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MiMfg Magazine
November 2019
2019 MFG Innovation Excellence
KMS Designs Inc.
Portage
The story of KMS Designs began five years ago
with a mother at her wit’s end.
“I was a parent with a problem, I didn’t go into
this thinking about a business,” said Karen Smoots,
president of KMS Designs and developer of the
Green Glove Dryer. “I just had a mom moment —
you have a problem and you need a solution.”
Parents understand. It’s winter in Michigan and
your kids come in covered from head to toe in snow
and ice. Boots and gloves come off, discarded in a
heap on the floor, dank and wet. It’s disgusting and
all sorts of “ew” — and the cycle starts over when
the kids go back out.
The Smoots, Karen with her business background
and her engineering husband, were the perfect couple
to stumble into this problem.
“I’m trying to explain to him what I want, just
gesturing with my hands and he’s nodding along, his
mind already at work,” Smoots recalled.
Supplies shopping and eight hours later and
The Green Glove Dryer ® was born.
The Green Glove Dryer ® and its version 2.0
cousin, The Eco Dryer ® , sit over an existing vent on
the floor or wall and dry your gloves and boots from
the inside out with forced air/heat. From an energy
usage perspective, the product is perfect, using zero
additional energy and allowing otherwise wasted
heat to serve a greater purpose.
“Simplicity can be a breath of fresh air in a world
cluttered with complexity — we create simple solutions
to everyday problems,” Smoots said. “Solutions don’t
have to be overly complicated. Sometimes they are,
but sometimes less can be more.”
The Green Glove Dryer ® is a gamechanger for
families with active kids and for teachers struggling
to stay ahead of germs, bugs and viruses. It improves
health and wellness with an antimicrobial shown to
inhibit bacterial and fungi growth by over 99
percent. And it’s a symbol of what Michigan
manufacturers can do.
“Michigan is the best place in the world for an
innovator. You have all these amazing, brilliant
minds — the creativity here floors me,” Smoots
exclaimed. “There are resources like 100K Ideas in
Flint that can help you develop an idea, test it and
make it a reality. People here want to see innovators
succeed. I think that’s part of Michigan’s DNA —
they root for you to be amazing.”
Innovation doesn’t come easy. There are stumbles,
pitfalls and failures. A malfunctioning part almost
ended the business just a year or two in. Undaunted,
Smoots reevaluated it, came up with a redesign,
located new materials and shipped the improved
product to her loyal customers at no charge.
But innovation can also be wonderful, leading
you down an unexpected path and allowing your
business to grow, like the partnership with Consumers
Energy in schools. Products by KMS Designs can
be found across the country and the response has
been overwhelming.
“The moment that tugs at my heartstrings the
most is when I hear from that one mom or that one
teacher who was helped by our product,” Smoots said.
“If we can ease their stress; that is everything to me.
I’d take that over a 5,000-piece order any day.”
Smoots and her team put everything they have
into creating a brand to be proud of and she offers
key advice for future innovators. Allow your mind
to spin and wander and imagine. Don’t fear failure —
embrace it as a way to become stronger. Stick to
your guts and go with your instincts. You know
more than you think you do. Trust yourself. And,
most of all, keep innovating.
“Receiving the MFG Innovation Excellence
Award; I have to kind of pinch myself because it’s
a big deal,” Smoots acknowledged. “It validates the
sleepless nights and the 10-hour days. It represents
the time spent away from my kids in order to show
them that you can do great things — we all have
that potential in us. KMS Designs is a small
company, but there’s blood and sweat and tears
at every point along the road that got us to today.
Most of all, there’s a family behind this that has
sacrificed a lot and is just honest, humble, hard-
working and driven by a dream.”
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