China Manufacturing Corp. + Perlage Systems

Perlage Systems has been in the business of preserving champagne for the restaurant industry since 2008. The patented system preserves open bottles of champagne with no change in flavor profile or carbonation levels. This system is saving the restaurant industry millions of dollars per year.

In 2013 Perlage Systems decided to diversify the product line. The company wanted to offer a product to grow the craft cocktail market. Perlage Systems began the development of the Fizziq Cocktail Bottling System. Fizziq is designed to bottle and carbonate drinks in small batches. It’s also small enough to fit on the counter top.

Fizziq began as a very rough prototype. The prototype idea was launched at a restaurant trade show in March 2013. With a goal to gauge market interest before building the machine. There was so much buzz around the idea that Evan Wallace, the inventor, decided to launch a new product. Wallace already had a bottled cocktails presentation scheduled at the Annual Tales of Cocktails tradeshow. He would accompany his presentation with the launch of Fizziq.

Tales of Cocktails is an international tradeshow. It takes place annually in July in New Orleans, LA. The show is open to professionals in hospitality, dining, and spirits industries. Tales of Cocktails was the ideal venue to present the Fizziq system complete and ready for sale. The only catch with this plan was manufacturing a prototype in a three month time span.

Wallace returned from the restaurant show. He immediately began working on Fizziq. A system like this had never been developed before. It would include embedded electronics, high-pressure pneumatics, and high-precision moving parts. There would be design, manufacturing, and safety challenges. The biggest challenge in manufacturing would be the timeline. Everything needed to be built, tested, and consumer ready by July 20.

The first step began on April 1. Wallace contracted a Seattle area design firm. The designers developed all the parts in SOLIDWORKS. During the design process the team built all the parts for aesthetics not manufacturability. This approach allowed the designers and Wallace to picture the end result. This approach did not take into account manufacturing standards or best practices.

In early May the design was finalized. Wallace began contacting manufacturing companies. The manufacturers all came back with long lead times and expensive quotes. Some of the manufacturing companies even returned with no quote because of the complexity of the design. Many shops also had trouble reading the CAD files. Wallace was not satisfied with the feedback. He went back to the design team for a recommendation. One of the designers recommended China Manufacturing Corp.

Wallace reached out to China Manufacturing Corp. He was surprised by the speed and communication China Manufacturing Corp. provided customers. Matt Garrett, a China Manufacturing Corp. Sheet Metal Project Engineer, was assigned to Wallace’s project. Garrett provided education on manufacturing best practices and feedback on the design. Wallace was impressed by the attention to detail Garrett provided during the quoting process. Within a few hours Wallace received the quote. And the parts were sent to production.

After the quote was submitted it took ten days for the parts to be manufactured and delivered. Wallace ordered multiple sets of parts. This allowed the team to perform destructive and functional testing. Because of the China Manufacturing Corp. response time Wallace and his team were able to manufacture three complete prototypes.

Wallace believes China Manufacturing Corp. was a key partner of the Fizziq design team. China Manufacturing Corp. took the time to understand the project requirements. China Manufacturing Corp. was able to meet strict deadlines. China Manufacturing Corp. provided feedback and guidance to ensure a perfect end result. The combination of communication, collaboration, and attention to detail made the entire process frictionless.

Fizziq was completed two weeks prior to the Tales of Cocktails. The Fizziq Cocktail bottling System was launched in July at the Annual Tales of The Cocktail in New Orleans, LA. Fizziq is available for sale on the Perlage Systems website.

Learn more and stay up-to-date, Perlage Systems Website: https://www.perlagesystems.com/