Press

Company Profile

Part of the emerging maker movement, Zootility Tools creates functional everyday objects in eccentric forms. From product design to manufacturing, Zootility produces everything in-house at their 8,000 sq-ft shop in Portland, ME. Hundreds of thousands of their incredibly thin multi-tools are in pockets across the US and beyond.

Mission

To re-invigorate American manufacturing with designs that inspire.

We pay a livable wage, high above the current minimum, yet aim to sell our products at an affordable price. We believe it's possible. Our rapidly growing business is proof. We want be an example worthy of other Makers to follow as they scale from maker to manufacturer.

History

In 2012, mechanical engineer Nate Barr launched the PocketMonkey on Kickstarter. The credit card-sized multi-tool received over 1,900 backers and $27,000 in 14 days. Since then, Zootility Tools has sold more than 500,000 PocketMonkeys in over 1,500 stores across the US. The company has continued to grow and has now had 5 successful Kickstarter campaigns, and launched 200+ products and variations.

The Team

What started as a one-man Kickstarter project has now grown into 16 employees, 6 lasers, and a bustling shop full of manufacturing equipment in Portland, ME.

We Are Makers

Every member of the Zootility Tools team rolls up their sleeves and works on the production floor on a daily basis - including our CEO. We are makers at heart and want to continue that tradition. What does this mean? We only create products that solve a need and we can take pride in producing.

Unique Products

Our products are unique for simply adhering to our principles. We also believe minimal and intentional design can overcome the barriers that others see in meeting our challenging design goals. Lastly, our products impress for having unique forms without any compromise in function.

Thanks for Your Support

We hope you can see the difference in our design and will support us in our endeavors.

Recent Media

Manufacturing in Maine is not dead: Zootility Tools

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/207/manufacturing-in-maine-is-not-dead-zootility-tools/416282171

An inside look of our manufacturing facility in Portland, Maine, and some of our employees from Rob Caldwell and Krister Rollins at WCSH Channel 6.

One-man Hobby Turns into Booming Tool Business

http://www.wmtw.com/article/one-man-hobby-turns-into-booming-tool-business/8586489

Located in Portland's up and coming Bayside Neighborhood, Zootility grown to nearly two dozen employees who manufacture an array of small, but extremely strong and durable tools and other metal products. "The way we figured out how to make our products with the quality we wanted and to be able to deliver it on time for our retailers at the price consumers are willing to pay was to make it ourselves," said Barr.

Why Zootility Tools Had to Completely Rethink Its Kickstarter Products For Retail

https://www.shopify.com/blog/zootility-tools-retail

One of the most downloaded episodes for the Shopify Masters Podcast. Find out why Zootility launched a Kickstarter campaign just to break even, how Nate Barr works through product design challenges and how he had to completely rethink his go to market strategy for retailers.

They discuss:

What makes one product more likely to succeed than others.
The rule of thumb for pricing for retail.
How to create packaging appropriate for retailers.
How to think through your go to market strategy.

Zootility tools and the WildCard win Honorable Mention for Fast Company's Innovation by Design Awards 2016

https://www.fastcodesign.com/product/wildcard

A panel of 26 expert judges pored through more than 1,700 entries and selected the best products, services, and ideas of 2016.