Kalogon Inc. pursued a partnership with nonprofit BAC (formerly Brevard Achievement Center) to give work opportunities to the disabled community the startup was founded to help — and it has paid dividends for the company.
The Melbourne-based company discovered it could decrease the time it takes to manufacture its product by greater than 50% thanks to that very partnership, CEO and founder Tim Balz told Orlando Inno. “We got lucky discovering these benefits by trying to do the right thing.”
Kalogon makes cushions, primarily for wheelchair users, that sense pressure points and automatically redistributes pressure to those areas. Plus, a mobile app allows users to adjust the cushion's support themselves. This reduces the risk of pressure sores, which kill 60,000 Americans every year.
After approaching Rockledge-based BAC last spring, Kalogon began contracting workers from BAC, which provides job training and work opportunities for 650-plus people with disabilities, to help assemble its smart cushions. The partnership isn’t just a feel-good story; Kalogon has improved its manufacturing process, received top-notch work and anchored its production in the U.S. thanks to the partnership, Balz said.
Here’s a closer look at how the partnership was formed, the business benefits it created and the lessons Kalogon learned from the experience.
Disproving a stigma
Balz learned of BAC because they did some work for SwiftPaws Inc., a fellow member of Melbourne-based incubator and co-working space Groundswell Startups. Meanwhile, BAC was interested in Kalogon because of the startup’s purpose to help people with disabilities, BAC Community Relations Manager Keri Goff said. “Our missions lined up almost too perfect.”
Of course, there were changes that needed to be made to the smart cushion assembly process. That included reducing the different types of screws used and limiting the use of a soldering iron, which some BAC workers can’t use.
The results were manufacturing changes that made sense for Kalogon to implement anyway, but didn’t otherwise have the incentive to consider, Balz said. “A lot of the changes we made provided so much benefit to the efficiency, building the product and reducing our costs that we probably should have made them in the first place.”
Plus, working with BAC supplements Kalogon’s internal manufacturing workforce, meaning the company hasn’t faced labor challenges many businesses have dealt with, Balz said.
The Kalogon and BAC partnership not only provides potentially life-saving cushions to people in wheelchairs, it also showcases the light manufacturing skills of BAC’s workforce, BAC President/CEO Amar Patel said in a statement to Orlando Inno.
“We are continuously proving that stigma around what people with disabilities are capable of performing is completely unfounded,” Goff added.
Come with an open mind
BAC is open to providing similar manufacturing services to other businesses, but Goff said business owners should enter conversations with BAC with an open mind. It’s common for businesses to have concerns about accommodating BAC workers, but Goff said BAC handles those accommodations itself.
For example, if equipment like longer drill handles or bigger magnifying glasses are needed for the job, BAC will fund those purchases.
Balz recommends other business owners research similar opportunities to see if they can strike a similar partnership. “I see significantly less issues in the individual assembly than I saw when we assembled them ourselves. They’re so dedicated and focused.”
Sign up here for The Beat, Orlando Inno’s free newsletter. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
