South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Whac-a-mole maker cranks out sanitizers
Holly Hill-based Bob’s Space Racers rolls out hands-free device
HOLLY HILL — The Volusia County maker of the popular Whac-A-Mole arcade game hopes its newest offering will help users smash a new target: the coronavirus pandemic.
Holly Hill-based Bob’s Space Racers recently rolled out its new line of “Hands-Free Sanitizer Stations” in response to the growing
COVID-19 outbreak.
The sanitizer stations are operated by a foot pedal. They have quickly become the arcade game maker’s new top-selling product. Since the Hands-Free Sanitizer Station’s launch in mid-May, the company has sold nearly 800 to customers throughout the world.
“It’s been wild going from a few customers who buy [arcade] games to hundreds of customers that buy hand sanitizer,” said Jack Cook, president of Bob’s Space Racers.
Retail prices for the company’s new sanitizer stations range from
$595 for a base model to $850 for one that comes with custom art that can include the name and logo of the business.
Customers who have purchased the hands-free sanitizer stations include Volusia County, the City of Daytona Beach, medical products maker B.Braun, Dale
Jack Cook, president of Bob’s Space Racers in Holly Hill, stands with three models of hand sanitizers.
Woodward Funeral Homes, Dave & Buster’s, and Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza.
“I think it’s the cat’s pajamas,” said Joe Mialki, owner with his wife, Julie, of Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza restaurant in Port Orange. The Hands-Free Sanitizer
Station is prominently displayed near the pizzeria’s front entrance.
“Our customers and our employees really like it because you don’t have to use your hands to operate it,” Mialki said. “And because it’s refillable, every day we can top it off with more sanitizer
solution as opposed to waiting until the entire container is empty.”
Cook’s wife, Glenda, the CEO of Bob’s Space Racers, came up with the idea for Hands-Free
Rates can run as high as $25 for a 15-minute call in jails and prisons, according to prisoners and their families.
Sanitizer Station.
“In the matter of two weeks (in late March) every customer we had throughout the world was closed down,” said Jack Cook of the amusement parks and arcades that make up the bulk of traditional customers for Bob’s Space Racers. “We thought what can we do to work in the PPE (personal protection equipment) industry to keep busy and how can we use our existing facilities to do something we’re good at?
“Glenda came up with the idea for this sanitizer after looking at what was out there and seeing what a terrible job everyone was doing,” he said.
Most hand-sanitizer dispensers require the use of a hand to operate it. In some cases, the amount of sanitizer solution comes out in a big glop that can create a mess, he said.
“Hands-free was the big thing for Glenda,” Jack Cook said. “She didn’t want to have to touch anything.”
Glenda Cook is the daughter of Bob Cassata, namesake and retired founder of Bob’s Space Racers.
The company’s sanitizer stations can be adjusted to produce 4,000 to 8,000 pumps of solution per gallon. Most sanitizer dispensers available on the market produce only 1,000 to 1,500 squirts, Jack Cook said.
The company’s sanitizer stations also come with a removable shelf for cleaning. The stations also are entirely mechanical and do not require batteries or electricity to operate.
“It’s really for anybody in a high volume area or for someone who wants a no maintenance, hands-free, safe solution for their employees and customers,” Jack Cook said.
The company is in the process of applying for a patent for its Hands-Free
Sanitizer Stations, he added.
Bob’s Space Racers also sells its own line of hand sanitizer solution, which retails for $47.50 a gallon. Bob’s Space Racers employs
55 workers at its
100,000-square-foot plant at 427 Whac-A-Mole Way. The company laid off 18 workers recently because of the sharp drop off in arcade game orders.
Jack Cook said he and his wife expect to be able keep their remaining workforce at its current level thanks in large part to the growing demand for its sanitizer stations. Most of the parts are produced in-house.
“It was a great pivot for them to be able to save their business,” said Jayne Fifer, CEO of the Volusia Manufacturers Association, of the decision by Bob’s Space Racers to switch to making sanitizer stations.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal story was distributed by the Associated Press.