In a climate of financial belt-tightening among local manufacturers, the
Rhode Island Buckle Company has managed to take its business up a notch
in recent years mainly because of its location.
Churning out 150,000 buckles a day for everything from belts to luggage,
the Eddy Street manufacturer has become the top producer of buckles in
the country while in stiff competition with China.
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David A. Redmond, Jr., executive vice president of RIBCO, said the
company’s location is the key. It provides quick delivery to New York, a
center for the fashion world, and access to the Providence jewelry
industry’s technology and know-how.
“We have been able to do a lot in Providence that you would not be able
to do if you were located in some other parts of the country,” Redmond
said.
The company generates more than $9 million in sales and employs 130
workers at its two plants in Providence and one in Pawtucket. The
company was founded in 1970 by a local family and purchased eight years
ago by Redmond’s uncle Kevin C. Redmond.
The bulk of their business is belt buckles sold to retailers that
produce name brands like Swank, Calvin Klein, Pierre Cardin and Kenneth
Cole. Eighty-five percent of the company’s buckles are made of zinc,
while the remainder are brass and steel.
Along with buckles the company manufactures specialty items like
decorative spoons, Christmas ornaments and letter openers.
Redmond said his company is the largest seller of belt buckles in the
nation, a distinction partly related to the decline of such
manufacturers.
“We really don’t have much domestic competition. Several large companies
have gone out of business in recent years,” he said. He added that
competition with cheap labor in China, for example, can lead to the
demise of companies with such a niche market.
“What we have over China is that we can have a product in the hands of a
company in New York much quicker,” Redmond said.
RIBCO’s advantage in the U.S. — where belts are a $500 million industry
— lies in its resources in Rhode Island. The company has benefited from
the strong jewelry industry as well as the Rhode Island School of
Design.
“We use a lot of similar technologies that the jewelry industry would
use. In terms of casting and plating the technologies are close,” he
said. “In terms of design we speak with people at RISD. Not every city
has that kind of resource.”
Perfecting computer-assisted design of its products was a major plus in
meeting the demands of today’s fashion. Gone are the days of thick, rounded-edge belts. Today clothing designers
want sharp corners and their names etched in the buckles, a request
technology has answered for RIBCO.
“Everything has a logo on it these days,” said Wayne Carvalho, the
company’s design director. “The buckles are also much more conservative
and corporate casual.”
The materials used for buckles has also changed. Pewter was the most
popular material for years, but it gave way to zinc, which cost two-
thirds less. The company uses more than 50 different finishes to give its customers a
colorful variety of buckles to choose from.
Despite all the detail that is going into RIBCOs product, people don’t
alway get a chance to see it.
“Belts are not as popular as they used to be. They are not included in
many outfits or they are hidden by shirts worn untucked,” said Carvalho.
He added that among young people belts are often left in the drawer,
which is one explanation for many young males letting their pants droop
below their hips.
Luckily, fashion is constantly changing.
“Fashion trends come and go so hopefully the belt will become an
important part of an outfit again,” Carvalho said. “We have been doing
well though with the demand that is out there.”
But, Redmond wouldn’t mind seeing the disco era returning.
“The 1970s had some pretty big buckles. The bigger the better, because
they’re more expensive,” he said. “I think it will be awfully hard
selling those peace sign buckles these days.”
