(Editor’s note: This is the 45th 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.)
In a sector that has experienced an ongoing surge in popularity this decade, Warren-based Aspects Inc., a manufacturer of bird feeders and outdoor products, has long soared high.
The cornerstone of the company, and the main engine behind its success, is a mission based on products “that are designed for both the joy of the people feeding the birds,” said Aspects co-owner and President Trisha A. Torres, “and ornithologically designed for the safety and well-being of the birds that we feed.”
While that’s nothing new for Aspects, the 47-year-old manufacturer has in recent years experienced its largest boom in company history. Birding experienced a spike in popularity in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and for avid and casual hobbyists, the well-being of birds is paramount.
“You have a lot of people that once they start feeding the birds, they actually look at their wild birds the same as like oh, they’re my birds … I need to feed them,” Torres said. “I need to take care of them. Almost like an offshoot of if you have domestic pets. They feel a similar connection to their wild birds that come into their yard.”
Compounding that tendency to grow attached, Torres said, hummingbirds imprint on their feeding locations and return each year.
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ASSEMBLY LINE: Aspects Inc. product assembler Bonnie LaChance works on pieces of one of the company’s bird feeder models.
PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS[/caption]
Aspects manufacturers a line of feeders that cater to a wide range of birds, but its HummZinger product is a perennial favorite. The vibrant red feeder mimics flowers that attract hummingbirds, while the holes in the feeder are tailored to the geometry of the species’ beak – without that consideration, Torres says, the birds could get hurt trying to feed.
The product has amassed such a reputation that a few years ago, the company had to fight to get online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. to remove a slew of knockoff products from Amazon that bore Aspects’ name and packaging but were sourced from factories in China.
The company also takes broader environmental concerns into account. All Aspects products, which come with a lifetime guarantee, use sustainable components such as polycarbonate plastic – the same material used for products such as car headlights and vending machine windows – and ultraviolet stabilizers to ensure a durable product.
“A lot of the products that you buy that are in the birdfeeder arena are just going to last one season,” Torres said. “They’re going to get thrown away, they’re going to end up in a landfill. And that’s what we try to steer clear of.”
Meanwhile, an absence of chemical-based materials has earned the company a passing status under California’s notoriously strict Proposition 65 label requirements.
Upholding these principles is non-negotiable for Torres. She’s long had a passion for animal welfare, which she pursues through numerous avenues. On an early spring afternoon, two special needs rescue kittens that Torres is fostering played in her office as she gave a tour of the manufacturing facility.
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PIECE BY PIECE: Product assembler Mercedes Sardan puts together a bird feeder at Aspects Inc.’s Warren manufacturing facility.
PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS[/caption]
All manufacturing takes place within the 245 Child St. facility, where workers can produce thousands of bird feeders per day. Those bird feeders and accessories are sold online and through several brick-and-mortar vendors, including Wild Birds Unlimited.
But Torres didn’t have any particular interest in birds prior to joining Aspects 31 years ago as an office manager (she and her husband later purchased the business in 2019). Still, the company’s focus on wildlife appealed to her, and she soon discovered a love for birds and the manufacturing process.
Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have followed in Torres’ footsteps when it comes to birding.
It’s not hard to pinpoint why. Under lockdown and social distancing measures, more people took an interest in outdoor activities and enhancing their homes and yards, and birding allowed people to fulfill both of those experiences.
“The birding arena just flows right into that,” Torres said.
Plus, she noted, it’s a relatively inexpensive hobby, and people can enjoy it every day in an urban or rural environment.
Many customers say birding now plays a major role in their morning routine.
“They have a cup of coffee and they watch their birds,” Torres said, sometimes keeping logs of how many species visit their home.
Sales are also experiencing a boost from last winter’s historically snowy, cold weather, Torres said, noting that customers feel sympathy for the birds when there’s not a lot of food that they can pick off the ground.
Just as customers feel an attachment to “their” birds, Torres says she has a deep, personal stake in the company.
“For me, it’s very important that if I met someone at a trade show 20 years ago and I said, ‘This is what Aspects stands for’ … that I could see that person 20 years later and know that I’d made sure the company has stayed true to those values,” Torres said.
“At this point in time, Aspects is just kind of an offshoot of myself,” she added. “I kind of look at it as I and my husband, who [co-runs] the company, we are Aspects. The product out there is representative of what we have spent our careers building, so it’s more than just a job or a company.”
