OtterBox.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: COLORADO COOL STUFF - Curt Richardson - Brief article

OtterBox CEO and founder Curt Richardson started making "waterproof and crushproof" boxes for outdoor enthusiasts in 1996, but a different market--techies--soon took over.

"We've really focused specifically on handheld devices," he says.

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OtterBox manufactures in both Colorado and China. The lion's share of sales is business-to-business; companies like Palm, H-P and Verizon order protective cases for specific PDAs and cell phones. Richardson touts his products' style--"the James Bond look"--and their toughness.

"All these people have BlackBerrys, and our case makes it pretty much indestructible," Richardson says. On the retail shelves, OtterBox has a...