INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
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GOLD AWARD<br />
BK Products<br />
PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI<br />
BK Products founder Bob Kuswa started creating air filters in 1996 to improve air quality, cut utility costs and remove odors.<br />
Key innovation: commercial filters and products that<br />
save energy in refrigerators and air conditioners, keep<br />
the air cleaner and help produce last longer<br />
Biggest clients: Holiday Inn, Wendy’s, Piggly Wiggly<br />
Supermarkets<br />
Where they’re based: Madisonville<br />
Top executive: Bob Kuswa, founder<br />
Year introduced: 1996<br />
MADISONVILLE-BASED BK PRODUCTS manufactures a<br />
number of air filters, including the Mega Fresh filter, which<br />
extends the shelf life of cold foods, and the Mega Freeze filter,<br />
which creates colder temperatures and better-tasting ice. The<br />
company’s Awesome Air filters work with HVAC systems to<br />
improve indoor air quality and promote mold prevention.<br />
From its humble beginnings in the garage of founder Bob<br />
Kuswa, the company has grown to serve clients and customers<br />
worldwide.<br />
BK Product’s filters contain 100 percent all-natural<br />
blends of zeolite minerals, which have the ability to absorb<br />
and release water, odor and gas molecules without any<br />
chemical or physical change in the zeolite itself. The zeolites<br />
used in the products are non-flammable, non-toxic, can be<br />
recharged and never wear out. The company’s filters can be<br />
regenerated by baking them in the oven for a couple of<br />
hours. While they’ve been effective in eliminating odors,<br />
they also dramatically reduce energy consumption.<br />
“Bob invented the product years ago when no one was<br />
worried about energy savings,” said BK Products President<br />
Clare Kuswa. “It wasn’t a big deal back then, but today<br />
everyone is concerned about it. It lessens compressor run<br />
time and saves a lot of energy.”<br />
Formerly employed in the insurance industry, Kuswa tinkered<br />
with creating filters as a hobby 12 years ago. After a<br />
few experiments in his garage and satisfactory testing of the<br />
filters, he obtained patents and trademarks and put his products<br />
on the market.<br />
Awesome Air filter customers include Piggly Wiggly<br />
Supermarkets, Holiday Inn, Southern University at <strong>New</strong><br />
<strong>Orleans</strong>, the University of <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> and the city of<br />
Covington. BK Products’ filters also are used at Mandeville<br />
<strong>City</strong> Hall and promote better air quality and higher energy<br />
savings.<br />
“Not only have we been delightfully cool in these last<br />
months but also according to our director of finance, we<br />
have saved over $1,600 in the first four months of operation<br />
in the <strong>City</strong> Hall building alone,” said Mandeville Mayor<br />
Eddie Price in a testimonial on BK Product’s Web site.<br />
Some of the company’s other products include Flower<br />
Power, which can keep flowers fresh for up to 28 days; Odor<br />
Stop, which gets rid of smoke, grease and other odors by<br />
absorbing them; and Mega Cold, which eliminates fogging<br />
on reach-in coolers.•<br />
— Craig Guillot<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> <strong>City</strong><strong>Business</strong> 7A