Woman owned start-up company reaches national market in less than one year with new product.
April 13, 2006 (Press Release) --
EDMOND, OKLAHOMA — Cool Wheel Covers, LLC, an Edmond based manufacturer of a patent pending promotional steering wheel cover, only began selling its product last April. In less than a year however, it has entered the national marketplace securing placement with two large specialty gift catalogs and this summer will be featured on QVC, a popular television home-shopping channel.
Early this year, Cool Wheel Covers secured orders from Brookstone’s Hard to Find Tools Catalog and AutoSport Catalog. Kim Rolston, President/Manager of the fledgling business, says that Cool Wheel Covers will appear on the QVC shopping television network in June 2006. “June will be a huge month for us, because of the QVC appearance and the Dallas Market” says Rolston.
The company recently made two big moves. In March of this year, it relocated its corporate offices from Las Vegas, Nevada to Edmond. Its second move was from selling primarily in the promotional and specialty advertising market to the national retail market.
The covers, which shield steering wheels from direct sunlight, and easily store under the seat or in a glove compartment, are made with a polyester micro-fiber fabric that protects the steering wheel from sun damage and heat.
Cool Wheel Covers is an invention of attorney Joe Rolston IV, who grew tired of draping a towel over his convertible’s steering wheel to shield it from the heat of the sun, a problem not solved by a typical foldout window shade. His solution was a flexible polyester micro-fiber fabric that could be stretched over the steering wheel in seconds and removed just as easily.
Since moving the business from Las Vegas, Rolston has had help from the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that helps small- and medium-sized Oklahoma manufacturers become progressively more successful in their marketplace. “They assisted me in finding testing for my product to substantiate our claims that it keeps the steering wheel 20 to 30 degrees cooler. If it were not for the resources provided by the Edmond Economic Development Authority and the Oklahoma Alliance, I would not have been able to secure the contract with QVC.” Kim Rolston explains.
Early this year, Cool Wheel Covers secured orders from Brookstone’s Hard to Find Tools Catalog and AutoSport Catalog. Kim Rolston, President/Manager of the fledgling business, says that Cool Wheel Covers will appear on the QVC shopping television network in June 2006. “June will be a huge month for us, because of the QVC appearance and the Dallas Market” says Rolston.
The company recently made two big moves. In March of this year, it relocated its corporate offices from Las Vegas, Nevada to Edmond. Its second move was from selling primarily in the promotional and specialty advertising market to the national retail market.
The covers, which shield steering wheels from direct sunlight, and easily store under the seat or in a glove compartment, are made with a polyester micro-fiber fabric that protects the steering wheel from sun damage and heat.
Cool Wheel Covers is an invention of attorney Joe Rolston IV, who grew tired of draping a towel over his convertible’s steering wheel to shield it from the heat of the sun, a problem not solved by a typical foldout window shade. His solution was a flexible polyester micro-fiber fabric that could be stretched over the steering wheel in seconds and removed just as easily.
Since moving the business from Las Vegas, Rolston has had help from the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation that helps small- and medium-sized Oklahoma manufacturers become progressively more successful in their marketplace. “They assisted me in finding testing for my product to substantiate our claims that it keeps the steering wheel 20 to 30 degrees cooler. If it were not for the resources provided by the Edmond Economic Development Authority and the Oklahoma Alliance, I would not have been able to secure the contract with QVC.” Kim Rolston explains.
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