Display Trailers Make Splash

Mike Graham and his wife, Britt Graham, were stranded at the county fair.
His company Graham Crackers Backyard & Patio LLC was at the Washington County Fair in 2003 showcasing its hot tubs. But when the fair was winding down on the last night, none of Graham’s employees stuck around to help load up the hot tubs.
The couple was left alone to load the eight spas — at 1,000 pounds apiece — and take them back to the store.
“We spent the better part of one night moving all those hot tubs,” Graham said. “We said, at that point and time, ‘This isn’t ever going to happen to us again.'”
Graham didn’t fire the employees, but he conceded there was a one-way discussion the following day.
He had another solution, and his idea has given way to its own venture, Spa Toter Industries LLC, which he hopes to turn into a $20 million business in the next few years.
Given a background in welding, Graham had the full plan pop into his head: He could build a semi truck trailer, strap hot tubs to the inside walls and then have the walls hydraulically unfold. With the touch of a button, it could transform from a trailer to a hot tub showcase. A job that once took several people, now only requires one.
Spa Toter looks to tap a market where, according to figures released by the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, the market volume is more than $4.5 billion annually. There are five million hot tub owners in the U.S., and dealers sold 400,000 in 2005.
In the 61 days of November and December as Graham got serious with sales, he sold $450,000 worth of trailers.
Graham said it’s an innovative concept, combining transportation and display. Dealers can use these trailers to take hot tubs to fairs, concerts, hot air balloon shows, or wherever they can find a crowd.
“We take the hot tubs to the people,” he said.
The trailers can be equipped with lighting that raises above the display via hydraulics for a nighttime exhibit. One can also paint logos and names on the trailer sides and have a billboard, Graham said.
Meeting the Market
Carter Bergdorf, Spa Toter sales and marketing consultant, said Graham is an inventor. But Graham just shrugged it off.
The idea behind Spa Toter developed so Graham Crackers could attend various shows with minimal labor. About 20 percent of his spa sales come from such road shows. Once Graham built the trailer though, he saw the opportunity not just for himself but also for other dealers.
“You start going, ‘Hey, we’ve got a hold of something here that’s going to work,'” he said.
Graham took his trailer’s debut to a trade show in Las Vegas. He didn’t take a trailer though, just a booth and a plasma screen TV to play video of the trailer.
“We were just swarmed with guys,” he said. “We were slammed.”
Graham attracted a lot of attention while making the rounds to various trade shows in Vegas and Orlando, Fla. Many people wanted a trailer, but no one was willing to buy one.
Graham’s first model was a 40-foot trailer that could carry 10 hot tubs. What scared people away was that the trailer had to be hauled behind a semi truck and then dealers would need commercial drivers licenses to operate them. By the time dealers got to the $56,000 price tag, the trailer was beyond the reach of most.
Graham’s first sell didn’t come until 2004 in Atlantic City, N.J. The show was actually sold out, he said, but organizers made room because they had seen the Spa Toter booth in Las Vegas. This time, he took the 40-foot trailer with him and sold it to a dealer in South Carolina.
“We were selling some trailers but nothing of any magnitude,” Graham said.
He was near a breaking point and told his wife that if they didn’t start selling better that he would abandon the idea. It was a costly venture. To attend each trade show took about $10,000 out of Graham’s pocket. For the next show, Graham hoped to change his luck by taking his hottest tub salesman, Bergdorf. Sales followed.
“It wasn’t me,” Bergdorf said. “It was the four-position trailer.”
Graham just unveiled an 18-foot trailer with capacity for four hot tubs. At that size, the trailer can be hauled behind a pickup and the price was more attractive — $30,000.
“If you try showing it the first time, it’s like introducing a widget the first time somebody sees it,” Bergdorf said. “But after the second and third time, they’re like, ‘Wow.'”
Spa Toter removed all the previous barriers so even the mom and pop operations could afford to invest in the trailers.
The Next Wave
The Spa Toter team didn’t really understand at first the full potential of the trailer.
“When you come up with an idea, you never really figure out where it’s going to go,” Graham said.
Now he is starting to look upwards and outwards to other markets. Spa Toter is getting ready to introduce a high-end 53-foot trailer that will start at $77,000.
Most dealers, Graham said, can already find want they want in the company’s lineup of trailers, but the major manufacturers want something above and beyond what anyone else has. Spa Toter says its new trailer will fulfill that demand.
Unlike the previous 53-footer, which was a gooseneck, the high-end model will look like a typical semi truck trailer.
The sides will still unfold, but a hydraulic-powered roof will lift up, and awnings will automatically unfurl to cover the lowered hot tubs for display.
The front portion of the trailer will be reserved for office space. An onboard generator will power lighting and allow the unit to be completely self-contained.
“It’s going to be as fancy as any NASCAR trailer,” Graham said.
Demand for this 10-hot tub trailer has already netted a couple of phone calls from parties who have heard about the new model.
Bergdorf said interest hasn’t been limited to the U.S. A hot tub dealer in Canada bought a trailer and is interested in also becoming a dealer for Spa Toter.
Moving into Canada was exciting for the company. Spa Toter applied for the North American Free Trade Agreement and avoided duty taxes of about $8,000 per trailer.
“That’s the difference between whether your trailer sells or doesn’t sell,” Graham said.
Bergdorf said the international market appears primed for Spa Toter. He has taken calls from New Zealand, Russia and Europe.
As a result, the company has started work on designs that would comply with European standards for specifications such as width, weight and lighting. Spa Toter said taking their trailers abroad would generate incalculable sales.
“We’re close to doing that, but you have to walk before you run, and it takes dollars,” Graham said. “It’s not cheap to ship one overseas just hoping you’re going to sell some.”
Graham said he expects the company to do about $3 million in 2007, and upwards of $20 million annually within five years.
“The numbers the industry is telling us is actually staggering,” he said.
Spa Toter could also expand beyond hot tubs. One person who bought a trailer plans to use it for showcasing motorcycles and four-wheelers.
Bergdorf’s music background gave him the idea to use the trailers as stages. He said current portable stages are expensive and difficult to assemble.
“We haven’t even tapped the music industry, but it’s the perfect trailer for a stage,” Bergdorf said.
The company has blossomed quicker than anticipated and looks to soon hire a bookkeeper, but is aware of the pitfalls of growing too quickly.
“You’ve got to take baby steps,” Bergdorf said.