone calls and e-mails for everything from the basic questions to tracking shipments.
To learn more about Organic Products of South Carolina, call 866/842-1708 or visit www.OPSC-inc.com.