In the News: Newspaper

Devices keep furniture from flying around

Daily News, Business Section,
Saturday, January 17, 1998

By George J. Wilcox
Daily News Staff Writer

.....Four years after the disastrous Northridge Earthquake, merchandise continues to fly off the shelves -- only this time it's helping the bottom lines of a handful of San Fernando Valley area businesses.
.....These entrepreneurial companies are profiting by sticking to a basic business plan: Sell consumers easy-to-install devices that keep heavy furniture, bric-a-brac, pictures, lamps, computers, television sets and glassware from breaking during a temblor.
.....In some cases, their markets have expanded beyond consumers to businesses that are worried about potential damage from the next big shaker.
.....The market growth "is incredible, to say the least," said Michael Essrig, owner of Westlake Village-based Safe-T-Proof Inc. "Now we even have major corporate clients. I guess people realized that they had better do something, so our phones continue to ring."
.....The company manufactures its own fastening systems, then installs them in homes or businesses as part of an earthquake preparedness plan.
.....Home systems cost about $400 and take about eight hours to install. Commercial systems are more complicated and can cost as much as $25,000.
.....Businesses typically are concerned about protecting computer systems," Essrig said.
....."A lot of the companies want to save downtime. If their data center goes down, then they are down," he said. "The second thing they focus on is the safety issue. They don't want file cabinets falling down on their employees."
.....To demonstrate the strength of the fastening system to potential customers, Safe-T-Proof built what it calls an "earthquake house." It's a mobile home that simulates an 8.0-magnitude quake.