11-30-09 - Featured in Central Valley Business Times

Stockton company’s innovations open new streams of revenue

‘It’s been passion that’s kept me going’

The countless casts as an avid fly fisherman over the years in pursuit of the wily trout have served Bill Brauner well. His company, Streamworks Products Group Inc. of Stockton, has cast into new streams of revenue as it invents and innovates its way from its original product line of accessories for fishermen.

“We formed Streamworks with the idea of creating fly fishing accessories,” says Mr. Brauner. “Mainly gear. My background is injection molding so we were designing and manufacturing accessories that you would use on your body.”

Started in Palo Alto, the company relocated to the Central Valley when it realized it would need more space.

“With the products I’ve designed, there’s a natural migration into other markets, which are much larger and that’s how we ended up in industrial safety,” he says.

The company’s new PlugsSafety division sells a patented line of hearing protection products centering on its “Zip-Outs” earplugs. The earplug system attaches to the inside of a hat or safety helmet and allows tethered ear plugs to be pulled out to be used or reeled back in when not in use.

“From our fishing roots, I invented a product called HatTail, which is a zippered mechanism that goes on the inside of the headband of a hat,” he says. The idea was to allow the hat to be clipped to the collar to keep it from flying away in windy conditions.

Streamworks makes its products in factories in China, Pakistan and India. It keeps its design, marketing and administration in the Central Valley, with outside sales reps covering the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and the Caribbean.

“It’s far removed from fishing, however you can see how it migrated from fishing,” Mr. Brauner says of his firm.

While growing the business takes up much of his time – “We’re looking at taking this company to about $20 million in the next five years” -- the CEO/inventor still tries to break away to stand in frigid water, casting for trout.

“I talk about it a lot more than I do it,” he says. “The art of fly fishing is truly that. It’s just a place for me to go and relax and get my mind off of product design and all the inherent problems that come with that.”

But his passion for his avocation translates into his vocation. “I have a passion for inventing things that other people can’t see,” Mr. Brauner says. “And that’s really what drives me. It’s been difficult for the last seven years with all the ups and downs in the economy, but it’s been passion that’s kept me going and always looking for an edge in product design and innovation.”