Report and Proceedings: Safety Sells ConferenceCPSC Home > Business > Current U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION WASHINGTON. DC 20207 CPSC Document #6001 Report and Proceedings: Safety Sells Conference Washington, D.C. Tuesday, March 28, 1995 Sponsored by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Foreword On March 28, 1995, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) sponsored a conference on the theme of "Safety Sells." Approximately 175 people, representing a broad spectrum of consumer product businesses and industries, took part in the one-day event in Washington, D.C. Chairman Ann Brown, in welcoming the conferees, pointed out that the conference marked the very first time that CPSC had brought together industry senior executives to talk about business profitability and safety as mutual objectives. The Safety Sells program featured presentations by top executives of eight consumer product companies -- Hasbro, Binney & Smith, Toys "R" Us, Procter & Gamble, Volvo, Evenflo, Rollerblade and Whirlpool. Each was asked to present a case study of a safe product or approach to safety in his company and to discuss how the company had benefited and profited from it. The speakers' remarks, which are reprinted in this publication, emphasized each company's commitment to safety, as well as the competitive advantages of its safety innovations. The presentations demonstrated an extraordinary range of new and creative approaches taken by these companies to make and sell safer products. CPSC Chairman Ann Brown underscored the Commission's interest in maintaining the creative partnership reflected by the Safety Sells Conference. She urged industry to continue the dialogue with government on the best ways to achieve the goal of making products that are both safe and profitable. Table of Contents SPEAKER PART Ann Brown Chairman U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission........................ 1 Case Study Presentations Alan Hassenfeld President and Chief Executive Officer Hasbro, Inc.................................................... 2 Richard S. Gurin President and Chief Executive Officer Binney & Smith, Inc............................................ 3 Michael Goldstein Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Toys "R" Us ................................................... 4 Gordon F. Brunner Senior Vice President The Procter & Gamble Company .................................. 5 Albert R. Dowden President and Chief Executive Officer Volvo North America Corporation ............................... 6 George A. Harris President Evenflo Juvenile Furniture Company ............................ 7 John Hetterick President and Chief Executive Officer Rollerblade, Inc. ............................................. 8 J. C. Anderson Corporate Vice President Whirlpool Corporation ......................................... 9 PART 1 ANN BROWN Chairman U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Opening Remarks Welcome to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Safety Sells Conference. This is a momentous occasion. This conference marks the very first time that CPSC has brought together industry chief executive officers and other senior executives to talk about business profitability and safety as common goals. We are here today because we recognize your legitimate need to be profitable. And as chairman, I want you to know that we understand and applaud that need. The business of CPSC is saving lives and preventing injuries. I know that you understand and applaud our efforts. Today, in a first for the agency, we will combine our efforts with industry so that we can both succeed. In the past, government stood over industry and told it to incorporate safety into its products because it was "the right thing to do." Today, as an agency of the '90s, we want to work with you to help you find a way to market safety in order to increase your company's profits. It makes perfect sense that the best incentive for you to make products safe is to make them profitable. It's just common sense that the most appropriate agency to promote this idea is CPSC, the one charged with saving lives and reducing injuries. While common sense may be a new concept for government, it's surely not new for CPSC. CPSC has operated using common sense since I arrived as chairman one year ago this month. Common sense means working voluntarily with industry towards market-driven solutions. We will continue to do so, especially when it results in such important developments as this new trend of safety as a profit center. Today, we've assembled an incredible slate of innovative companies who foresaw that marketing safety was a smart business decision. You will hear how your industry colleagues have put their exciting ideas into action. You will hear how Rollerblade's safety program creates awareness about safety and simultaneously creates a market for safety gear. You will hear how packaging of Procter & Gamble's product Aleve helped the company crack a very competitive painkiller market. I know you will find these presentations enlightening and challenging. I hope you will come away with your own creative ideas on how to market safety and make money. I look forward to hearing your comments and your ideas about safety sells during the day. Midday Remarks I hope you enjoyed this morning's presentations as much as I have. These companies, like all companies, are in business to make a profit. But what is so innovative about these companies is their bold and creative use of safety as a marketing strategy. Today, business must be creative to succeed in a competitive, global economy. CPSC also must be creative to find ways to save lives in a time of streamlined, reinvented government. In the past, industry and government each have gotten a bum rap. People saw business as rigid and stodgy. People saw government as antiquated and excessively bureaucratic. Well, it's not true of the companies here today and it's not true of this agency. In fact, this agency is a model for reinventing government. It is * an agency based on common sense, dedicated to its mission of saving kids' lives and making families safer; * an agency that already practices risk assessment, provides cost-benefit analysis and does peer reviews; and * an agency that succeeds in its mission on the same budget it had in 1979 -- that means the same dollar amount, with no increase for inflation and about half the staff it had in 1980. I don't believe there is another federal agency that does its job as well with so little. We are an agency that is truly reinventing government, that fulfills its mission through cooperation far more than regulation. When I came to this agency, I knew that we had to reinvent ourselves -- not just to survive, but to succeed. And I knew that we had to involve not just consumers, but business as well. Unless you take us seriously, and are willing to work with us, we cannot do our job. So, we're here today to harness a new energy to work together in a creative partnership. Just as industry uses creativity to increase profits, CPSC uses creativity to find solutions to product problems. Most of the time, these creative solutions are faster and cheaper than the labor-intensive, mandatory alternatives. And, as I have stated many times before, I always prefer voluntary solutions that solve the problems of product hazards. CPSC is a scientific and technical agency that has numerous tools to give and collect data on deaths and injuries. We receive data from physicians, coroners, fire departments, our Hotline, and from our NEISS hospital emergency room reporting system. Since I began as chairman, CPSC has added more hospitals to NEISS and is linking it to additional sources of data, making a good system even better. And we have used this system creatively to anticipate injuries and to share this information with industry. Last June, we used our NEISS data to project a dramatic increase in injuries from in-line skating -- from 37,000 hospital emergency room-treated injuries in 1993 to about 80,000 in 1994. Then we came out with a warning urging consumers to use all of the necessary protective padding and helmets when they skate. Rollerblade may have even benefitted from our warning, since they had a campaign already in place to market safety gear. This is an example of how CPSC can strengthen creative partnerships with industry by helping it profit from marketing safety. In the past, when you would receive a call from CPSC, you immediately assumed there was trouble. Now we may call you for many reasons. We may call to give you information. We may call if we have an idea for you. Or, we may call to invite you to come to CPSC to meet with our technical experts and other interested parties to find a voluntary solution to a product problem. Here's how one call to industry has helped to address a particular product hazard. Twenty-one children were killed and hundreds injured when movable soccer goals weighing over 600 pounds tipped over and crushed them. These children were playing in parks and fields where soccer goals were not permanently anchored. CPSC brought together sporting-goods manufacturers, soccer coaches, school officials, and soccer enthusiasts to address this hazard. Together, we developed guidelines for local jurisdictions to prevent the deaths and injuries of other children from movable soccer goals. These are creative solutions, not mandatory ones. CPSC utilizes technologies that could be of use to you. For example, we are on the Internet. We have expanded our Hotline to get and give information directly to consumers. These resources and our safety expertise are available to help you build safer products so that you can then market your products for safety. This afternoon, you will see several more presentations by creative companies that have made safety profitable. Our first presenter, Volvo, changed the auto industry standard for marketing safety. At CPSC, we believe that this is more than an emerging trend. We believe that marketing safety is here to stay. We are here to help you make that happen. Closing Remarks This has been an incredible event that far exceeded my expectations. I want to thank all of you for making this a tremendous success. I also want to thank and recognize the conference participants: Alan Hassenfeld of Hasbro Richard Gurin of Binney & Smith Michael Goldstein of Toys "R" Us Gordon Brunner of Procter & Gamble Albert Dowden of Volvo George Harris of Evenflo John Hetterick of Rollerblade J.C. Anderson of Whirlpool Their presentations exemplify that safety is not just good for CPSC and the American people but for business as well. When we envisioned the idea for this Safety Sells Conference, we established several goals. We wanted to make the point that safety sells, and we certainly have. But we wanted that point to be made by your industry colleagues, those who are the most qualified to speak about what sells. We also wanted to continue, and in some cases establish, a face-to-face dialogue with you so we could talk about merging our missions. For so long, it seemed that government and industry might have been at cross purposes. But in fact, as we've seen today, our goals are actually in sync. In the past, you may have come to Washington only to hear some esoteric, think-tank analyses of business. Instead, today you've heard real-life examples of business successes. We're delighted that you heard it here first. We hope you will implement the idea that safety can be a profitable marketing strategy in your own companies. So please, call us, talk to us, keep the dialogue going. Let us know how we can help you sell safety. In the meantime, we at CPSC issue this friendly challenge: be even more profitable by making even safer products. Be the first in your industry to market safety and watch the others follow. And when these products sell, we'll invite you to be a headliner at our next Safety Sells Conference. Thank you for coming. ########## Ann Brown became Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on March 10, 1994. She was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a Commissioner and the seventh Chairman of CPSC. Part 2 ALAN HASSENFELD Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hasbro, Inc. When Hasbro decided to become a major player in the juvenile furniture area, it designed a high chair based on what mothers said they wanted: a safe chair that wouldn't let children slide out and one that could be used by infants as well as older toddlers. In less than a year, Playskool's 1-2-3 High Chair was the best-selling one on the market. Thank you for inviting me to come here to talk about how safety sells. Being chairman of one of the world s largest consumer products companies for children, you can bet that our top priority has always been and will continue to be to sell fun, affordable and, most importantly, safe products for children the world over. Hasbro s philosophy of making great products didn t start with me. Back in 1923, when three Hassenfeld brothers started a business, they followed a simple philosophy: sell a good, safe product that people want, and your business will grow. And grow it has. That simple family philosophy that my grandfather and his brothers began was passed along first to my dad, Merrill, then to my brother, Stephen, and to me. I now carry that torch. It may have been the Gallo brothers who said they will sell no wine before it s time, but I can assure you, it is the Hassenfeld brothers who will sell no product before it passes our very rigorous safety standards. We have state-of-the-art testing facilities where we constantly evaluate all aspects of a product. The safety crew and our talented and creative team of designers and engineers know what they have to do before they can put the Hasbro name on a product. Sometimes, however, even the most tested products can develop a problem. Let me talk about one recent example. We began selling our Colorblaster 3-D in August of 1994. It went through extensive testing before it was sold, but we started to hear about a potential problem when the cap, if overpumped, could fly off and strike a child. We immediately alerted the CPSC and began a voluntary recall. Fortunately, there were only a small number in distribution. Even so, we took our efforts one step further and produced a video news release that we transmitted by satellite to television stations around the country. Our results were phenomenal. In just one day, we reached almost 23 million viewers when 153 stations in 101 markets carried our message. This is just one way we are trying to be responsive to the people who put their trust in us when they buy one of our products. The most important thing if you have a problem is to nip it in the bud, so that it stays a small problem. Don t be indecisive -- move on it right away. By the way, when we have done recalls in the past, the response rate to our 800 number averaged about 300-500 calls. For the Colorblaster 3-D, our video news release generated some 6,100 calls -- a very impressive number. Here s a question for all of you. How many of you have children? I m sure each of you who does has a story or two about how your child found a creative way to turn the safest toy into a potentially dangerous one by the way they used it. No, Johnny, that Tinkertoy is not something to whack your brother with. In that regard, we as parents have to take some responsibility for how our children play with their toys. We need to be there at the beginning to explain what s right and what s not. Another way to be responsive to your consumer is through consumer education. At Playskool, we do it two ways. One is through our packaging. All of our products feature our innovative ages and stages icons. It takes the guesswork out of choosing toys by organizing them into four stages of development: newborn, infant, toddler and pre-school. The other way is by including a letter from Playskool s president in many of our Playskool products bought by Mom and Dad for their children. The letter talks about the proper uses of the product they have just purchased. It also includes an important safety tip unrelated to that product that we hope is helpful to parents. For example, in our spin-around train product, we alert parents to the dangers of window screens and advise them to keep furniture away from windows, because the screens are not designed to keep children from accidentally falling out. The issue of consumer education is a critical one. Where possible, we should all try to go above and beyond, because it not only helps you, by showing your consumers that you care, but also because it is the responsible and right thing to do. That is why we also mold our 800 number into all of our Playskool products: to let parents know we are there if they need us. But enough of an overview. Chairman Ann Brown has asked me to talk to you about one specific example of a product that has safety as a key component, where safety really does sell. I can think of none better than our award-winning 1-2-3 High Chair; award-winning because of the design and the safety elements that are built into it. We were fortunate enough last August to receive the Chairman's commendation for significant contributions to product safety from Ann. We designed and built a high chair with a restraint system that helps protect our youngest citizens from tragic consequences. But let s step back for a second and look at the history of high chairs. The first high chair was made in the 16th century in Europe but didn t become common in the U.S. until the mid-19th century. Today some 1.5 million are sold each and every year. We roughly estimate that some 10 million high chairs are in use every day in the U.S. alone. To look at them, you wouldn t think that some high chairs have the potential to be dangerous. But according to the CPSC, since 1988, 20 children have died while being in high chairs. Children have slid down the seat and strangled, either on the tray or on the waist strap. We made the decision to become a major player in the juvenile furniture area as result of many internal meetings in 1992. At the time, we were not really involved in the business. We did license our name out in a small number of categories within juvenile furniture, but quite honestly, the result had been a disappointment in terms of both sales and the type of product that we were putting our name on. We decided then that the best approach would be to put together a design team that would develop exciting new features and meet our lofty goal of designing a line of innovative, high quality, durable and, of course, as always, safe products for the juvenile furniture market, products we would be proud to put the Playskool name on. Once the team was put together, we began researching the various juvenile product categories, because we wanted to enter the business in a big way with just the right product. With our success in newborn, infant and toddler feeding products, we decided to tackle an area where we already had expertise, and so we chose high chairs. However, we have never been a me-too company. If we were going to enter the market, we had to have a point of difference. Who better to help us identify that point of difference than mothers of infants and toddlers? We brought in all the top- selling high chairs to a research session and listened intently as the mothers took us through their likes and dislikes. Two interesting facts came to the surface. One was that while high chairs have been equipped with the three-point safety belt restraint, parents often admitted to not buckling up their children. Many of them referred to their rather active children as sliders." These were often kids who were too difficult to buckle in, or their parents admitted to just not having time to buckle them in. These kids would find new and clever ways to slide down their seats, sometimes even out of their seats, and, as we discovered from the 20 deaths, sometimes with tragic consequences. The second thing we picked up on was that high chairs could only be used by parents once the child was able to sit up, somewhere in the five- to six-month range. We talked also to the trade. They were looking for a high chair with an extra point of difference, but also one that would cost less. Surprise, surprise! After our research team recognized the opportunities before us, we explored a variety of design solutions that would allow younger infants to be placed in our chairs while more securely restraining them. We looked at a variety of ways to design a high chair with an advanced restraint system that would not be easily circumvented by parents. We also wanted to develop one that would cover a wider age range than those currently on the market. For how to broaden the age range, we looked at some of our own products. We have become quite proficient in developing product that grows right alongside the child. Our line of 1-2- 3 products, including our steady step walkers, the 1-2-3 bike and our in-line skates, all follow that principle: build a great product that has the ability to grow with the child. We have done it again this year with a product called 1-2-3 baseball. We took our product winning 1-2-3 philosophy and applied it to the high chair. I first saw the fruits of our research team s labor at a management line review early in 1993. The team showed how they incorporated a reclining seat so that newborns could now use the high chair. They also included a height adjustment system with six different possibilities. This would allow for extended use on the upper end of the age range. The team also showed a high chair with a rigid crotch restraint that had to be in place in order for the tray to be attached. We felt that even the busiest or most forgetful parent would appreciate this feature. The team recommended, however, that the seat belt still be used along with the rigid restraint. We were all blown away at the meeting, because the team had come up with not one, but at least two innovative points of difference. We gave them the green light and encouraged them to go full speed ahead. Partnerships played a big role in this product s genesis as well. We realized that we did not have the expertise to manufacture this product, so we teamed up with Troxel, a company based in Tennessee that had previous experience with high chairs. We worked with their engineering and production people to fine-tune the product. Each step of the way our internal quality assurance people guided the team through to make sure we met or exceeded all rules regarding high chairs. We also wanted to make sure that we had JPMA (Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association) certification. Nineteen months from the beginning of this project, in the second quarter of 1994, we launched Playskool s 1-2-3 High Chair. We spent three quarters of a million dollars in tooling alone to ensure that every part of the product would be made with the highest standards. I should also add that our high chair was not going to be cheap. The cost to include all these new features was fairly substantial. We knew it would be expensive ... but worth it. We launched the product with a healthy print advertising and public relations campaign. Point-of-purchase pieces were developed and attached to each tray and footrest to convey our message. The response was -- and continues to be -- phenomenal. Clearly we hit a chord with parents. By the third quarter, we had the best selling high chair in dollar volume. By January of this year, we had the best-selling high chair in both units sold and dollar volume. In the case of the 1-2-3 High Chair, we proved that safety does sell -- and it sells very well. We believe that we may have changed the way high chairs will be built in the future. At this year s juvenile products merchandising show, two of our competitors had adapted the crotch restraint idea into their products. Let me assure you, we are not sitting still. We are already looking at new innovative, fun and safe ways to drive our competition batty and bring a new level of safety to the global marketplace. You, too, can do it, and with organizations like the CPSC recognizing the work of companies like Hasbro and partnering with us, the future of safety is very bright indeed. We ve talked a lot about safety today. Let me show you how serious I am. It is imperative that I safety test each product we make. Take a look at me hard at work with the high chair. (Video shown to audience.) Seriously, while I couldn't really personally test each product, I continually challenge our people to make sure that what we do bring to market is something we would all be proud to put our name on. So, too, can you make a difference, and as you saw from our 1-2-3 High Chair, a profitable one at that. Thank you. ########## Alan Hassenfeld has been Chairman and CEO of Hasbro since 1989. He is a third-generation member of the family that founded the company. Part 3 RICHARD S. GURIN President and Chief Executive Officer Binney & Smith, Inc. Although Binney & Smith complied with all safety standards, some consumers perceived that the food scents of its new Crayola "Magic Scent" crayons would encourage children to put the crayons in their mouths. Mr. Gurin describes how Binney & Smith responded to those consumer concerns. Good morning! I'm sure some of you are wondering how many issues regarding product safety can be challenging the makers of Crayola crayons. Most moms and dads and even we grandparent types remember from our own Crayola experiences that our products are non- toxic -- even if you eat a few Crayola crayons, there are no harmful side effects. We don't encourage it and they don't taste good, but they are harmless if ingested. So why is Crayola concerned? Quite simply, our company, Binney & Smith, has been a leader in advocating product safety in the art materials and stationery product categories for nearly 100 years. We were a founding member of the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute in 1936. Today, this industry organization -- known as the Art & Creative Materials Institute, or ACMI -- is most recognized for its certification program for children s art, fine art and creative product materials. If you reach for a Crayola package today, you will see a CP or AP -- certified product or approved product -- seal, meaning that the product is safe, has gone through toxicological evaluation by medical experts and, according to the ACMI Manual of Procedures, contains no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans or cause any acute or chronic health problems. Each package also acknowledges compliance with hazard labeling and performance standards mandated by federal law. These certification seals on product packages are a vital tool to reassure consumers about a product's safety. Crayon safety generated national attention last spring when the CPSC requested the recall of private-label crayons imported from China because they contained levels of lead found by CPSC to be hazardous. Lead is found in some pigments used as colorants in crayons. None of the crayon packages carried the ACMI safety seals. CPSC did announce in press statements that Crayola crayons were the industry standard, virtually lead-free, following tests of Crayola crayons, which confirmed our own test results. Lead-free may be great for gasoline, but it's not exactly a positive coloring benefit even for Crayola products. At Binney & Smith, we make it easy for consumers to get information about our products and share their thoughts on product quality, packaging and our new product innovations. On every box, we invite questions and comments to our consumer affairs department via the l-800-CRAYOLA telephone line. Last year alone, we listened to more than 100,000 Crayola consumers. Many of the calls were positive! Based on consumer input, we have also developed standardized consumer information panels on all packages for our activity kits and art sets. These panels make it easy for parents to find pertinent product information, safety data and washing instructions, of great importance when working with non-washable art products. Last year, our 800 number proved to be an invaluable resource with the launch of a new Crayola crayon product: Crayola Magic Scent crayons. Faced with the challenge of building consumer excitement into a 90-year-old product category, our crayon marketing team worked on creative ways to enhance the play value of the crayon -- add some glitter, make them glow in the dark, or better yet, have them change color. All of these product concepts tested well with consumers and were in the works for launch. The team, however, decided to develop a whole new crayon concept -- one in which crayons would emit familiar scents -- a very popular idea with parents and kids in focus group research. The first challenge was developing the technology. Fortunately, we had experience in color-mixing, so scented products seemed pretty straight-forward. Initial smells ranged from chocolate to marshmallow to skunk, and even included marigold and dirty sneakers. As we began our field testing with mothers and kids, food scents consistently ranked among their favorites. But we were unhappy with the crayons we made and those already in the marketplace, where the crayon smelled like fruit for example. We wanted to develop a technological breakthrough that would give this idea a new twist. Several months later we did. The technology involved micro-encapsulated fragrances that we jointly developed with our partner, 3M. These fragrances do not smell or break open until the crayon is used to color on a surface. In the box, the crayons don't smell any different than regular crayons -- the scents are only released on paper surfaces and therefore are unlikely to encourage kids to eat them any more than any other crayon. Since industry statistics on ingestion or aspiration from art materials, which include crayons, paint and paper, are relatively small compared to other children's products, we felt confident in giving our marketing team the green light to finalize and launch the product. This was a long process, but we had a real breakthrough in terms of kids' safety and more fun coloring. Shipments of product to selected accounts began in January of last year, while we ran controlled panel tests. We launched a national public relations campaign in July, complete with television advertising. By this time, we had seven months of in-market experience without a single recorded incident of ingestion from a Magic Scent crayon called in to our 800 center. Despite glowing coverage in the press and on TV, within days the New York State Consumer Protection Board was calling for the immediate removal of Magic Scent crayons from the retail marketplace. Acknowledging that the crayons were in total compliance with all of the safety and regulatory laws, New York officials were concerned that food-scented crayons would increase the likelihood of a child coloring on paper and then putting the good- smelling paper in his mouth -- raising the risk of a choking hazard. Despite the fact that the crayons didn't smell, some also thought the likelihood of ingestion or aspiration was greater because of the food scents. In short order, the company learned that others felt the same way. Connecticut's State Consumer Protection Board and eventually Chairman Ann Brown at CPSC expressed similar concerns about food-scented children's products. Newspaper headlines cast doubt and fear among some of our consumers. In the three months after the media got into this ingestion debate, our 800 center logged 10,000 calls with inquiries regarding the safety of the product. Of course, we assured them that all Crayola crayons remain 100% non-toxic. In the marketplace, the scented crayons were selling well in all of our major national accounts like Wal- Mart, Toys "R" Us and K-Mart. Scented crayons were fast becoming one of our biggest sellers! After carefully reviewing the Crayola consumer statements called into our 800 center and weighing the opinions of child safety advocates, I came to -- what was at the time -- a very unpopular decision at Binney & Smith. I made the decision to phase out the food scents and to develop a line of non-food fragrances. In my mind, the reputation of the Crayola brand name and our 90-year history of providing safe, quality products was not worth jeopardizing in the long-term, even if it was just a perception and the product was in fact as safe as any other Crayola crayon. By mid-September, I advised CPSC of our company's decision, explaining that it would take about six months of effort by 3M and our technical people to develop a line of new non-food scents. At today's "Safety Sells" conference, I m pleased to share publicly for the very first time the line-up of the new Magic Scent crayons from Crayola. Here they are -- first the floral scents: daffodil, eucalyptus, tulip and lilac. Next, we have the non-floral scents: new car, soap, leather jacket, smoke, cedar chest, shampoo, lumber, baby powder and dirt. There are also three non-food staples from the original package: pine, rose and fresh air. Even at a cost well in excess of a half-million dollars to develop and phase the new scents into our production, we feel it was a good idea to preserve the reputation of the Crayola brand for safety. Beginning April 1, the new Magic Scent crayons will be shipped to customer warehouses and stores all over the country. Binney & Smith will be awaiting consumer feedback to determine just how well safety sells. Color us enthusiastic about the prospects. Thank you. ########## Richard Gurin joined Binney & Smith in 1984 as President and Chief Operating Officer and in 1987 was named President and Chief Executive Officer. He serves on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities as co-chair of the subcommittee on Arts, Humanities and Our Youth. He also is Vice Chair of the American Council for the Arts and a participant in the Goals 2000 Art Education Action Planning process. PART 4 MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us has established several programs to protect its customers from unsafe products. These programs include comprehensive safety assurance testing, and educating vendors, buyers, employees and consumers. Four years ago, Toys "R" Us implemented a comprehensive safety assurance testing program. Our program is unique because, as a retail operation, our requirements are vastly different from those of a manufacturer, although we share the same regulatory responsibilities. Our strengths lie in increasing vendor awareness to new and evolving regulations and standards and in keeping potentially hazardous and non-compliant products from our shelves and the hands of the Toys "R" Us customer. Toys "R" Us has consistently sought to offer for sale only those products that meet rigorous safety standards. All merchandise must conform with current U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations, Food and Drug Administration requirements, all U.S. federal, state and local laws, and industry voluntary standards. Testing is required to be performed at least once a year on all direct import and private label products. Additional testing is required (every shipment) for items appropriate for children under three years old or when there is a change in country of origin, factory, design or component materials. In 1994, more than 7,700 product safety tests were performed on merchandise purchased by Toys "R" Us. Most of this testing was completed "off shore" on products made for the U.S. but before they were accepted by our overseas consolidators for shipment. No direct import merchandise is accepted for shipment unless it is accompanied by a valid Toys "R" Us certificate of compliance issued by our testing laboratory. Testing parameters are specified by Toys "R" Us, not the vendor. In this way, we are sure all items are tested to the same regulatory requirements and specifications. Of the 7,700 tests performed, 494 products failed to comply with all of the applicable regulations and standards. Over the years, the release of small parts during the testing procedures has been the most frequent reason for failures. In 1994, 14 percent of the total failures were due to small parts. However, these findings were eclipsed by failures to comply with various labeling requirements. Thirty-two percent of the year's failures resulted from incorrect or missing labeling. This extraordinarily high failure rate was a direct result of the 1993 Connecticut small parts labeling act requiring warning statements on toys intended for children ages three- to seven-years-old and containing small parts. Eighteen percent of the year's failures were attributable to non-compliance with this one state law. An additional 14 percent of the year's failures were due to other labeling issues, including improper manufacturer's identification and warnings required on electrical toys and toys that would come in contact with food. Heavy metals and lead content account for another 17 percent of the failure results. Although not required by law, Toys "R" Us has been testing crayons for total lead content for several years. With the Consumer Product Safety Commission's increased surveillance on children's art materials, including crayons, we have extended this testing to chalk, paints and similar art materials. Other failures resulted from unsubstantiated toxicity claims, string/loop length, sharp points, polybag thickness, FDA food additives, stuffing material contamination, sharp edges and other miscellaneous reasons. While our safety assurance program uncovered 494 products with compliance problems, not all of these items were lost to us. Manufacturers are offered the opportunity to correct non-complying product by resubmitting new production samples to a series of re-tests. As a result, only 41 products from 31 suppliers had to be canceled because they could not be brought into compliance. This translates into over $3 million worth of product at retail that did not reach our shelves. As a comparison, in the first year of our safety assurance program, 144 products from 57 suppliers were canceled, with a retail value in excess of $10 million. Prior to establishing our safety assurance program, Toys "R" Us relied on its suppliers to perform all safety testing. We believed they, as responsible manufacturers, would perform all applicable tests ensuring regulatory compliance and deliver only safe product to our stores. As Toys "R" Us grew in size, it was obvious we could no longer rely or depend solely on our manufacturers. Regulatory issues and pressures coupled with an increased awareness of our corporate responsibilities as the world's largest toy store, demanded we do more. We set out to create a safety assurance program that addressed our immediate goals. Our immediate goals were simple: * Select toys that meet our high standards of quality, safety and value. * Minimize any adverse exposure in the market place. * Demonstrate our ability to properly and effectively address all regulatory concerns and matters. Our approach was to find a qualified, approved testing laboratory that would understand our goals and could further offer the staffing, equipment, logistical and systemic expertise our program was going to demand. Toys "R" Us chose ACTS Testing Labs, Inc., as its program partner in 1989. We also needed Toys "R" Us staff to create and administer the program. We needed people who knew toys, understood our import business and could grasp the technical and regulatory subjects. Since our product development department manages our line of private label brands, is heavily involved with imports and familiar with Pacific Rim suppliers and has a working knowledge of many of the safety factors, they were selected to develop and manage the program. Phase I of the testing program began with the examination of all private label toys, 670 in all, to determine whether each product complied with the requirements of the CPSC. A significant criteria applied to the entire testing procedure was established at that time, an ingredient that, to this day, makes the Toys "R" Us program unique. Toys "R" Us and ACTS Testing Labs, Inc., elected to classify all products into two major categories: toys that pose a high risk of hazard, toys that pose a low risk of hazard. High-risk toys are generally defined as those intended for children from birth through 36 months. These include rattles, teethers, crib toys, toddler toys and brightly decorated toys. All high-risk toys are tested prior to every shipment made to Toys "R" Us. Low-risk toys are generally defined as those intended for children 37 months and older. These include construction sets, battery-operated toys, school items and science toys. Low-risk toys are tested once every calendar year prior to shipment. In 1990, the program was expanded to include all direct import toys. Implementation of Phase II began in early 1991. During this 18-month period, customized systems and computer programs were created allowing us to constantly monitor the flow of product through the testing process and analyze the results of every product and vendor test. Toys "R" Us knows on any given day which toys have been received at the lab for testing and has immediate access to test results on any product. Additionally, quarterly and annual recaps are done on each vendor's performance. Poorly performing vendors are advised of their status and dealt with accordingly. The Toys "R" Us safety assurance program has increased its scope and expanded on its original goals. Today, our safety assurance program reaches beyond the basics of just testing products. We have a corporate safety committee that meets quarterly to discuss safety and compliance issues. The committee consists of eight members from various reference points within the company. A key event each year is the schedule of safety seminars arranged for our buyers. ACTS Testing Lab representatives prepare safety-related information based on each buyer's categories. A general overview is also presented for the newest members of the buying staff. The staff is brought up- to-date on the latest issues in their categories. A review is done on testing data, CPSC recalls and vendor performance. Also, each year we sponsor a vendor seminar during our January import buying trip held in Dallas. Our import suppliers learn of any recent developments in the safety area, review the provisions and requirements of our program, and discuss any other topics relative to toy safety. This year we were fortunate to have Mike Gidding of the CPSC at our vendor seminar to outline the provisions of the recently enacted Child Safety Protection Act. A successful program needs to do more that protect Toys "R" Us and its customers from unsafe products. A successful program must be responsive to its customers, keep them informed and let them know we are responsible. Toys "R" Us has instituted several programs that convey this message. In 1994 our safety assurance department independently investigated skateboards, teethers, bath rings, travel cups, strollers, window shades, costumes, toy boxes and others as a result of direct customer inquires. An investigation includes contacting the supplier for current safety testing information. Where the information is incomplete or inadequate to satisfy our inquiry, we have ACTS test samples from our store inventory. Normally, we find the item to be in compliance with the regulations. The consumer is then contacted directly with the results of our findings. Every Toys "R" Us store has a consumer safety bulletin board located in the store lobby where our customers can learn of recall notices and other important safety information. Toys "R" Us, in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, prints a pamphlet of safety facts that is made available at every Toys "R" Us and Kids "R" Us outlet. This free publication contains the most current product safety alerts issued by the CPSC. The booklet is now in its second edition, with a distribution of approximately 1,000,000 copies. In 1994, Toys "R" Us published another consumer-oriented booklet called, The Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids. The national parent network, the national Lekotek centers and Toys "R" Us collaborated to produce this very special toy guide containing everyday toys from our regular selection that were selected through a very tough focus group exercise. The focus group consisted of children with various types of disabilities. Although each toy met all applicable safety standards and regulations, not every toy met the focus group evaluation criteria. The surviving toys were identified for appropriateness to meet the needs of special children with one or more specific disabilities. In-store and targeted direct mail distribution is made available free to our customers. It is always a challenge to prevent recalled or hazardous products from being sold right off our shelves. We have created a fail-safe within our cash register system. Once a product is identified as being hazardous, our inventory control department changes the retail price of that product to $9,999.00. If, by chance, our store personnel misses a single piece of inventory, we can catch it at the register. It is very unlikely that any customer would pay $10,000 for any toy. Further systemic enhancement at store level allows any customer to file a safety report right in the store. If one of our customers has reason for any safety concern, a report can be filed advising us of that concern. The report, completed in front of the customer on a computer terminal, is transmitted directly to our headquarters. An investigation, as I explained earlier, is then initiated, if needed. An example of how effective our customer complaint system works resulted in Toys "R" Us halting sale of an unsafe product two weeks before it was recalled by the Commission. The product was the Just Toy "quick n' easy micro-bake" cake set. Toys "R" Us had received a few complaints from customers who had various problems while using this product in their microwave ovens. Most complaints were limited to the product getting too hot or somehow causing damage to the microwaves. There were no injuries reported with any of these complaints, and all issues were brought to the attention of the manufacturer. However, in early December, we received another complaint. This time, a customer suffered hand burns while trying to take the product out of her microwave. Toys "R" Us immediately issued a hazardous stop-sale, in accordance with our corporate standard operating procedure. Next, we notified the manufacturer and the Commission of our actions. On December 20, the CPSC announced the Just Toy recall. Incidentally, the microwave was right in the middle of a national TV campaign at the time of the Toys "R" Us stop-sale. Another important function of the safety program is the testing of promotional or premium items. Testing on these items is quite important, since we do not control or necessarily know the end-user. Much larger sample sizes are used because of the larger quantities being ordered and the nature of the event itself. Toy safety is an integral part of our product development and private label endeavors. Products considered for any of our private brands are submitted to the testing lab prior to final buyer acceptance. Problems that are easily correctable are brought to the manufacturer's attention. This procedure allows us to evaluate the product for compliance with regulations before spending too much energy or resources on concepts and packaging. Our biggest challenge in 1995 will be to ensure compliance with the new Child Safety Protection Act. Basically, the act requires a very specific warning statement on toys and certain other articles for children three to six years of age that are, or contain, small parts. The required warning statement indicates that the article contains small parts that pose a choking hazard to children under three years of age. The act also mandates similar warning statements for marbles, small balls and balloons and for toys that contain marbles, small balls or balloons. It should be noted that Toys "R" Us has had in place a policy requiring that all latex balloons contain a warning label either on the package or on the balloon display stand itself. The Child Safety Protection Act has had greater publicity than the Connecticut small parts labeling law which it now preempts. We do, however, anticipate similar compliance problems by our suppliers, as those we experienced when the Connecticut law went into effect. By mid-year, we will be testing products against the revised industry toy standard, ASTM F963-95. Again, we anticipate delays in shipping the product while our suppliers come to terms with the new requirements. Where do we go from here? One long-term project, currently in the works, is the initial investigation of a proposal to create a Toys "R" Us worldwide testing standard. The standard would consist of a basic core program supplemented by country-specific needs. A worldwide standard would be advantageous to our U.S. division and our international division, while offering economies to our suppliers. There are still many hurdles to overcome before we can even contemplate implementation of a worldwide program. In conclusion, we believe that safety sells. By having comprehensive safety assurance programs in place, we have reduced our internal operating costs, particularly the high administrative costs involved with recalls. Furthermore, we have improved our customer service by making sure that only "safe" toys are being sold in our stores. Last, but not least, we improve our relationship with the CPSC and illustrate how companies can work with the government to improve child safety. Again, I would like to thank Ann Brown and the Commission for inviting me here today and for encouraging industry and government to work as partners in making products safe for consumers. ########## Michael Goldstein, Vice Chairman and CEO of Toys "R" Us and a member of its Board of Directors, has been with the company since 1983. He is also a Director of the National Retail Federation. PART 5 GORDON F. BRUNNER Senior Vice President The Procter & Gamble Company Procter & Gamble developed and patented a new bottle closure, "Safety SquEase," that meets government requirements for child-resistance. It also adds value and consumer satisfaction to a new P&G over-the-counter analgesic by making it easy to open for most adults, including senior citizens. My case study concerns Procter & Gamble's patented new child-resistant closure, which we have named the "Safety SquEase." One year ago this Thursday we were honored to receive the CPSC Chairman's first-ever "Commendation for Significant Contributions to Consumer Product Safety" for our invention and marketing of this new closure. The "Safety SquEase" closure has been used on bottles of Aleve, our new, long-lasting, over-the-counter analgesic drug, since its introduction last year. We have also begun using it on our Scope mouthwash product and will introduce it on our Vicks NyQuil and DayQuil cough relief products this coming fall. To really convey how we developed the "Safety SquEase," I need to give you the context. Two long-standing corporate policies had a major influence. The first was Procter & Gamble's policy regarding the human and environmental safety of its products and packages. The second was P&G's stated corporate purpose to create and deliver products of superior quality and value that best satisfy consumer needs. Procter & Gamble's human and environmental safety policy is very straightforward. It is our policy that our products shall be safe for humans and the environment, either used as intended or under conditions of reasonably foreseeable accidental misuse. We want such safety during manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, presentation for sale, consumer storage, consumer use, and ultimately, when products and packages find their way into the environment, either in total or in part. I should comment that these safety requirements are not niceties that we incorporate simply to increase product appeal. Rather, they are corporate mandates, a non-negotiable part of every project. We do think that, in the long term, safety is good business, but that is not the fundamental reason for our safety policy. Basically, we have our safety policy because we believe it is the right thing to do. Please note that the term "safe," as used in our policy, does not mean absolute safety. It means relative or practical safety, as most consumers and safety professionals would understand the term. This is because there really is no such thing as absolute safety for any material in every situation. For example, as you know, both water and table salt can be quite lethal if consumed in excessive amounts in improper ways. Similarly, what is considered best safety practice can change with time. Automobile models at the forefront of safety in 1920 wouldn't be allowed on the road today. Given that what we are after is relative or practical safety, P&G goes to great lengths to ensure that its products and packages fully meet this standard. Some one in eight of our R&D staff worldwide, nearly 1,000 people in all, have the safety of our products and packages as their only responsibility. Many others contribute to safety also as part of their activities. Among our 1,000 safety specialists in R&D are over 250 Ph.D. scientists, including a number of world leaders in various aspects of human and environmental toxicology. Since we're at the leading edge of science in every area we operate, we believe this expertise is critical. The kinds of safety issues we consider and test for are many. For example, here are the various potential human toxicity issues that we typically address [Exhibit A]. Similarly, here are some of the many questions we ask about new chemicals and chemical mixtures regarding their fate in and possible effects on the environment [Exhibit B]. We also ask special questions and run special tests to address safety issues very specific to particular products. These include, for example, tests of products used in clothes dryers to confirm no potential for fires and tests of small package parts to confirm no child-choking hazards. Our commitment to safety assurance doesn't end with market introduction but continues as long as a product is sold. For example, we were among the pioneers back in the 1970's in the use of 800-lines for consumers and continue to use them extensively today. We also undertake initiatives aimed at supporting good safety practices in a general sense. A recent example is our new free guide on home management and use of medicines specifically written for parents of young children and other caregivers. It is available free from P&G, courtesy of our Vicks and Aleve brands. The second pillar upon which the "Safety SquEase" development was built is P&G's commitment to selling superior products and packages. We are simply not content to sell "me- too" offerings. Instead, our strategy for success is to have product and package superiority, built on innovative science and technology. The development of the "Safety SquEase" cap for P&G's Aleve brand analgesic is an excellent illustration of our drive for product and package superiority. For those of you who haven't heard about it, Aleve is the result of a joint venture between Procter & Gamble and Syntax Labs. The aim was to introduce an over-the-counter version of Anaprox, a fast-acting sodium form of the medicine in Naprosyn. Naprosyn, sold by Syntax, had been the leader in the Rx non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drug market for a decade. The thinking was to do what had been done in the early '80's when Rx ibuprofen, led by Motrin, was converted into the Advil's and Nuprin's of today. When used at over-the-counter (OTC) dosages, sodium Naproxen has advantages over acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin. It's longer lasting than acetaminophen, provides a higher level of pain relief than ibuprofen long after the medication is taken, and is gentler to the stomach than aspirin. Our research indicated that many consumers, such as arthritis sufferers, would find these advantages appealing. At the same time, we knew that our competitors in the highly contested OTC analgesics business would not take Aleve's entry lightly. Consequently, we wanted to increase Aleve's margin of superiority with consumers if at all possible. Our packaging people thought they had an answer -- develop a truly user-friendly child-resistant package. Child-resistant packages are required for products like Aleve to help prevent very young children from consuming toxic amounts out of curiosity. Personal experience, feedback from family and friends, and consumer research, however, told us that adults regarded existing child-resistant packages as hard to open. Some consumers, in fact, believe they must choose between having a drug package that they can open and one that is child- resistant. This is a terrible dilemma if children live in the house or grandchildren visit. Some adults, unfortunately, cut corners. They buy child-resistant packages but leave the caps loose or off after opening the bottle the first time. Obviously, this defeats the purpose entirely. The reason why most current child-resistant packages are difficult to open is straightforward. Their child-resistance is primarily based upon requiring a higher level of strength to open the package than a small child can exert. What was needed was some entirely new principle for achieving a consumer- preferred child-resistant closure. This was what our packaging people set out to do. It was not an easy task. In fact, it took five years. The first two years were spent inventing the design. Several alternatives were conceived and evaluated during this period. We now hold four patents relating to Aleve's Safety SquEase design alone. The next year-and-a-half were spent fine-tuning the package design, with heavy emphasis on testing to confirm child- resistance, ease of adult use, and product protection. The final one-and-a-half years were spent scaling up to full production. The "Safety SquEase" child-resistant closure is based upon the principle of hand-to-hand coordination. By that I mean the ability to do two different things with two hands at one time. This is an ability that children do not develop until around age five. By that time they should be mature enough to understand and follow instructions to leave dangerous items alone. But virtually all adults, of course, have this degree of hand coordination. To open the "Safety SquEase" package, you simply squeeze the two tabs on the sides of the package lightly while twisting off the cap with the other hand. Closing is even simpler. You just turn the cap until you hear a click. This click, which can be both felt and heard, is a positive signal that the cap is fully closed and in a locked position -- fully child- resistant again. We call this a "safety click." You may find it surprising that small children find it very difficult to do two different things with their hands at once but I can assure you it is true. A case in point is the old game of simultaneously patting your head and rubbing your tummy or vice-versa. Here is some footage of two real charmers trying to do this for us. We also asked them to try to open a bottle with the "Safety SquEase" closure, with similar results. Of course, we didn't rely on just those two young ladies for all our research, helpful as they were. In fact, we had the "Safety SquEase" package tested for child-resistance by more than 1,000 children at an independent qualified laboratory. We also had "Safety SquEase" tested by seniors at this same laboratory, using the senior-testing protocol that was being considered at the time by CPSC. We further tested the package among hundreds of people with arthritis and among thousands of typical adult consumers of analgesics nationwide. The new "Safety SquEase" closure -- and, I might add, our Aleve product as well -- passed all these tests with flying colors. Before I go any further, let me openly acknowledge that the "Safety SquEase" closure is not the total solution to either child-resistance or user-friendliness. No package that is reasonably usable is completely childproof, and all medicines should be kept out of the reach of small children. Turning to user-friendliness, there is unfortunately a small segment of the population whose hands are very impaired. Even opening the "Safety SquEase" closure is too difficult for this small group. To better meet their needs, we are considering marketing the allowed one size of a non-child-resistant package. But even with these caveats, we believe the "Safety SquEase" is a real step forward in terms of both product safety and consumer satisfaction. Importantly, consumers seem to think so, too. In just the few months that Aleve has been on the market, it is now the #4 brand of analgesic. This is well ahead of what other highly successful analgesic brands achieved at the same stage of their existence. Obviously, I can't tell you how much of Aleve's success is due to the "Safety SquEase" closure and how much to its outstanding pain-fighting properties. The two go hand-in-hand, so to speak, to create a superior brand entry. What I can tell you, however, is that in less than a year we have already received more than 2,500 unsolicited testimonials from consumers about Aleve, including more than 300 about the "Safety SquEase" package. That is a very impressive number for a package feature. Let me read to you from one of the more touching letters [Exhibit C]. We are certainly pleased that the "Safety SquEase" closure has been such a help in many peoples' lives. In summary, Procter & Gamble's new "Safety SquEase" closure is providing a high level of product safety, along with consumer satisfaction and strong business results. We think it is a clear example that "safety sells." ########## Gordon Brunner, Senior Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors of Procter & Gamble, has been with the corporation for over three decades. He also serves on the National Advisory Committee for the University of Michigan, College of Engineering, and is a member of the Government-Industry- Research Roundtable. _______________________________________________________ EXHIBIT A POTENTIAL TOXICITIES TO BE CONSIDERED 1. Acute oral 2. Acute dermal 3. Acute inhalation 4. Acute eye irritation 5. Primary skin irritation 6. Skin sensitization 7. Phototoxicity 8. Mutagenicity/carcinogenicity 9. Subchronic toxicity 10. Developmental/reproductive toxicity (oral or dermal) 11. Neurotoxicity 12. Absorption, distribution, elimination EXHIBIT B ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY QUESTIONS 1. How much chemical will be used? 2. Is it biodegradable? 3. Is it removed by sewage treatment? 4. What is its environmental fate? 5. What is its effect on sewage treatment plants? On septic systems? 6. What concentrations are toxic to fish, algae, and other aquatic life? 7. What levels will be present in the environment and in what "compartments?" 8. What will happen if the chemical is spilled? 9. Are there potential long-term effects of the chemical on the environment? 10. What levels will be present in surface waters? In drinking water? EXHIBIT C CONSUMER LETTER Dear Sirs, I would like to thank you so very much for the wonderful package -- I should say, packaging of Aleve. Not only is the medication very very helpful! You can get into the bottle easy. I am sight-impaired and also have brain tumors along with arthritis in my knees and various parts of my body. When you are in pain the last thing you want or need is the difficult caps. You have helped so very much with this inventive cap. I thank you so much. I really wish I could put into words how much. Thank you for your time in reading my letter. Very truly yours, PART 6 ALBERT R. DOWDEN President and Chief Executive Officer Volvo North America Corporation As part of its decades-long commitment to safety, Volvo developed a side impact protection system (SIPS) for use in its passenger cars to reduce the severity of injuries from side- impact collisions. For us at Volvo, the chance to speak today is a bit like an invitation to come in from the wilderness -- for it has always been Volvo s demonstrated philosophy that not only is safety a proper and necessary product element, but it makes good business sense as well. In my business, this has certainly not been viewed -- at least until quite recently -- as revealed truth, and even now I wonder to what extent some of our competitors are publicly embracing safety more to produce a dynamic commercial than a responsible product. I want to use this opportunity to discuss Volvo's side impact protection system (SIPS). To put this issue into context, I first need to talk about how Volvo thinks about safety. Here is the central idea I want to leave you with: Safety doesn't result from devices. Putting an airbag in a tin box doesn't make a safe car. After all, the airbag may function perfectly, but that is scant protection if the engine is in your lap. Safety results from an overall approach to product conception, design and construction. Volvo learned its way into safety. Back in 1927 when we began, "safety" was one of the original design criteria. That commitment has never wavered. Safety in the 1920s equaled reliability and durability. This was important. Driving in the middle of a Scandinavian winter, your car's reliability can literally be a matter of life and death. In the 1940s, the same thinking about safety led to unit body construction, the precursor of today's passenger cage. As Volvo evolved, so did the science of safety. Many of our advances were learned by feel and experience, not by computer modeling. And what we learned was that everything is a safety issue: where you put the gas tank, the angle of the windshield, the size of the door support column, and literally thousands of other aspects of auto design. In 1975, when the US Department of Transportation was conducting tests to establish its guidelines for safety, they bought 25 Volvo cars. Then they scientifically demolished them. They wanted the sturdiest, safest cars they could find. Volvo was on the leading edge of safety in the 1970s, with features such as collapsible steering columns (we did this by intentionally misaligning the joints of the column), a cage structure for the cab with front and rear crumple zones to absorb the impact of the crash, and three-point safety belts designed to be comfortable to encourage use, a safety innovation that Volvo invented. In the 1980s, the leading edge of safety consisted of driver-side airbags, followed by passenger-side airbags and anti-lock brake systems. This is a very brief tour, omitting many additional safety developments, but I think it is sufficient to set the stage for the 1990s and the Volvo side impact protection system. Let me explain to you how this system evolved. In the late 1980s, the US Department of Transportation announced that it would establish side-impact performance standards by 1997. Meanwhile, however, Volvo, having made great strides in reducing injuries from frontal and rear collisions, had already begun to look into side-impact collisions, especially in the development of our 800 and 900 model series. We had resolved to learn everything we could about side-impact collisions. This is what we learned: * Side impacts are the second most serious of all collisions. The impact is not six feet away from the occupants, as in front-end collisions. It is only six inches away. The transfer of energy occurs almost instantaneously. * Compensating for close proximity to the occupants and the necessary minimal response time are the overriding requirements in safety design. * The front seat is the primary issue. The rear of the car can be made stronger; the front cannot. Considering this knowledge, we developed two goals: to make the energy go somewhere else, not toward the driver and passenger, and to protect the driver and passenger from the energy that could not be diverted. Volvo's side impact protection system has several aspects. To deal with the first goal -- to divert the energy of the impact away from the driver and passenger -- we stiffened the sides of the car. This has the effect of transferring the energy upward and downward, letting the car's frame, especially the roof and the floor, absorb much of the energy. The public first saw Volvos with stiffened sides in 1992. But we didn't stop there. We still had to find a way to meet our second goal: to protect the driver and passenger from the energy that could not be diverted. After seeing the mechanics of side impacts, we knew that the most important thing was to lower the rate of acceleration of the people inside after a crash. In a side impact, the occupants are instantly accelerated -- at a much higher g-force than any fighter pilot or astronaut experiences. This can cause massive internal damage. We discovered that a side-impact bag -- just the size of a loaf of bread when fully inflated -- between the person and the impact site would lower the rate of acceleration and prevent or lessen the seriousness of injuries. The problem is the hair-trigger response time. The bag needs to detect the impact and inflate within 12/1,000ths of a second. And the bag needs to be attached to the seat so that it is close to the driver at all times. Working with AutoLiv in Lincoln, Michigan, we did it. In the 1995 model year, we introduced the world s first side-impact airbag on our 850 series. We introduced the side impact protection system with airbags in print and media campaigns in September 1994, and it immediately catalyzed people's thinking about safety in this area. The side impact protection system is highly effective, reducing the seriousness of side-impact collisions by 50 percent. I'm proud to say that we will roll it out across all model lines now -- even though it is not a current requirement. Let's turn to why we did it. There are three related reasons: 1) Safety is a core value for Volvo the company. When we think about a car, or a truck, or another product, safety is central to our thinking. Once we knew side impacts were a problem and that the problem could be addressed, we had to address it. 2) Safety is a core value for Volvo the brand. It is the attribute people think of first when they think of Volvo. We would never dilute the equity of the brand by ignoring a safety issue. 3) Safety does, in fact, sell. The presence of safety features does help to sell cars, or at least Volvos. And consumers are increasingly attentive to the safety rankings that are published by various public and private agencies. What are the results of the side impact protection system? How do we evaluate this program? As I mentioned earlier, we know that the combination of side reinforcement and airbags reduces serious injury from side-impact collisions by 50 percent. People really do let us know when one of our safety features helps them in a collision. That s one measure -- and certainly the most important. But there are other important measures of success. We believe the results of our extensive testing, our engineering solutions and our advertising campaign have helped raise the awareness of side impacts as a safety issue for the entire industry. We hope that this may help to "raise the bar" on car safety requirements. And in doing so, we have reinforced the essential element of Volvo s philosophy: that safety is paramount and Volvo is still the safety leader. It may be too early to tell if this translates directly into sales -- but it's bound to help. Let me tell you where we go from here. The mainstream car buyer is now more highly attuned to safety issues. The mainstream buyer now wants safety plus performance, safety plus style, safety plus fun. This is in contrast to yesterday s buyer, who prioritized but seldom demanded everything. We are working hard to respond to these customers, and we believe that our 800 and 900 models successfully combine these factors of safety, performance, style and fun. In looking ahead, we also need to expand our definition of safety. In the past, safety has meant reliability, durability, and survivability. In the coming years, safety is going to continue being defined in many different ways. For example, safety may be defined in terms of personal security, which may result in panic buttons that automatically make 911 calls. We may also see safety defined as intelligent car network systems that help drivers avoid traffic blockages or warn them about hazardous road conditions. But perhaps most importantly in looking ahead, we also need to recognize that today s car outperforms the driver. Equipment is now so good on both the performance and safety fronts that the most critical auto safety issue is driver inadequacy. This is partly an issue of alcohol, drug and substance abuse. But it is also an issue of driver training in how to use properly the new safety systems and technology. What do I mean by this? How many of you who have cars equipped with anti-lock brake systems still pump the brakes if your car is sliding on ice or gravel rather than apply continual pressure, as you should? My point? Simple. We need to "raise the bar" not only on automotive hardware safety, but also on the software, the driver -- not only as to basic driving skills, but also as to how to most effectively use the developments that manufacturers are now engineering into their products. While I am proud of the work we have done with our side impact protection system, it's important to recognize that safety can only emerge from a total design orientation. The public is increasingly attuned to safety as an essential attribute of a desirable car. Our strength at Volvo is not measured in the safety of individual features but in the safety of the overall product. This philosophy will continue to drive us into a successful, and safe, 21st century. And not only with our cars, but with all our products: heavy duty trucks, marine propulsion systems, earthmoving and construction equipment, aircraft engines, and any other products which we may, over the years, develop. Again, my thanks for the invitation to speak with you today and my very best wishes to all of you. ########## Albert Dowden became President and CEO of Volvo North America Corporation on January 1, 1991. He also serves as Senior Vice President of the worldwide Volvo parent company, AB Volvo. He has been with Volvo since 1974. PART 7 GEORGE A. HARRIS President Evenflo Juvenile Furniture Company, Inc. Baby walkers have come under increased criticism by pediatricians and consumer safety groups due to the large number of accidents each year involving walkers. Research led Evenflo to develop an alternative -- the Evenflo Exersaucer -- that offers the desirable features of walkers but eliminates the mobility that created much of the controversy. Imagine developing products where the end users cannot verbalize what they want, where the actual consumer is obsessively concerned about quality and safety, where product liability would scare away most investors, and where retailers demands leave very little room for error. That s the juvenile products industry, where Evenflo has been a major player for 75 years. It s not enough today to merely develop products that meet the demands of the marketplace. We also spend a tremendous amount of time designing the expected quality and safety features to meet federal, state and industry standards, as well as analyzing how a consumer might misuse the product. Remember, we are dealing with infants who don t read instructions and often with parents who read them even less. This ongoing process is known as hazard analysis review. It involves not only our legal, marketing, and engineering staffs, but also groups of consumers who help us analyze possible hazardous features, such as pinch points, and potential misuse, which we then try to design out of the product. As a responsible company with a name that parents have trusted for 75 years, we realize we must earn that trust every day. Sometimes safety issues can actually create opportunity. For many years, walkers have been under a tremendous amount of criticism in the U.S. from various regulatory agencies, as well as professional and consumer groups. The reason for the criticism is that walkers account for over 20,000 accidents a year, according to CPSC, due mainly to the fact that they allow the child to be mobile, often putting them in harm's way. It should be pointed out that many of these accidents are not necessarily the fault of the walker. No product can be designed to relinquish the responsibility of the caregiver to use it in a safe and responsible manner. In spite of the number of accidents and negative publicity, there are still over 1.5 million walkers sold every year. Why? Because a walker allows a child to sit upright, keep an eye on Mom or Dad, and offers play value that entertains a child for long periods of time. The challenge was to develop a product that provided all of the positive attributes of the walker, particularly play value, but which eliminated the mobility. In December 1992, the idea of developing a non-mobile walker with seat- spin motion surfaced at a new-product brainstorming session. Within 45 days, one of Evenflo s designers showed us a rough mock-up of the product idea. We immediately recognized it as a potentially innovative breakthrough -- a walker that doesn t walk -- and rapidly assigned a full development team to refine the concept and get the product to market. But how do you give pre-toddlers the energy outlet, stimulation and entertainment they need without true mobility? That was one major design question addressed by the Exersaucer development team that refined the original concept. Consisting of marketing, quality assurance, engineering, manufacturing and design personnel, the team had one critical thing in common: each was the parent of an infant. As consumers and parents, team members understood first-hand the features such a product must have. Our basic challenge was to provide children with activity and entertainment in a safer environment. The polling of parents in consumer focus groups yielded the unanimous opinion that the Exersaucer should be comfortable physically as well as emotionally. That meant designing in not only a cushioned, supportive seat, but also the Exersaucer s niftiest function -- spinning -- which enables the child to keep Mom and Dad in view at all times. In addition, live observations of how children use walkers and doorway jumpers led the team to include two added features: rocking and bouncing. After children burn off energy through spinning, rocking and bouncing, the Exersaucer provides less intense forms of entertainment and stimulation. Based on observations of children at play and on feedback provided by professional child caregivers, the team selected various visual and tactile stimuli -- a spinner ball, plastic sliding toys, and a mirror - - and designed them to attach to the Exersaucer s outer rim. The team added another parent-friendly feature to the Exersaucer: a lock to stop the spinning and rocking motions so parents can feed their children without removing them from the Exersaucer. Along with the desired product features, the team worked concurrently on an equally important requirement -- the safety aspects of the Exersaucer. Government safety standards do not yet exist for the Exersaucer because it is a new product type. So, as a starting point, the Evenflo team designed to standards established for walkers. Other standards designed and tested to included the Consumer Product Safety Commission specification for toys and the appropriate federal regulations for small parts, sharp edges, etc. The hazard analysis review process drove the team to review all potential hazards that could be associated with the product, paying special attention to opportunities for misuse. Based on the intensive development effort, Evenflo began production of the Exersaucer with first shipments in February 1994. Has the Exersaucer been successful? In 1994 it won the following awards: * New Products Award from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association * Bronze award from the Industrial Design Society of America * Product of the Year Award from the National Independent Nursery Furniture Retailers Association In addition, Evenflo and the Exersaucer have garnered a tremendous amount of publicity. But the truest test of all is whether the product sells and meets consumer satisfaction. In the fourth quarter of 1994, the Exersaucer captured 36 percent of the walker/exerciser category and was the top-selling single product. In addition, we have received thousands of cards from satisfied parents not only telling us how happy they and their child are with the product, but also thanking us for providing them with an alternative. In closing, only through carefully conducted customer research and an extremely detailed examination of all safety- related design concerns could Evenflo have created the Exersaucer, a revolutionary alternative to the walker. By satisfying the youngsters who use it, the parents who buy it, and the retailers who sell it, the Exersaucer can truly be called a winning product alternative to walkers. ########## George Harris has been the President of Evenflo Juvenile Furniture Company, Inc., since 1990. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. PART 8 JOHN HETTERICK President and Chief Executive Officer Rollerblade, Inc. In-line skating is one of the fastest growing sports in America. To attract new customers and keep the old, Rollerblade has used safety messages as an important marketing strategy to make people aware of safety precautions they should take. Rollerblade uses several safety-specific marketing tools to partner its safety messages with its marketing image. It's an honor and a pleasure to be here today to talk about Rollerblade's safety programs and their role in the marketing of our products. I'd like to start today by showing a segment from our latest point-of-sale video. See if you can pick out our safety messages. (Video shown to audience.) That's the kind of image and excitement that has made our products so successful. But what stands out as a "safety message?" Every single skater is outfitted from head to toe in protective gear, which is mandatory for all Rollerblade promotional photography and video. I'll review more safety- specific marketing tools later. This is one of the more subtle examples of how our marketing image can partner successfully with our safety messages. Let me also give you a brief overview of our company and our position in the in-line skating industry. To start with, many people are unaware that there are more than 30 companies making in-line skates today. Rollerblade started it all back in the 1980s -- and we still maintain a 50 percent market share -- but we have lots of competition these days. Contrary to popular belief, "rollerblading" is not the name of the sport. The correct term for the sport is "in-line skating." "Rollerblade" is a trademarked brand, much like "Kleenex" and "Xerox." And we go to great lengths to protect our trademarked name. Rollerblade is in a unique position because we founded an industry and played an essential role in every aspect of its development. Today there is the International In-line Skating Association that is supported by the industry and helps promote safety. But the forerunner to this organization was the Rollerblade In-line Skating Association, which we created in 1987 to help promote safe skating. Safety messages have been an important marketing strategy for Rollerblade from the very beginning. In-line skating is an action sport that requires certain gear and precautions before starting out. Making people aware of and responsible for their safety while in-line skating ensures a fun experience -- and keeps people in the sport. Encouraging a safe, fun experience also ensures that people will keep entering our sport. Our current instructional video, "Ready, Set, Roll!," helps people get started. Because we enjoy the benefits of a cool, edgy and exciting image, we have to make certain our safety messages don't conflict or confuse people about our products and sport. That's why Rollerblade's early safety programs had themes like "Don't Skate Naked" and "Skate Smart." We wanted to get people's attention and create awareness about safety -- and still be cool. The tremendous growth in our sport -- participation has increased more than 500 percent over the past four years -- makes it even more important to get out the message that safety enhances the skating experience. There are two key reasons why Rollerblade emphasizes safety in our marketing efforts: 1) Concerns about safety can keep people from trying our sport -- and that, of course, translates into fewer sales opportunities. 2) People who have had a bad experience need a very good reason to try in-line skating again -- and this time without fear! Rollerblade produces a lot of traditional consumer safety information, such as instructional videos, consumer brochures, media materials and in-box handbooks. I'd like to highlight just two programs that best illustrate our approach to marketing safety. Automated Brake Technology (ABT) Our most significant new technology and safety tool, all rolled into one, is the ABT brake, which we introduced last year. How to stop on in-line skates has been the single biggest obstacle keeping people from entering our sport. ABT offers consumers a whole new way to stop while keeping all eight wheels on the ground. And it's much easier for beginners to learn with the ABT brake. The introduction of the ABT brake was supported by television advertising that reinforced the consequences of skating recklessly. And it did so in a hip, humorous way that both entertains and educates our largely young audience. ABT was also supported by print ad, major public relations efforts and in-store merchandising. The results have been phenomenal. We sold 650,000 pairs of ABT skates last year and one of the ABT models is our number-one seller. ABT was named to several "Product of the Year" lists, including Business Week and Popular Science. In addition, our Aeroblade ABT skate was selected for an exhibit on integrating technology and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York this spring. The success of the ABT and its safety theme tell us that consumers want to participate in the fun of in-line skating -- but they most definitely want a safe ride. So this year, we are introducing a children's skate with the ABT brake and a moderately priced skate with ABT. We expect the popularity of this family of skates to continue to grow dramatically. "Asphalt Bites" Campaign In 1995, we also are taking our consumer safety messages to a new level by introducing a national consumer awareness campaign. Our thinking was that if we could come up with something hip and humorous to remind people about the importance of wearing protective gear, we'd not only get attention for the campaign itself, we'd attract more people to the sport and sell more skates and gear. In keeping with our image, we wanted a theme for our safety campaign that would appeal to the average 14-year-old. Younger kids aspire up to what this age group thinks is cool, and we older folks often aspire down to this group as well. Well, maybe not as far down as 14 in my case! With that in mind, we selected this theme: "Asphalt Bites. Wear the Gear." We had a very funky logo designed and introduced the campaign to national media at an event in New York attended by more than 45 consumer publications. "Asphalt Bites" is a multi-year campaign that includes the following components: * promotional items, such as T-shirts and stickers; * a consumer safety brochure; * an instruction information headline; * school programs; and * incorporation of the "Asphalt Bites" logo into ad, packaging and point-of-sale materials. The cornerstone of Rollerblade's "Asphalt Bites" campaign is a public service announcement -- or PSA -- for television. As most of you know, a PSA is unbranded and is broadcast by media outlets as information to consumers. Given our objectives, see what you think of the safety message in our PSA. (PSA shown to audience.) Pretty wild, huh? But it got your attention, didn't it? And by the way, no cat was hurt in this spot. We had a professional cat wrangler and an ASPCA cop on hand making sure. The PSA will run on MTV this summer, and we plan to offer it to TV stations around the country. By the way, MTV will run the PSA spot free right after we run our paid TV spot. It won't say Rollerblade, but the connection will be clear. We are also developing a print PSA and posters with the "Asphalt Bites" theme for schools, hospitals and community centers. Rollerblade's "Asphalt Bites" campaign has been very well received so far and we hope to expand on the program in the future. Before I answer your questions, let me underscore why safety and marketing go hand-in-hand for Rollerblade. Safety is obviously an important component for an action sport like in-line skating. The difference for us is how we look at safety and how we present it to consumers ... and that message is: "Being safe just makes skating even more fun!" Thanks. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. ########## John Hetterick has been President and CEO of Rollerblade, Inc. since March 1992. He was previously with the Tonka Toy Corporation and Pepsico. PART 9 J. C. ANDERSON Corporate Vice President Whirlpool Corporation Whirlpool is taking an increasingly proactive approach to potential product safety concerns and views all its activities -- from training to design evaluation to early and frequent product testing -- as integral to what consumers expect in their home appliances: safety and quality. Good afternoon. I appreciate this opportunity to represent Whirlpool Corporation at this conference. It is my pleasure to be in the company of the other speakers, the Commission, and all of you in the very positive pursuit of providing ever-higher levels of product safety for our consumers. I hope to offer you another perspective on how safety sells. Safety has always held an important position for us at Whirlpool. It stands at the center of our company's culture. Our culture is best expressed in the values all of our employees share regarding how we seek to operate: * business with integrity ... no right way to do a wrong thing; * quality as a quest ... lift the quality and the value of our products above the expectations of those who receive them; * customer as focus; * commitment to the common good; * power of trust; * learning to lead; and * a spirit of winning. It would be difficult to articulate these values, and we do, and then to permit safety issues to occupy less than the highest priority within our company. As a result, we look at providing product safety, not only as good business, but as our way of doing business. Product safety at Whirlpool closely parallels our relentless pursuit of quality. In fact, I'm privileged to chair both the quality and safety committees within our North American Appliance Group. As a result, I can tell you without reservation that the same individuals who define safety also define the quality of our products: consumers. Their definition is quite simple. They expect appliances to operate safely. Period. Therefore, we consider developing, manufacturing and marketing safe products as the standard for entry into our home appliance industry, rather than as a competitive advantage. Let me hasten to add, however, that although consumers expect our products to be safe, they may not always treat them or use them in ways that are safe. In fact, they sometimes do what we least expect with them. That's particularly true as younger and younger consumers participate in household tasks. Whirlpool has always dealt with product safety as a key concern, from product concept to delivery. We've reacted quickly to potential consumer safety issues, whether they arose from normal use or through misuse. We continue today to work aggressively and proactively to prevent safety issues from even arising in the first place. Let me illustrate one of the changes that has taken place. Many of you are old enough to remember a challenge our industry faced in the '50s. The challenge was youngsters at play using the refrigerator in the garage for a "jail" of sorts for playmates. The combination of playmates' forgetfulness and a latched door handle sometimes meant that play turned to tragedy. A group of Whirlpool engineers, however, working with other industry, consumer and government groups, looked intently for a way to provide a refrigerator closure strong enough to assure properly chilled foods, yet one from which a youngster could free himself if the refrigerator were put to this unintended "jailhouse" use. And they found it: an industry first that Whirlpool developed in 1958, and later shared with industry -- the now-familiar magnetized refrigerator-freezer door gasket in each of our kitchens. A specific situation, a focused response. Contrast this scenario with one which occurred much more recently. In fact, it's a real hometown story. The fire chief in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where Whirlpool world headquarters is located, came to the company with some concerns following three mysterious home fires in the area. In each of the fires, clothes recently dried but removed from the dryer had suddenly ignited. There was no evidence of dryer involvement and, in fact, none of the dryers were manufactured by Whirlpool. Clearly, neither our product nor our competitors' was the "culprit," yet Whirlpool aggressively underwrote and undertook a study targeted at finding the fires' origin. In doing so, we learned that lifestyle changes can pose as great a threat to safety as misuse. The change in this case was from the use of saturated to unsaturated cooking fats, the unsaturated fats being more volatile. It seems that in each case, the consumer had used vegetable oil and, in the process of cleaning up afterwards, soiled a dishtowel or piece of clothing. Subsequently, the soiled article was tossed into the washer for cleaning and from there into the dryer. What our study revealed was that vegetable-oil soiling requires hot water and suds cleaning instead of the warm water washes typically specified for today's fabrics, and that without that cleaning, fabrics soiled with oil catch fire if heated, whether in a hamper, by a dryer, or near a space heater. Whirlpool provided this information to allied industry groups, the soap and detergent organizations, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, and, of course, to the CPSC. The CPSC then made a public announcement warning consumers. Whirlpool continues to warn dryer users with our product labeling and literature. Our proactive approach to safety today, however, goes far beyond any single action we might take with regard to an isolated, potential area of concern. Instead, our approach has really become a continuum of activities, from training to retrieval, if necessary, weaving safety across a broad spectrum of functions and contacts with consumers. A very important activity in this continuum is the training and education of our product designers, developers and marketers. Over the past year, we completed extensive analysis into the root causes of product failures that we've experienced historically at our operations worldwide. We then took that analysis and turned it into focused, intensive and required training for our people. This training includes a series of detailed design checklists for every product in every product category we manufacture. In addition to training, we established aggressive design criteria targeting safety and the way in which those criteria are employed throughout our design and development process. For example, we place great emphasis on robust product design; we integrate early and frequent testing into the way consumers use our products as an important part of our design evaluation; and we maintain constant communication with consumers to enable us to refine our designs, if necessary. Once a design has received approval for the marketplace, we stress aggressive, continuous process improvement to deliver products with ever-increasing levels of quality and that operate as intended for safe use. During the past couple of years, we've drilled our folks on statistical process control to greatly diminish product variation. We're covering the same ground today with design of experiments to enable us to achieve dramatic improvements more quickly. Let me note that, as we're improving our product quality and safety from the "micro" perspective -- that of individual interactions with products -- we're also contributing to the broad, "macro" safety concern we share for the environment. With less variation comes less rework, less scrap, with the result that we're using up fewer materials and expending less energy. Even with this strong emphasis on prevention, we must still be ready to respond should a safety issue arise. There is not just a single program on which we, and ultimately the consumer, depend if a safety issue arises, but rather, an interweaving of a number of programs. Several years ago, it became apparent that the first factor affecting our ability to respond would be the existence of a plan for rapid response. It's obvious, I think, that the worst time to try to plan is when you're faced with a crisis. Therefore, people from a broad spectrum of the functions within our company who would be involved in any such response sat down to define carefully what their roles were, how to coordinate those roles and what steps each must follow should a consumer safety issue arise. This defined process enables each member of our response team, whether in marketing, communications, consumer affairs or engineering to take the appropriate actions immediately upon alert. Continual monitoring and contact with consumers provide us the data to mount such alerts if a safety issue arises. Concerns may surface from a variety of sources -- testing, our service network, our distribution network, or our consumer 800 number. Any consumer complaint targeting potential safety issues that arrives via our 800 number reaches the desk of Whirlpool's director of product safety each morning. This daily monitoring enables him, and our company as a whole, to get on top of whatever potential issue has arisen just as soon as it comes to light. It enables us to make judgments and act faster to protect consumers. If we determine that there is a potential for failure that will affect consumers, then we move aggressively, and in a number of areas to protect them. We make every effort to intercept a product before it ever reaches the market by putting a "hold" on the model in question through the distribution system. In some cases, the product may already have reached consumers. In those situations, our extensive consumer data bank proves invaluable by making it possible for us to move quickly to reach that product. Once we've identified consumers who own the model in question, we relentlessly pursue them. In order to make the product right and to make the owner feel comfortable and confident in its use, the earlier in the product's life we identify a problem, the easier it is to retrieve. But regardless, we never stop looking for a product that has the potential for failure related to consumer risk. We're getting very good at it, in fact. In 1988, we experienced a problem with some of our dishwashers. It took us some 20 months to retrieve 85 percent of the product in question. During 1993, by contrast, when some of our microwaves surfaced with a potential problem, we were able to retrieve 90 percent of the product in just four months. And last year, when we raised a concern regarding a compressor issue with our suppliers, we were able to retrieve 95 percent of the compressors in question in three short months! So our process, our responsiveness has greatly improved. Today, the emphasis we place on safety throughout our company underscores the fact that safety truly is at the center of our culture. Regardless of publicity, government agencies or the courts, Whirlpool will continue to pursue and produce the same appliances with the same level of concern for users' safety. In closing, I offer that Whirlpool believes in aggressively pursuing safety because it's "the right thing to do," and because we feel our consumers expect, even demand, safe home appliances. ########## J. C. Anderson was named Corporate Vice President for Manufacturing and Technology, North American Appliance Group, in March 1995. He has been with Whirlpool since 1968.