2005 was an absolutely incredible year for M.D. Manufacturing. Thank you for being a part of our success. Sometimes you think progress is so slow but looking back we are astonished at all the new implementations here.

New products, new markets, new dealers, and tons of new end users have put all of our staff anxious for the next opportunity before us. In 2006 we have another list of new things we intend to introduce that will knock your socks off. Hopefully we will be making a few revelations in February at the VDTA (Vacuum Dealers Trade Association) Show and then a few weeks later at the Electronic House Expo in Florida. We have trade shows in Europe, China and throughout America as well.

Simultaneously we have just purchased a new 14 acre site in Bakersfield where we intend to build a completely new state-of-the-art factory, warehouse, and office complex. This beautiful location will be at the hub of commerce for the fastest growing portion of California.

I guess, as employees, we have a tremendous amount to be thankful for. We wake up each morning and anticipate what opportunities lay ahead of us! Response comments from our dealers are likewise encouraging, urging us on to continue our creativity to further enhance the wonderful world of central vacuums. And the end user customers too are so gracious often stopping their busy schedule simply to tell us how much they love their central vacuums. Folks, it doesn’t get much better than this!

But it does! Christmas is a fantastic time of year when we stop and take inventory of all that has transpired. We look back at the joys of the years and consider the road ahead. Often the backward glance is difficult. If you’ve lost a loved one recently, it’s a hard time missing the creation of new memories with those whom you love. I lost a dear father-in-law and sister-in-law this year and I do miss them. My mother passed away soon before that and she was an integral part of my family. So how do you have hope? Christmas! I know it’s politically incorrect but keeping the name Christ in the season reminds us of our true purpose on this earth. Without his birth, sinless life, and resurrection, there would be no hope in life. If we were simply a cosmic accident or left here to evolve by some non-communicative god, what would be the purpose of our lives? I challenge you to read the Christmas story in the Book of Luke and seek to discover who Christ really was. He is the reason for this season!

Numerous times I hear from our vendors that MD Mfg has absolutely fantastic staff members. I love hearing it because I believe this is what makes us so competitive as a small company. No way can we compete with the major giants who own our competition unless we always provide first-class service.

Last week I was told numerous times that our Operations Manager, Brian Graves, is doing a first class job. This vendor wanted me to be sure I knew how well this individual represented our company and how valuable his professionalism was.

Then today I received fantastic comments about our IT department and specifically Jason Devore. These were not flattery or disingenuinous comments but from the heart realizing that the skill sets of our staff go beyond picturing their job as a simple passing of 40 hours per week. Talking later in the day with Jason about future IT concepts his comment was classic: “You dream it up …. I’ll make it happen.”

No wonder I love working for this company!

In an unprecedented move today, M.D. Manufacturing Inc. announced their first ever retail broken belt on the famous Stealth Power Brush. Originally introduced in 1993, this brush has offered an outrageous $100 of merchandise to the first end-user who ever broke a belt. Now, with almost 50,000 brushes in service, the inevitable has finally happened!

Shirley Friedman of Valley Village, California sent in her belt and it is clearly evident that it actually broke! An interview with her revealed that the brush was about four and a half years old and her cleaning girl, Jeannette, was using the system when she heard the “snap” that signaled the belt had, in fact, broke.

MD Manufacturing engineers inspected the brush this week and stated “We’ve never seen anything like it!” The preliminary diagnosis shows that it somehow frayed on the ridge of one of the cogs and later had a blunt force trauma compound the energy through that precise location initiating a chain reaction of disintegration within the fiberglass reinforcements. “Then basically it ripped,” stated Mike Kretsinger of M.D. Manufacturing.

No other powerbrush in the world can boast of the belt life proven by M.D. Manufacturing. An onboard computer within the powerbrush immediately disengages the roller brush in the unlikely event of any over-current. This eliminates the potential of prolonged tension on the brush when it might jam on a throw rug or electrical cord. Furthermore, the computer notifies the user of inappropriate carpet height settings that might cause undue strain on the motor and belt or on the carpeting surface itself. The computer even limits the free-spinning ability of the brush on hard surfaces.

Aided by a computer balanced motor and a computer balanced roller brush, the brush runs extremely smooth adding to the brush life. Lastly, the brush employs rubber cushioned sealed ball bearings in the end of the roller brush which further extends the life of the belt.

MD Manufacturing’s dealers absolutely love the brush because it eliminates senseless service calls. “I’ll install a system and not hear back from the client in seven years because of the reliability of the product,” states Glenn Troness of Placerville, California. “And when they do call it is because they are moving and want me install another system in their new home.”

Richard Spink, salesman for Mrs. Friedman’s brush was also quite shocked by the call claiming the belt had broken. “Initially I didn’t believe her because I knew of the virtual impossibility of the situation,” stated Richard, but he quickly repaired the brush with a free new belt. As for Mrs. Friedman, she received her $100 worth of free goods and purchased an additional $200 worth. She stated how much she truly loves her MD Central Vacuum and even purchased one for her son’s home.

In recognition of this momentous occasion, M.D. Manufacturing Inc. has chosen to increase it’s belt warranty from 5 years all the way to a lifetime guarantee! Yes, MD will provide a free belt to all retail residential applications that have a belt failure due to breakage. Abuse or intentional breakages will not be covered.
So after 12 years of offering $100 to the first client, the prize has finally been awarded. Special thanks goes to all vacuum dealers who have been faithfully representing this brush.

Your central vacuum has functionability beyond your wildest dreams. If fact this was the number one rated feature that a recent survey of ours found. It is simply so easy to use and thus people clean more often and therefore have cleaner homes. Here are a few ideas we’ve heard over the years:

Bloodless fly swatter: Think about it, a fly or moth gets in the house: you hate to smoosh it on the wall or counter; so get out the central vacuum and eliminate that intruder!

Vacuum sealing device: Do you want to store pillows or blankets or winter jackets? Put them in an air tight plastic bag along with the vacuum nozzle and turn the vacuum on to evacuate the air. Pull the nozzle out at the end and seal the bag and they are far more compact and protected.

Raft/matress inflator: If your central vacuum unit has a good filtration system (not a cyclonic unit) then you can take a funnel to the exhaust and use it to fit into your inflatable mattress and then turn the vacuum on. Sure, you may have to awkwardly hold the neck up to the exhaust but it will only take 20-30 seconds to inflate a queen size mattress!

Ant invasion eliminator: Ant invasions are a major breach of homeland security! How dare those pests invade your castle in the middle of the night and proliferate your countertops! You don’t want to spray a chemical all over your kitchen and it would take a few days to get the exterminator out to your home. If you try to smoosh them with a rag they smell the blood of their fallen comrades and they scatter. So simply vacuum them up with your central vacuum hose and they won’t know that their buddies have been eliminated. The first bend in the system kills them instantly and they can’t crawl back through the pipes. Eventually you will find the source of where they are breaching into your home and put some chemicals in that small location or use “Grant Ant Stakes” at that point.

For more tips and tricks visit our www.builtinvacuum.com website.

It amazes me how many people absolutely love their central vacuum. I think this is the reward I find for being in the industry for almost 30 years. I’m not just talking about our brand but almost all central vacuums. They truly make your life easier. Face it, cleaning your home is one of your least favorite activities. It is a necessity of life; so why not enjoy it!
When I put my first vacuum system in my parent’s home in 1977 I was so amazed with the product. Sure my own product facinated me and I would often do the vacuuming. I was only 18 and maybe a little weird, but I actually enjoyed vacuuming. Maybe it’s that provider, protector instinct, but I loved going near something and watching it get sucked away. It became a challenge. I can almost chock it up to a “power tool syndrome” that makes me want to use a power tool to accomplish a project.
So our marketing dilema at MD Mfg is how to get more people excited about vacuuming.What are the hot buttins that make them just want to whip out their vacuum and start sucking? Maybe we could turn it into an olympic sport or provide some reward to those who have the top 1% cleanest homes in the world. What is it that makes people desire to properly clean their home?
We would love your thoughts….

The management of a company can either make or break it. Seeing MD has been around for almost 45 years, we have obviously done a few things correctly. In the early days Charlie Emdy managed the family business quite easily because it never reached beyond immediate family members. His son Wayne took over in 1971 and employed a different strategy with a very tight management style striving to squeeze every second out of every process. I learned under Wayne and loved challenging myself to beat pre-established time goals. This concept was passed on to a number of our staff members as well. Chris Mercado in our tool and die division learned under Charlie and Wayne and set the pace for the rest of our manufacturing staff.

But Wayne’s limitations could only go as far as the number of people he could directly manage. This methodology had to be passed on to the next generation and the next level of employees for MD to be able to grow. Each division had to take ownership of their own performance to make them effective as possible. This is where trust comes in. One of our main hiring characteristics we screen for is trust. If we cannot trust an employee or a manager, we cannot empower them to reach for goals that are beyond the simple.

Each and every employee must have a view of the big picture as well as their own divisional goals; from the receptionist to the CEO. Without a direction, our company would not have one tenth the success we have been able to obtain. But the underlying foundation to management will remain “trust.” Managers are trusted to provide accurate and timely information. Project teams are trusted to have researched issues fully before presenting them before our board meetings, and the IT department is trusted to implement software in the best conceivable fashion after consulting with departments involved. Sure we try to review over information before implementing anything new but we do it with a level of trust believing that the employee or team did the best they could within the bounds of the assignment. This simply challenges each employee to do a better job each and every time.

Remember when your father or mother first trusted you to walk or ride your bike to the store alone. You returned to show them that you did exactly what you said you would do and they then wanted to trust you even more? This same trust principle applies to management. Misplaced trust and trustless superiors can destroy companies as well.

For all our dealers, take this to heart. Work on integrity with your employees and take special notes on trust. Encourage, reward, and recognize it. It will revolutionize your company.

For installing Central Vacuum outlets (and any other outlets for that matter) sideways in the baseboards you always have difficulty with them being too far recessed on the final installation. Instead, on the rough-in, take a piece of plywood and rip it into a strip 5” wide by 8 foot long. Nail that to the wall at floor height and then drill your hole through the plywood. Mount your back-up box to this plywood and now it protrudes out an extra half inch into the room. When the drywall guys put their sheeting on, they butt it to the top of the plywood and now even the baseboard guys have a firm backing for nailing. Your back-up plate is easy to reach once the baseboard is installed and no additional extensions are required.
Thank you John Grabowski of Built-In Systems Specialist for this tip.

I hope to use this forum to keep you updated on the latest breaking news from our industry. The few trade journals that cover our industry are quite weak and almost all the reporting is simply manufacturers bragging about color changes or repackaged products.

Here’s a few tidbits from CEDIA.
First, the Filtex brand name is back. The name began in the late 40’s I believe as a portable vacuum sold door-to-door. Originally based out of Los Angeles, they added central vacuums on in the late 50’s. They actually used to make a few parts for us in the early 60’s and we made a few parts for them also. They company was sold a few times to VSI, Nader Mfg, M&S, and Chamberlain. Chamberlain sold out their central vacuum division to Linear late last year and apparently everyone forgot about the name. Well Lindsay Manufacturing noticed the gap and wisely picked up the name. So we now have a re-invented central vacuum called “Filtex” that looks just like a Vacuumaid. It is blue and silver will likely be sold to the builder/installer market.

Beam had their new”Prism” RF (Radio Frequency) hose at the tradeshow. I believe it contained two-way communication verifying that the power unit was operating with a led light on the end of the hose. (Something MD has had for 4 years). They really weren’t showing off the hose at CEDIA and no one we spoke to said they demonstrated it. Also they had their Electrolux Power Brush at the show but we noticed that the neck was completely broken off of the mount. They state that this was only a sample piece and not a production item so it will ikely be strengthened before they introduce it. Maybe they can’t slam it on the ground like we do when we demonstrate our Stealth Brush?

Also Beam had a new Electrolux Solaire unit at the show. It was an aqua green color and rather small. We’ll be posting the stats of it on our website as soon as we can.

Nutone displayed their new style unit that is egg-shaped and plastic. It looks cool but we really doubt that it will improve their performance. Somebody has to teach their booth design crew to install vacuums. This is the second show in a row where they installed their tees completely backwards! No one coming to our booth even mentioned that they saw it.

Of course MD, as always had a ton of new things. Their 5.0 version of the AirForce was a big hit turning off when the phone or door bell rings, but this version now offers a fool-proof way to check all the communication before you leave the job site. Simple test procedures are now built into every device to determine background noise, signal strength, and if any devices are not on the same phase. A laptop computer can also be used to run a series of tests to determine fluxuations over time. All this, without having to run low voltage wires. They even demonstrated turning the unit and or the power brush on and off from any laptop that had the software installed! MD also has it’s new CentraMop attachment that essentially gives you a “swiffer” on the end of the central vacuum wand. It’s pretty cool. And then they introduced their new website with new graphics and a far-easier means of drilling down into the tons of info found there.

Hope this helps bring you up to speed. I’ll be telling you more as the weeks progress.

Yesterdays anniversary of 9-11 reminds us of the preciousness of life. To think of the tens of thousands of lives that were permanently effected by those few hours of terror - all of our hearts sank as we watched it unfold on live TV. So it also goes with the Katrina Hurricane victims. Hundreds of thousands of lives displaced with an unknown-as-of-yet quantity of deaths. It is hard to fathom.

If you personally have lost a loved one recently, either in the storm, 9-11, or maybe to cancer or a car wreck, you have had to come with the finality of death. You will never see that person again. I lost my beloved father-in law a few months ago and then a sister-in law a few days later. Moments like these make you truly realize the preciousness of life.

If our lives can end so abruptly, then how shall we live our lives here on earth? What are the important things of life and what is frivolous? Obviously it shatters the American mentality of accumulating wealth! I’ve never seen a herse pulling a U-haul!

Is this why our knee jerk reaction to Katrina of 9-11 is to give of whatever we can? What is it in humans that instinctively tells us to help others? This is certainly not a phenomenon that we see anywhere in the animal kingdom. There must be something inside of us telling us that we need to value other human beings.

So do you live your life as if others mattered more than yourself? Sounds like a good policy to enact in all our lives, doesn’t it!

Well CEDIA 2005 is now ended and already we look forward to Cedia 2006 in Denver. Where else can you find a compilation of 15,000 high-end custom AV installers all in one location ready to lap up our latest technology?

The show ended yesterday in Indianapolis and thankfully we received the crate for our booth before 11:00 PM this year. We always judge the results of the show by the degree that my voice has been lost. This year you can hardly hear me talk so I guess it was a great show!

It is such a joy to see the faces of these professionals light up. Most of them have never heard of MD Manufacturing and they are currently purchasing through a supply house such as ADI, AVAD or Worthington. When they hear that they can receive our products at or below their current pricing level, including all our bells and whistles, they go crazy. They had no idea anyone could do what we are doing with central vacs! They stand outside our booth mildly interested in our products but soon realize that our products are so superior to their current brand and always end the conversation saying: “Now make sure you get back to me right away!”

Having additional support personnel has also been a great pleasure. In the early shows 20 years ago, it would just be Wayne and me. Then, when we lost Wayne, I would do the shows solo for years. Ten hours of standing and talking was gruesome! The last few years have been so much easier having Mike, Andrew, Grant Jr. and other support personnel. This year Rebecca joined us at the show and she was a real trooper. She even helped tear down the booth. At one point she was moving too slow and got shrink wrapped! You’ll have to ask her about it!

The real highlight of the show; though, is seeing all of our existing enthusiastic dealers. They always are anticipating our new products and certainly weren’t disappointed this year. The CEDIA dealers especially care so much about quality so we displayed the new 5.0 software including the UPSTART tool. Imagine doing full diagnostic tests on the vacuum at the jobsite with your laptop computer. It was so cool!

So dealers, make CEDIA 2006 in Denver next September a priority. You’ll be “wowed”. To all those who purchase our vacs, these shows only help to fuel the flame of creativity that MD Manufacturing can bring you!