(Editor’s note: This is the 14th installment in a monthly series highlighting some of the region’s unsung manufacturers that make products essential to the economy and, in many cases, our way of life. See previous installments here.)
Carol Dancer points to what looks like a simple orange piece of rectangular cloth on an assembly line. While the cloth is unassuming at first glance, it can save buildings from thousands of dollars of water damage, says Dancer, president of Absorbent Specialty Products LLC.
During production, the cloth is sealed at both ends and becomes what’s known as a water dam that is made of a super absorbent polymer material. Dancer says the polymer looks like sugar but once wet, it expands, holding water inside and transforming the fabric into a 2½-inch diameter dam that can be used to divert flooding.
Water dams are meant for any person or business that deals with flooding, but Dancer says she’s a regular user of her own products since Absorbent Specialty Products’ headquarters in Pawtucket has been threatened by seven flooding incidents since 2020.
“I’m not only the president, I’m also one of the biggest clients,” she said. “Every house should be prepared with a first aid kit, fire extinguisher and flood protection. We make it and have it, but I don’t know what other people are doing when these situations happen without it.”
Dancer started the business out of her garage in Attleboro in 2004, where she could be found making her products with just a blower, a hopper and a sewing machine. Now almost 20 years later, the company has blossomed to fill a 70,000-square-foot facility in Pawtucket with 28 employees.
Some of the manufacturer’s most notable customers include the Walt Disney Co. and the Seattle Mariners, but it primarily sells to construction companies, universities and hospitals, Dancer says. Locally, Absorbent Specialty Products regularly works with Brown University and Lifespan Corp., and with major distributors that sell the products to other organizations.
The company’s products can be found worldwide, with most being sold through Amazon.com Inc. Absorbent Specialty Products also sells products to retailers Home Depot Inc., Lowe's Companies Inc. and other distributors.
“Flooding is a worldwide issue,” Dancer said. “It’s happening in every building, so anyone that has running water is a potential customer.”
And the sales figures reflect that. Dancer says company revenue has grown steadily for $1 million in year one to an expected $16 million by year’s end.
Barbara August, who works in product development for the company, says flood mitigation products are the biggest sellers. August also notes she has seen an increase in demand from customers in Florida after Hurricane Ian last year, with many people getting their flood barriers and bags to protect their homes.
[caption id="attachment_451099" align="alignright" width="393"]
TUBE ASSEMBLY: Joshua Romero makes water dam tubes in the Absorbent Specialty Products LLC factory in Pawtucket.
PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI[/caption]
But Absorbent products aren’t just for managing floods.
Just feet away from the assembly lines producing the water dams stands a fake skeleton affectionately known among company employees as “Ling Ling.”
The skeleton serves as a model for products in the company’s mortuary line, and she is outfitted with several tubes and prosthetics over her chest, arms and legs. These products are meant to help reconstruct people who have donated tissues or organs so they have an open-casket funeral, Dancer says.
“This will be replacing bones that they’ve taken out of the body for donation purposes,” Dancer said, pointing to a bright blue tube on an assembly line near Ling Ling.
The tube is what’s called a Bio-Bone, which is a biodegradable adjustable prosthetic that can fill a person’s arms and legs, and there is a rectangular version for the chest. Bio-Bones are made of a kind of corn resin and when the prosthetics are boiled, they become moldable so they can be customized, Dancer says.
Among the other products in ASP’s mortuary line are artificial arteries, which are simply thin, clear plastic tubes with holes that can run through a person’s arms, legs and chest. The holes allow for easy and safer embalming, as the solution can be injected into the tubes where it will be dispersed and there is no need to reopen the donor, Dancer says.
While the mortuary line is certainly unique, Dancer has been manufacturing the products since Absorbent Specialty Products started.
“This is definitely unique,” Dancer said. “I mean it literally looks almost like an octopus in a bag.”
Dancer says the mortuary products come with instructions and are usually sold to organ and tissue banks, which are responsible for reconstructing the patients before they are sent to funeral homes. The company also provides mini pillows to fill a patient and absorb any additional fluids.
Absorbent Specialty Products also manufactures industrial products that neutralize acidic or base spills.
The neutralizing products are made in what Dancer calls the mixing room, where powders are mixed to create a neutralizing solution along with an absorbent material that is lined with plastic and cut to form pads. To neutralize a spill, the user would just cover the liquid with a pad and sprinkle the solution over it and wait for the product to do its work.
“If there’s any chemical spill, that will neutralize it and it changes colors while it’s neutralizing, so then it tells you when it’s neutral and it’s safe to touch,” Dancer said.
While Dancer has been making neutralizing and mortuary products since the start, the flood control line remains the company’s primary seller. Since launching the flood control line in 2012, Absorbent Specialty Products has sold more than 6,600 miles of flood control products, Dancer says.
The company’s core brand for its flood control line, including the water dams, flood barriers and flood bags, is called Quick Dam. The company prepares and sends material for its flood control products to a partner facility in Massachusetts, where approximately 35 employees are dedicated to making Quick Dam products. Then, the finished products are sent back to the factory in Pawtucket, where they are packaged and shipped to customers.
[caption id="attachment_451100" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
GRAB AND GO: Absorbent Specialty Products LLC President Carol Dancer, left, and an employee fill grab-and-go buckets with the company’s water dam used for flood protection.
PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI[/caption]
Dancer says this setup is particularly beneficial, as demand for flood control products often fluctuates.
“If I had to rely on my facility here, I’d be struggling to find more people, more sewing machines and things like that,” Dancer said. “So, working with a partner that already has excess equipment and the staff that can easily build out is what we need for our business because sometimes we’ll get spikes where we’re shipping truckloads and truckloads every week. And then other times we’ll be slowing down, and we’ll be building up inventory.”
Hurricane season and winter are the busiest times of the year, Dancer says. This is because the weather patterns vary across the country, but all regions still face some kind of flood risk.
“So even if the hurricane doesn’t make landfall, the outer effect still does,” Dancer said. “We’re now going into the winter season, but on the West Coast, they’re heading into their rainy season.”
August says there are also plans to create products that better protect against salt water for those in coastal areas.
Overall, Dancer says she plans to keep her company based in Rhode Island but hopes to continue expanding and absorbing as much business as she can.
“There seems to be a never-ending need for water mitigation,” Dancer said. “So, I think we’re at the right place at the right time and we have so much more to grow.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the relationship between Absorbent Specialty Products and some end users of the products. Some end users purchase products through distributors, not directly from Absorbent Specialty Products.
Also, the story mischaracterized the relationship between the company and Home Depot. Absorbent Specialty Products sells products to Amazon.com Inc., retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's Companies Inc., and other major distributors.
