WARRINGTON, Pa. and KINGSTON, ON, Oct. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - The success story of how SnapCab pivoted its product line from meeting pods to individual isolation and testing pods is being featured by Export Development Canada (EDC) in a national advertising campaign, from now until the end of October. SnapCab, established in Warrington, Pennsylvania, has a new start-up factory in Kingston, Ontario, specializing in workspace products.
Glenn Bostock sits in his SnapCab Meet 2 home office pod alongside Wilson the dog. (CNW Group/SnapCab)
SnapCab Kit of Parts (CNW Group/SnapCab)
SnapCab Workspace products can help to keep people isolated during and after the pandemic. (CNW Group/SnapCab)
The national campaign titled, Business as Unusual, highlights SnapCab, along with two other EDC clients, who shifted their business models to support those living in a pandemic, and post-pandemic world.
SnapCab manufactures mobile privacy pods for the open office environment. The company has been a client of EDC's for several years, and EDC chose to feature SnapCab due to its fast and innovative response to help.
When the pandemic hit, founder and CEO Glenn Bostock knew that small meeting rooms would no longer be of interest – at least for now.
"We quickly realized we had the design and manufacturing capabilities to develop medical testing pods for use by healthcare workers," Bostock said. "We started connecting with local medical experts for advice and guidance because we had no background in the medical field, but we knew we wanted to help."
SnapCab designed and developed several prototypes for medical testing pods and is now working with CannonDesign to bring a final product to market.
But, SnapCab's pivot didn't end there. With much of the office-bound workforce working from home, SnapCab took its Meet 4 and Meet 6 collaboration-style pod products and redesigned them into individual office pods. In addition, the team developed a Meet 2 home office pod, as well as the Consult – a two-person pod designed with a glass partition to provide a safe place for face-to-face interactions.
"We saw the need for people to return to the office, and we realized that our products were so flexible that we could help reinvent the office of the future by simply reworking our current pod designs into something more," Bostock said.
Soon, SnapCab developed a "Kit of Parts" that included several pod designs with customizable frames, panels, finishes, colors, furniture, accessories and more. Plus, all SnapCab pods can connect to the SnapCab Connects hinging wall system that can be used to create small group work areas – a signature product to the pod market.
"Something we've learned is that people are not going to go back to work the same way that they did before the pandemic," Bostock said. "There's a need now for less office space, but space that is much more flexible where all offices and walls are mobile. That's why we have designed this 'Kit of Parts' – to give people the tools they need to return to work."
All in all, Bostock's focus before the pandemic and throughout this pivot has been to be useful to customers, colleagues and the community.
"One thing we've learned from this is: start with trying to figure out how you can be useful and do something to help," Bostock says in the EDC commercial. "The energy around that creates people who want to work with you and partners who want to help you. Look for the upside and build on that."
On SnapCab being selected amongst thousands of EDC clients to be featured in the campaign, Bostock feels nothing short of grateful.
"To know that SnapCab was given an opportunity like this – it's truly once in a lifetime," he says.
About SnapCab
For over 35 years, SnapCab has been a leader in developing architectural products that are flexible, high quality and safe to use in a variety of environments. SnapCab Workspace offers a flexible "Kit of Parts" that is designed with a customizable frame, panels, finishes, colors, furniture, accessories and more. These isolated pods for the open are moveable, simple to clean, and can be combined with the SnapCab Connects walls to transform any workplace. workspace.snapcab.com
About Glenn Bostock, Founder & CEO
Glenn Bostock discovered the value of failure from a young age. Having struggled with learning disabilities as a student, his passion for woodworking taught him to view his mistakes as opportunities for improvement. This led to the development of his patented Interlocking Paneling (ILP) system, designed to fit imperfect spaces and to forgive small defects, which would become the basis for SnapCab Elevator and SnapCab Workspace. Today, Glenn builds his company with the same meticulous care as his fine cabinetry, creating space for communities of usefulness and a culture of continuous improvement.
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