APRIL 14, 2005
Atlanta Journal Constitution - Business

Wide-open business
Nostalgia-soaked bottle cap removers enjoy tiny niche

The building that houses Brown Manufacturing Co. is part assembly line, part museum.

Brown's products, not surprisingly, are part of history.

This tiny Decatur business makes metal bottle openers, following an 80-year-old design. David Brim runs Brown -- two employees, including himself -- in a space of just 3,500 square feet, including inventory, machinery and a vast display of old bottle openers.

"It's nostalgic," Brim said. "It reminds you of something from your childhood."

Old as it is, Brown is new to Decatur -- the company moved there in September 2004. How it got to this corner of metro Atlanta is a tale that starts in another part of the South.

Brown was born in Newport News, Va., in 1925 when a Coca-Cola bottler, Raymond Brown Sr., started making Starr openers in the basement of his bottling plant.

Back in those days, soft drinks came in glass bottles. Cans didn't become big-time sellers until the mid-1960s, and the popularity of plastic bottles wouldn't take off until the late '70s. With steady demand, Brown churned out openers.

In 1984, a tragedy hit the Brown family, as then-owner Raymond Brown Jr. died in a plane crash. Five years later, when his widow decided to sell, a next-door neighbor was ready to buy.

That owner, Brim said, operated the company on an absentee basis. "He got tired of it after about eight years and went around to some of his biggest customers to see if they were interested," Brim said.

The chance to buy Brown caught the attention of David's mother, Barbara Brim.

Barbara owns Trademark Marketing International in Alpharetta. The company sells doodads decorated for companies like Coca-Cola, Deere & Co. and Chevrolet. For years, Starr-brand openers were Trademark's best-selling item.

"When they called and wanted to sell, I didn't even think twice," Barbara said.

That was 1998. Barbara Brim moved Brown's operations to Alpharetta. David, who'd worked for his mother since 1991, showed an interest in taking over.

"I thought it was a much better opportunity than working for my mom, although I love her and everything," David said.

He encountered a company that wasn't profitable and, even for an antiquated product, was mired in outdated production techniques. He updated the process, cutting labor costs.

After several years of commuting to Alpharetta, Brim -- who lives in Decatur's Oakhurst neighborhood -- also got tired of the long drive. Last year, while returning home from a trip to Waffle House with his kids, he saw a "for lease" sign on a complex near Decatur's Agnes Scott College and signed up for his current space.

Brim is fascinated with the history of Starr openers. He scours eBay, looking for rare ones. He now has more than 100.

John Stanley, editor of a newsletter that goes to 275 members of a club of opener enthusiasts called Just for Openers, said the most expensive Starr he knows of sold on eBay for $850.

Starr openers are unique. Stanley said, because Brown is practically the only company that makes them. "There are knock-offs made in Taiwan and Hong Kong, but they're pretty cheap," said Stanley, a computer programmer from Durham, N.C.

Brim has re-energized collectors by introducing new openers, said Stanley, who attended the national convention of Just for Openers in Omaha, Neb., this week.

While history is fun, Brim is also trying to improve the fortunes of his company.

His sole employee, Tammy Ballard, handles much of the work of getting openers out the door. Most are cast in Germany, then shipped to Decatur for finishing, boxing and shipping.

Brim's best successes have come via the Internet, where www.bottleopener.com tells the Brown story. "My biggest customer in Europe found me because of my website," Brim said. "Restoration Hardware found me. Cost Plus World Market found me."

Retro-style openers seem a natural fit for a chain like Restoration Hardware, which sells them for $5.95. But Brim didn't get the deal right away.

"I contacted them years ago," he said. "But I never heard back. Then a buyer found an old Barq's bottle opener in the old packaging and had his assistant do some research and they found me."

At 39, Brim has a long career ahead of him, so he's started to buy Brown from his mother.

To say the least, bottle openers are a mature business, but Brim expects Brown to be around for decades. "I see nostalgia being the driving force in the company," he said. "Business is very steady."