Sleigh-bell maker finds new markets to ring up

EAST HAMPTON, Conn. —

The factory is old and dark, with massive stamping machines and rows of sorting shelves that look as though they belong in the Smithsonian. But this time of year, there's no lack of cheer at Bevin Brothers Manufacturing on the shores of Lake Pocotopaug.

Bevin Brothers, one of the oldest continuously operated factories in Connecticut, is the last remnant of a once-thriving industry that earned East Hampton the nickname "Bell Town, USA," an improbable holdout in a business that has moved to the low-wage producers of Asia.

But the sixth generation in a family business that dates back to 1832 believes sleigh bells — and their iconic appeal at Christmas — can save the enterprise well into the 21st century.

"We are the last manufacturer of bells left in North America, all that remains of an industry in East Hampton that once produced 90 percent of the world's sleigh bells," said Matt Bevin, who took over in 2008 and has since struggled to revive the moribund family firm.

"In an electronic age when much of the sound of bells can be replicated on your iPhone, how do you capitalize on the real thing? That's the challenge we're testing here now," Bevin said.

It turns out there is more life left in the simple brass or steel bell than most people would think.

One of Bevin's largest customers is Poochie Pets, a Simsbury, Conn., company that attaches Bevin sleigh bells to a nylon strap that can be hung on door handles, so dogs can ring them when they need to be let out.

Other companies attach the sleigh bells to traditional leather straps for decorative door hangings at Christmas.

All told, the company markets more than 700,000 sleigh bells a year, in addition to cow bells sold for spectators at football games and ski races, teacher's bells, tea bells and patio and yacht bells.

Cheryl Pedersen, who started Poochie Pets in 2005, originally imported all of her bells from China to take advantage of their low cost. But after sales at her company took off two years ago, Bevin approached her about supplying bells from Connecticut, and she was impressed by the company's pricing and quality.

She now orders about 500,000 Bevin sleigh bells a year.

"Bevin is now stamping our dog-paw logo on the bells, and reinforces them so that they don't get squished when they are caught in the door," Pedersen said. "You wouldn't get that kind of service from a supplier in China, and we like the fact that it's all made right here in Connecticut.

"Matt is a role model for a lot of small companies like us because we're all trying to show that this kind of thing can still survive in America and be innovative, and that's what he's doing."

Bevin Brothers is also the sole supplier for another Christmastime staple — the hand bells Salvation Army workers ring outside retail stores. The company recently supplied new bells for Macy's, when the department-store chain was refurbishing the red suits for all its Santas.

Bevin, 43, an entrepreneur who also operates a large asset-management firm and other companies in Kentucky, remembers running down the factory floors as a boy.

He took over the bell company after other family members concluded he was the only member of his generation with both the business know-how and capital to save the firm.

He has spent the last two years reorganizing the shop floor, rebuilding sales relationships with customers and creating strategies for winning back business the company has lost to Asian manufacturers over the past 20 years.

Shortly after he took over, Bevin called all of his employees together and told them, "We make a product that people really don't need anymore but still seem to want. How can we take advantage of that and grow in smart ways?"

Smart growth includes such concepts as pooch bells or line alerts for ice fisherman, but Bevin suspects that reviving the company will have more to do with the embedded appeal that bells have.

"It's nostalgia," Bevin said. "Bells make attractive sounds that bring back so many important moments in a life — weddings, the dinner bell, Christmas. They conjure up images that were important in people's lives."

"I will turn 65 in 2032, the year Bevin Brothers celebrates its 200th birthday," he says. "It's not a bad lifetime goal to promise that we'll still be around then."