CETMARACKS
Video, 5min 28sec, 2008 (TRW04)

Cetmaracks is owned by Lane Kagay who began manufacturing front-end cargo racks for bicycles while messengering in San Francisco. Initially Lane used his welder to repair iron gates in San Francisco but soon realized that this line of work would lock him to a city he wasn't sure he wanted to live in forever. In 2007, Lane moved to Eugene, Oregon, a town famous for its "alternative" lifestyles, which for him meant somewhere cheap enough to pursue his interests yet creative enough to support them.

Cetma embodies the best of small business. Adhering to no kind of business model, Cetma follows an organic growth pattern where yesterday's needs determine today's activities. In an era where "sustainability" has been sadly relegated to the marketer's lexicon, Cetma creates a product that comes from a personal need predicated on the idea of living a life that supports itself.

We were especially interested in learning about Cetma since Lane actually makes something. For all the talk of offshoring American manufacturing, its heartening to see that manufacturing and production of real goods continue in places like Eugene. Perhaps someday a large foreign company will produce bicycle racks with an economy of scale that severely undercuts Cetma's pricepoints, driving Cetma out of business. But that day seems unlikely since the demand for these racks are fueled by people who ride bicycles, not cars. And unless there's a large shift in the general population to bicycle commuting, a small business like Cetma appears safe from corporate predation. We root for these companies that produce goods -- tools -- for specific people and communities, who practice and use and need what they make.