Platinum Pets was launched in March 2010 by owner Mark Kier. The idea to start Platinum Pets came after Kier powder-coated a bowl for his dog. Happy with the results, he decided to start his own company.
Located in the Valencia Industrial Center, today the company manufactures eco-friendly designer products for pets. Privately funded by Kier, Platinum Pets has 15 employees and manufactures items, such as bowls, leashes, collars and its newest product: smartphone scannable pet ID tags.
The company’s newest innovation was introduced three months ago when Kier started selling his patent-pending Lost N’ Found pet ID tags. Lost N’ Found IDs serve the function of the traditional pet microchip but for a much more affordable cost. “We just came out with this; it’s getting a lot of attention, and we’re selling a lot,” Kier said. Platinum Pets has already sold about 5,000 ID tags, he said. more…
Each tag comes adorned with a scannable bar code allowing smartphone users to simply scan the bar-coded tag with their phones. They are then taken to the Platinum Pets website and a page in which they can see information about the pets whose tags they scanned.
“It’s a really good deal for what you get,” said Platinum Pets Marketing Director Sarah Royer. Information such as the pet’s name, owner’s name, address and phone number and even the pet’s immunization records are available on the webpage. Not only is the tag more affordable than a microchip but may come in handy with a roaming dog — just scan the tag and contact the pet’s owner without having to contact Animal Control or transport a stray animal to a vet for a microchip reading. “It’s a really modernized pet tag,” Kier said.
The new models are variants of the big V-twin designs Harley has been cranking out for decades, with styling and graphics strong on heritage but aimed at new and younger audiences. Those are riders critical to a company whose owners are largely aging baby boomers.
