Fiber-Shield Industries' sales of its fabric and carpet soil and stain repellents increase as consumers focus on home improvement.
YAPHANK, N.Y. -- As Americans spend more time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic and focus on sprucing up their interiors, Fiber-Shield Industries has seen sales of its fabric and carpet soil and stain repellents rise in tandem with the increase of home furnishings product sales overall.
"We will finish the year ahead of 2019 and now we are really seeing a big surge," said Manny Vickers, who founded the company more than 40 years ago and expanded its offering over the decades. "Our textile soil and stain repellents both for carpet and fabrics have done extremely well. Retail and online sales have increased substantially as our distributors place our products in those venues.
"Our products can be applied at the mill level or can be applied topically on site, at home or in a store," Vickers added. "Here is a new opportunity for contractors, carpet and rug retail stores, installers and interior designers, It's a valuable service that these providers offer to their customers - and also an incredible profit center for them."
Explaining the company's revenue growth, Vickers noted, "People have more money to spend on their homes because they can't go out to restaurants, theaters, and movies due to COVID-19. So, they are spending their money on redecorating or remodeling their homes or on hobbies, such as boats, planes and RVs. They need product to maintain their homes and recreational vehicles, and that includes purchasing soil and stain repellents for carpets and fabrics."
Fiber-Shield introduced its green FASTKLEEN professional grade spot cleaner for carpets and rugs at the end of 2019, and, along with all Fiber-Shield carpet and fabric treatments, it is free of PFAAS, PFOS, PFOA, as well as 1,4 dioxane -- a chemical now restricted in New York.
FASTKLEEN, sold either under the Fiber-Shield label or as a private label product, features other selling points resonating with consumers that include being domestically manufactured and water-based -- making it ideal for water-safe carpets -- and containing no VOCs or propellants.
"FASTKLEEN is doing extremely well -- people who use it fall in love with it," Vickers said.
Also among the 2020 hits is the company's KARPETCRYL®, released in late 2017. It offers a super-hydrophobic carpet and rug treatment providing long-lasting protection from damaging household stains such as wine, coffee, pet accidents and more, and is safe on all leading materials, including wool, nylon and modern polymers. The KARPETCRYL® range was expanded to add two new water, soil and stain repellents for carpets -- one which is specially formulated for sisal, and another for viscose.
"KARPETCRYL is a highly-effective, long-lasting solution that builds customer profits and delights commercial and residential users," Vickers said. "Here is a proven, high-performance, and safe treatment for professionals in a wide range of channels." Looking ahead to 2021, Vickers expects to roll out Fiber-Shield's first line of natural disinfectants for both hard and soft surfaces, using a range of proven techniques and ingredients. "This product will be geared toward the retail industry via our network of distributors. It's for consumers who don't want to have anything but natural disinfectants in their homes."
About Fiber-Shield Industries Inc.
Founded in 1979 by Manny and Connie Vickers, the Long Island-based company's proprietary formulations demonstrate its mastery of polymer science and allied technologies. Fiber-Shield Industries, Inc.'s mission is to deliver proven, breakthrough protection products that outperform others in terms of durability, ease of application, formula consistency, safety and quality -- and yet be competitively priced. Industries served include: fabric & carpet, leather, glass, fire retardants, metal & fiberglass, vinyl & rubber, masonry & concrete and other materials.
Of particular note is the company's rigorous attention to quality control, which ensures virtually no batch-to-batch product variation and, therefore, consistent performance. As a result of this customer-first approach, and driven by management's desire to create formulas that solve customers' toughest protection and cleaning challenges, positive word-of-mouth for this industry pioneer continues to grow.
To learn more about Fiber-Shield and its products, visit www.fiber-shield.com.