Not all ex automotive engineers go on to create the next great engineering start-up. Some go onto something completely different.
Take Dave Crorey. The former automotive engineer took a buyout a decade ago after spending 35 years in the automotive industry working his way up from the shop floor to the executive ranks. That experience and a few miscues with some drywall prompted the Clinton Township resident to start Crorey Creations.
"It's about finding problems," Crorey says. "You find a problem and it's an opportunity sitting in front of you."
His first product is called the Blind Mark, which uses magnets to enable drywall installers to make easier cuts for outlets and light switches. The market for that product was modest so Crorey kept looking for more problems to solve. Then he saw his granddaughter trying to make a friendship bracelet and the CFL over his head went off again, creating the idea for My Friendship Bracelet Maker.
"There is a huge market for that," Crorey says.
The kit comes with a slide-out drawer for pre-cut threads and a clip device that holds all the threads in place. The new product debuted at the New York Toy show earlier this year and is now available at places like the Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Crorey is also starting to advertise it at the KidsChoice Awards on Nickolodeon.
So far Crorey has sold 30,000 of them and has six more shipping containers' worth on the way.
"It's something that mothers like because it's not something you buy today and throw away tomorrow," Crorey says. "It keeps the kids occupied for hours."
Source: David Crorey, president of Crorey Creations
Writer: Jon Zemke
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.