40 year-old firm finds sports is a support even in a recession

PROFILE: Pro Orthopedic Devices

By Mae Lee Sun, special for Inside Tucson Business
Published on Monday, March 22, 2010

In the early 1960s, Gerry Detty’s dad had an idea. As head athletic trainer for the Philadelphia Eagles, G.E. “Moose” Detty discovered neoprene was the perfect material to help promote healing and prevent injury.

The synthetic rubber had excellent insulating properties and helped to retain heat, which increased circulation.  Moose had his wife sew the prototypes of ankle braces, knee braces, thigh supports in a makeshift shop in their garage.

When one of the players was traded, they took their neoprene support or brace with them, leaving the door wide open for Detty to launch a business in professional orthopedics as the custom-made devices needed to be replaced. Thus was born Pro Orthopedic Devices Inc.

Gerry Detty, chief executive officer of Pro Orthopedic Devices. Patrick McArdle photo ADVERTISEMENT

Gerry Detty has since taken the company over and succeeded his father as chief executive officer. The company has thrived in a south Tucson warehouse for nearly 40 years. For all of his contributions to the health and well-being of professional athletes from the NFL, he was awarded honorary membership into the Professional Football Athletic Trainer’s Society at the NFL Combines last month in Indianapolis.

Success and recognition for Detty and Pro Orthopedics hasn’t been easy. Especially in the past few years, says Detty, who has had to make some major changes in how he does business. Even as the top U.S. supplier of orthopedic neoprene products for professional athletes, the equine industry and retail sales.

“Our competition has been importing product for some time. We were holding out and manufacturing everything in the U.S., which is what we prided ourselves on because of quality. My product engineer, however, said if we did it right, we could create a significant savings by moving manufacturing overseas,” says Detty.

“That was about two years ago and he was right. The duty on mostly assembled products is only 4 or 5 percent compared to 18 percent for sheet goods or raw materials. To have good quality assurance, we had to install a QA Program and convince the Chinese that even if it costs us a little more, the quality of the product would remain at a high level and would equal what we were doing here. The challenge was that they (Chinese) were so used to being asked by everyone (other countries and importers) to cut corners to make things as cheaply as possible,” he said.

Apparently, Detty’s business decisions have paid off. Japan remains one of his company’s biggest markets and has been so for the past 30 years.

Alan Cohen, partner in the Philadelphia-based firm of Isdaner & Company LLC., also Detty’s business accountant for the past 30 years, attributes much of this to managing the company with an open mind and keeping the bar high.

“Pro Orthopedics was always the best at what they did. They’ve maintained their market share over the years because Gerry and his father were continually open to talking to us and getting wisdom from those around them.  We’ve been able to advise them about their options: how to structure their manufacturing Process, tax savings and banking.  It’s also due to Gerry’s leadership over the past seven or eight years that’s really helped them during these challenging times,” Cohen said.

Domestically, Pro Orthopedics continues to dominate the professional sports market by 85 percent as the number one supplier to the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, along with colleges, high schools and Olympic teams around the world. That’s a 3 percent rise from 2008 numbers.

Big 5 Sporting Goods is the company’s largest domestic retail client. Detty is working on expanding to the general public by placing products in drug stores and pharmacies. Even in a recession, Detty feels confidant things can only get better, especially when it comes to the sports industry.

“My dad always told me that during the Great Depression, no matter how hard things got, people would always be able to find a nickel to go to the movies or a dime to go to a game. Sports are an outlet during recessionary times.  Even today, softball teams are on the rise and basketball and volleyball teams are running record numbers across the country. It’s a real opportunity for us to develop new materials and designs. We’ve already got three new products we’re introducing for back, knee and ankle support,” Detty said.

“As long as I’m able to keep cash flow up, inventories reduced and forecasting needs more accurately, we should remain viable.  We’re already seeing the effects of the recession shifting so that’s encouraging,” he said.

Copyright © 2010 Inside Tucson Business

Sports Drink Founder says the Secret is All in the Mix

Published October 9, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
Regional Correspondent, TNAZ

Drs. Lou Lancero and Sal Tirrito
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

When two driven medical students met, they might have foreseen becoming well respected cardiologists. But even given their shared commitment to endurance sports like competitive cycling and triathlon, for Tucson-based physicians Sal Tirrito and Lou Lancero, it was unlikely that they could have foreseen the success of what together they would create, XOOD, a sports endurance drink. But once they started, their intense competitive spirits wanted to blow any other product out of the water.

“Being in the sport (of triathlon) I’ve tried all the endurance drink products out there. As physicians, Lou and I looked at the ingredients and said we could do better. It didn’t have to be artificially neon blue or orange. We wanted to make a product that was pure and not full of empty calories,” says Tirrito, who took the lead in developing XOOD.

According to Tirrito, manufacturers, attempting to keep their costs and resale prices down, add inexpensive and largely ineffective ingredients like artificial preservatives and emulsifying agents. Even when some so-called ‘natural’ ingredients are added like stevia, sourced from a South American herb and used as a sugar substitute for its sweetness, the nutritional value is up for question.

However, including certain kinds of proteins and carbohydrates and finding the right ratio of protein to carbs was what Tirrito was shooting for in his formulation of XOOD. While supplying nutrition, Tirrito sought to make a drink that would convert efficiently to useable energy. Like any good scientist, he conducted his own experiment, followed by a field test to establish the validity of his claims.

” I went shopping at GNC and bought all the raw ingredients of what I thought would benefit athletes the most in their performance — vitamins, minerals, herbs, flavors, carbs and specific kind of proteins. For six months I tested the basic formula out on my friends who were athletes and got feedback. I started asking myself what if it also had health benefits in addition to performance?” he recalled. Tirrito then took the rough product to a nutritional chemist to refine the mix that would become XOOD.

At the Asheville, NC, half marathon in September 2009, Marcus Hille, 36, placed 6th at 1:28. He credits XOOD for his kick performances.
Credit: Marcus Hille

In his first attempts at marketing the product, Tirrito met with resistance. Manufacturers suggested he add certain chemicals, preservatives, colors and artificial sweeteners. They didn’t seem to understand why he’d want to use ingredients that were more costly than what was common in more standard energy drinks.

Tirrito found success in refining the mix when Arthur Winegrad became involved. Winegrad is a chemist and vice-president for research and development with Arizona Nutritional Supplements in Chandler. Winegrad was able to deliver the ingredients and end product Tirrito had envisioned.

“I’ve worked in this field for 13 years and with a lot of sports drink clients,” says Winegrad. “Dr Tirrito’s formula was really different. He wanted the product to be easy on the stomach, water soluble and have a specific carb-to-protein ratio along with very specific amounts of electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals per serving. Anytime you have an all natural formula, you’re going to pay more. Right down to the flavors, there’s no synthetics in XOOD which is very different from what’s on the market,” says Winegrad. If synthetics were used, it would reduce the retail cost of XOOD by one half to two thirds.

The real role Winegrad says he played was helping Tirrito get the active ingredients and amounts right. There are no FDC colors or flavors. Instead, the three different flavors that XOOD comes in — Pomegranate, Mangosteen and Green Tea with Lemon — are actually sourced from those ingredients. The subtle, pink color of the powdered mix comes from beet root and not a synthetic dye. When the final product was ready, Tirrito launched it at sporting events like marathons and triathlons, which attracted athletes like 36-year-old Marcus Hille, at six-foot eight inches tall, a competitive distance runner from Sedona.

“It is important to me as an endurance athlete to know that what I am putting into my body is going to provide me with the energy I need to sustain the intensity I desire, and that it’s also good for me with no extra junk that may be harmful in the long term. I will often slam a Green Tea XOOD before hitting the road to give me an energy boost and Pomegranate is good for long runs of up to three hours or more,” says Hille.

In addition to sponsoring both pro and amateur athletes and launching a XOOD cycling and triathlon team, Tirrito and Lancero have headed back to the labs to work on yet another new product – a readymade drink in the XOOD line geared toward the health club market.

Tri’ing Is Good For Tech & Business: pt 2

Published August 20, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
TNAZ Regional Correspondent

Training Bible coach, Tom Manzi, of Tubac & New Jersey, conducts an open water swim clinic for Tucson TriGirls triathlon club, at Lake Patagonia.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Floyd Landis, (seated far left) and his cycling team, Team Ouch, visited TriSports.com earlier this year to market the team products the store carries.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Nutritional performance products like XOOD and Clif are continually tested in the field by competitive triathletes like Tom Manzi (smiling), sponsored by both companies.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

Tri’ing Is Good For Tech & Business pt 1 of 2

Published August 11, 2009

By Mae Lee Sun
TNAZ Regional Correspondent

VP of Sales for G-technology, Ian Andes, cut his race time down at this year’s Vineman half Ironman event, by over an hour, crediting it to the ‘toys’ and tech he’s invested in.
Credit: LA Tri Club

Twenty thousand, give or take a few dollars over the past two years. That’s only the financial investment that’s come out of the pockets of Ian Andes, Vice President of Sales for G-Technology (a Hitachi company) in Los Angeles, California.

He drove to Tucson this past spring with his brother to spend some of that cash, which every few months or so, is par for the course. He’s even lost sleep and shed nearly 20 pounds over it. Luckily, he has a supportive spouse.

We’re not talking about plunging stocks. Andes, along with a million other people, are putting their money where their body is and competing in the growing sport of triathlon. The buzz has inspired a flurry of new retail businesses, personal coaching, performance technology and a multitude of products and nutritional supplements geared toward an expanding demographic.

When Andes first became interested in triathlon, he said he had no idea what it would cost, what the entry fees were. He did not have the disposable income he has now.

He was a competitive long distance swimmer throughout his teenage years and it was that competitive drive and a desire to get back in shape, now that he’s in his early 30’s, that led to his entry into the Los Angeles, Wildflower and Vineman triathlon competitions. Andes is currently training for the inaugural 2010 IronMan St-George in Utah.

“I had the swim trunks and the goggles, no bike, and running was my weakness,” Andes recalls.

“I ran in whatever I had at the time, which was a pair of Nikes,” he says about starting out. But soon, he was spending dollars to compete.

“I went to a triathlon event sponsored by the LA Tri Club and they had a cool tent with all this gear. I saw a cool bike and got excited,” Andes remembers.

What’s the motivation for Andes?

“On my deathbed, I want to say that I did and not that I ‘should’ have tried,” he says. And he’s seen older triathletes, who are ambitious and driven. They have the disposable income to support success in the form of clothing, gadgets, nutritional supplements and private coaching.

Tucson-based OB/GYN physician, Carol DeHasse, has “the right gear” for competing in triathlons across Arizona in the past year. “Technology matters,” she says.
Credit: Mae Lee Sun

After he started buying into the triathlon gear, Andes went from a six hour and forty minute half Ironman to a five hour seven minute full Ironman at Vineman this year.

According to Tim Yount, Sr. Vice President of marketing and communications for the USA Triathlon organization (USAT) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the national sanctioning authority for the sport, estimated revenues triathlons generate in goods and services each year is currently more than $4 billion. Yount attributes much of that to the support of clubs like the one Andes belongs to, which promote competition in more ways than one.

Andes joined the Los Angeles Tri Club for $60 and has attended numerous clinics, trainings and presentations organized by them. Members get exposed to technology and brands that they might not otherwise know about, says Andes, as many clubs sell their own gear and have product sponsorship.

“The biggest demographic is actually Gen Y and Baby Boomers,” says Yount, who takes full advantage of the social and business networking opportunities. The culture, he asserts, is conducive to growth.

“Along with a community feel of triathlon and peers who work together on what to expect when they participate, there are numerous events giving more opportunities to compete,” says Yount. “Clubs also have a number of websites that have general training and racing information and club gear,” he adds.

Debbie Clagget, vice president and co-owner of TriSports, a superstore for triathlon equipment in South Tucson, sees a braod range of competitors at the retail and on-line store she owns with her business partner and husband, Seton.

According to Clagget’s estimates, the average age of TriSports customers is 41 years old but extends into the 80’s. The majority she says, are college graduates with a yearly income level of more than $130,000. Men make up 76%. while professions run the gamut from attorney to Olympic gold medalist and the stalwart weekend warrior.

“Our revenues have grown by over 400 percent over the last five years,” says Clagget.

“We have sponsored many different entities within the sport and believe in giving back to the sport that supports us,” she adds.

Over the last year, Clagett has provided sponsorships of individuals, teams, clubs and races. And she believes that triathlons have been growing in popularity during the current economy, because people are more aware of their health. “People have a desire to improve,” she says. “But the economy is spurring the growth with people dropping gym memberships in favor of using the free outdoors,” Clagett notes. “What better to do outside than swim, run and bike?” she adds.

Part II coming soon…Read more…link goes to Tech News AZ

Fantasy Game-Ware Helps Heart, Parkinson’s Patients

Photo by Mae Lee Sun UA professor Ann Linda Baldwin is using a biofeedback video game to help people with Parkinsons disease