His line has no air apparent.

• Position: Tapco International Inc.'s Wayne Merry - Company profile

His line has no air apparent

Bigger isn't better to packaging entrepreneur Wayne Merry - it's just a waste of space.

The Canadian-born High Rock Lake resident stumbled upon a way to remove the air from washcloths, socks and the like, compressing them to about the size of a Skoal tin. He's betting that companies that use a lot of textile products, such as hotels and cruise lines, will snap them up.

Merry, 33, is shopping the technique around to textile companies, hoping to arrange licensing agreements. His business, TAPCO International Inc., started production in January. He's working now on a product with Milliken & Co. and several buy-one-get-one-free packages for companies in the Triad. He expects $3 million in revenues this year.

Merry started his career as a bag boy at an A&P in Toronto. "I graduated a welder, but I hated to get my hands dirty," he says. After community college, he stayed on at the supermarket and worked his way up to manager. At 25, he quit to design plush toys for promotions. He made cuddly bears to go with Hickory Farms treats and chef dolls for Panasonic junior microwaves.

After he started manufacturing toys in the Far East, his agent in Hong Kong sent him a washcloth compressed by a Chinese company. "I was intrigued. I saw so much potential," he says. "I sat down with a piece of paper and thought, 'What can I compact?'"

Merry...