Port Richey kazoo factory a hummmdinger of a place
Helen Anne Travis, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Monday, September 1, 2008
“No one’s getting rich, but we manage to pay the bills and eat,” says Stephen Murray, 27, vice president of operations at Kazoobie Inc. in Port Richey. “And have a great time.”
Stephen Murray, 27, is the vice president of operations and one of two full-time employees at Kazoobie Inc., a kazoo factory in Port Richey.
What's it like working at a kazoo factory? And how the heck did one pop up in Pasco County? We just had to ask.
A kazoo factory in Port Richey? Please explain.
In 1997, we started in South Carolina. We were just a retail Web site; we bought the kazoos from another manufacturer. In 2001, the manufacturer was ready to retire. Kazoobie Inc. president Rick Hubbard and a partner of his decided to buy the business. We have them molded in St. Petersburg and decided it would be more cost effective if we were nearby.
How did you land this gig?
I have a background in theater management. I got a job working for Rick as his production manager for his family entertainment act, the Kazoobie Kazoo Show. He's on the road a little more than 200 days a year. I traveled cross country with him doing lighting and sound. I got tired of living out of a suitcase. At that time, the Web site was in its infancy; a couple of orders a week was a good week. I offered to take over the Web site for him. I have been running it ever since.
What's the typical reaction when you tell people you work at a kazoo factory?
You do what? What's a kazoo? The best one is — you make a living doing that?
Can you make a living working at a kazoo factory?
No one's getting rich, but we manage to pay the bills and eat. And have a great time. It's a lot of fun. The beauty of it is, it's just kazoos. At the end of the day if we make a mistake on an order, it's not heart surgery — no one dies.
Has the downturn in the economy hurt the kazoo business?
No, we're seeing double-digit growth this year. Partly it's our international side.
Yourinternational side?
We've done some stuff for international music acts and international trade shows. We attribute a lot of that to the weak dollar.
Who are your competitors? And how do you stand out from the kazoo crowd?
There's one other kazoo factory in the United States, the Original American Kazoo Factory. They make limited production metal kazoos and specialty-shaped kazoos. Other competitors are Asian importers; they can manufacture them very cheaply.
We stand apart for a few reasons. Our kazoos are made from medical grade polypropylene. It's virtually unbreakable. Some competitors use a brittle plastic that can shatter. We safety-test all of our products to meet the government standards for toy safety.
Have there been any kazoo injuries to date?
Not that I know of.
What goes into making a kazoo?
We have them molded in St. Petersburg — we own the molds — then we bring them to our facility. We do all the assembly, imprinting and packaging. It's pretty simple. There are three pieces: the body, cap and the resonator. They're put together by hand. It takes about a minute, maybe less than that.
The resonator is what makes the sound and what makes our kazoos different. We use a plastic resonator, as opposed to wax paper or tissue paper. The benefit of that: It makes the kazoos waterproof.
Who needs a waterproof kazoo?
It's mainly teachers that are using kazoos in the classroom. They can wash them after each use. Also, kazoo bands use them in parades. If it starts raining outside, the kazoos still work.
Kazoo bands?
Normally, they're senior groups or just groups of people who love to play the kazoo. There's the Broome County (New York) Celtic Kazoo Band; they have 100 members now. They march in all the local parades and have a percussion section. They use our kazoos.
How many kazoos does Kazoobie Inc. make annually?
This year, we're at more than 800,000. Last year we made 600,000. God bless America!
How much does a plain kazoo cost?
$1.49.
Who is your typical customer?
We do a lot of work with schools, colleges, churches, lots of different companies for trade shows. We sell about 50,000 custom-imprinted wedding kazoos each year. There are a lot of folks looking for stuff other than bubbles and birdseed.
Any famous clients?
British Broadcasting Corp., Hot Topic, McDonald's, DirecTV, Dell, Microsoft, Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, the Red Hat Society — their official instrument is the kazoo and we're the official supplier for alternative bands Weezer and Blind Melon.
Whoa, Blind Melon? They're still around?
Yeah, we're not sure what they're doing with them; it's a really cool-looking kazoo.
How many kazoos are in the shop at a given time?
About 200,000. That's one of the other benefits — we're able to turn orders around pretty quickly.
We manufacture 14 different body and cap colors. If you want to order kazoos for your high school reunion, we can personalize them.
Do you offer tours?
Yes. We're always happy for customers to stop by — we just like to make sure that we're here. We're a small company so if the weather's really nice we might shut down and go fishing.
You must love what you do.
Oh, yeah, it's the best job in the world.
To learn more about Kazoobie Inc., visit kazoos.com.
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