Who is Curtis Hanvey Jr.?

....        ...

Curtis Hanvey Jr      

Graduated from Clemson University, Clemson SC with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Materials/Ceramic Engineering with a specialty in equipment design and glass production.

Prior to moving into the grooming industry, Curtis was a production and special project engineer (with three major patents to his name) for a "Fortune 100" company, Pittsburgh PA based PPG Industries, Fiberglass Division, for 10 years. He left PPG to create and build his own company, Hanvey Specialty Engineering.

Curtis is the son of a Groomer. After observing his mother groom it was not long before he found himself doing what comes natural to him, designing and building grooming equipment to make her job a bit easier. The design "bug" really took root after his mother introduced him to his first grooming  trade show in 1992, the Atlanta Pet Fair.  ("Many thanks to Ann Stafford who founded and manages the Atlanta Pet Fair.  Learn more about the Atlanta Pet Fair at www.AtlantaPetFair.com ")

Curtis recalls, "Yes, my mom put 'THE' guilt trip on me. Well....  since I am her son and a design engineer, she wanted good... No.... GREAT tools and equipment to work with. I started by listening to her every complaint which resulted in the creation of the first version LIPSystem.  The LIPSystem came about because the old style grooming arm kept falling and hitting her dogs across the head. It was not called the LIPsystem at that time. Mom called it the "Happy Hooker".  I really enjoyed helping her and really loved seeing that I could design away many of her hassles just like I had already been doing in my "professional career" with PPG Industries.  With years of experience listening people, I have a developed a way of finding what we call, "The Hanvey Edge". Take out dated designs and make them do things that have not been done before within that technology. The "edge" always revolves around the theme of reducing some stress and strain, or every day hassle that causes a professional Groomer to experience that well known  occasional 'burn-out' cycle. The "Edge" can put the fun back into the profession.  Any groomer understands what I mean by burn-out.   It was just too exciting to see her tell me, "I enjoy grooming!"  My designs made a dramatic improvement. Oh! My mom is my strongest critic and my second half in the brain storming process of grooming equipment design. I also try very hard to treat every Hanvey Client as if they are family and will do everything I can to help them feel less "beat up" at the end of the groom day.  "

Questions and Answers.

Curtis, what is it with you and your competitors?

Curtis - "Which competition?  Anyone of them who know me or has worked around me know that I'm not out to push "them" out of the market. In fact, I'm a through and through believer in free market economy where competition actually foster better and a more responsive market place. I know for a fact that our entry into the market is 1995 has helped my competitors grow.  Why they choose to think we are here to take their piece of the pie is beyond me. A harsh, negative response to me, my company or my products and services by any competitor has to be due to their lack of understanding real business and the groomers' market place.  So... let them talk us down. Let them talk like we don't know what we are doing. Let them claim they have consulted the experts and concluded that we are wrong. In the end they come to our way of thinking and start adding my designs to their product or product mix.  The perfect example is the recent introduction of Sprinter van models by two established builders in the industry. One of them has talked down the Sprinter since we started offering in 2003 but after almost five years they finally catch on and decide the Sprinter isn't so bad after all. Now they offer a sprinter model of their own.  Cool! Now they get to learn how to eat crow.  The interesting part is watching them add an inverter to their package after almost 5 years of really trashing the technology but the most fun part is watching them do it in a way that has already been tried and discarded. Yes, they are having to learn from experience all over again.  Yes, they even gave up the door going from the grooming area to the driving cab in order to join us in the inverter/Sprinter race. Why would they ever give up such an important safety access door.

 So, hopefully, they will stop making their competitor appear to wrong at every turn with silly "articles".  It's their reputation and their market image they are hurting.

In one case a competitor I have come to know too well will always say white if I say black. When you meet this competitor you will know exactly who I'm talking about.

We are pushing the envelope on quality and functionality to a point where the latest technology is more readily available to more groomers than ever. Since we have a real engineer on staff,  we can offer highly improved system design and do it at a price that is within the budget of most Groomers yet profitable to assure that we will be here tomorrow to serve them. 
My priority and Hanvey Specialty Engineering's priority rests solely with the Groomers. They are the one's we are here to serve. We are not here to make our competition happy."

Do you have any closing comments regarding "Competitive Market Forces"?|

Curtis - "Competition is what makes a good company great. We have been around since the mid 1990's, about 12 years, and our commitment to the grooming industry is paramount. We survived the critical first years when  4 out of 5 businesses normally fail. We want our competition to be profitable, viable so they can stick around because it is healthy for the industry and good for the Groomers who depend on us to have a health competitive environment.  Good strong competitive forces "weeds out" companies that are weak and builds up the companies that have the best vision and purpose.....
We are here to help Groomers grow. We are here to stay. We are here to end groomer burn out!" 

If you need to contact Curtis

mail to: Curtis@hairvac.com

.....       ...

Hanvey
Sprinter Hybrid Grooming Vans

No One Builds a  Greener mobile!

20-22 mpg!

Hanvey
Work Horse
Grooming Trailers

Money Saving Partial Built Grooming Trailer

Ford

Dog Grooming Equipment for Mobile and Shops

 A morning on Lake Keowee SC ...Wow! Click pictures to learn more about us and where we are located.
Want to visit us?
 

 Our Customers and Clients are all over the net. Visit www.petgroomers.com and go to their mobile grooming board to find some of our clients there posting.