Established hardware tool manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer

drone view of Richmond Mill

We manufacture and distribute plastic blades, scrapers, & hand tools

Coastal Distributors, Inc. started in 1988 by representing high quality internationally developed window cleaning and razor scraper tools in the United States. CDI was started by two friends, and the two remain full-time working partners today. In 1989 we patented the Mini Scraper and became an “original equipment supplier” to Stanley Tools, Warner, Faucet Queen, Rubbermaid, Great Neck, American Safety Razor, Techni-Edge, US Blade, and almost every tool and razor blade company in the United States.
Today, 35 years later, we manufacture, source, and distribute tools, scrapers, Safe-Scrape plastic and steel razor blades, associated products by retailing and wholesaling to individuals and companies in North America and worldwide.
CDI is a compact company with six employees, we work from offices in Massachusetts and Maine with our warehouse in Richmond, Maine.
Our original business model was to focus on “original equipment manufacturing.” We primarily sold to the companies who sold to businesses and retailers. For nearly twenty years we shipped many millions of our patented and trademarked Mini Scrapers with great success, fending off competition from copycats and knock offs.
Nearing the expiration of our patent protection we began to add products…. And then in the late 90’s we thought we’d give “the new thing”, the internet, a try. Soon enough orders started coming in from buyers who we could never reach on the phone. The world was changing, and our business model was as well.
We were early adopters of Amazon, adding eBay, Wal-Mart, and others. Our web site was bringing new clients all the time. We knew we could not exist by sales of the Mini Scraper alone. A fateful step was designing our first plastic razor blade. As we discovered, not everyone wanted a steel razor blade. There are lots of places and things to scrape where you should not use a steel blade. At this point, we had met a small but growing company in China and began a long relationship with manufacturing overseas and our first items which led us from plastic razor blades to tools and other items:
We developed and manufacture with proprietary molds the orange double edge plastic razor blade and other blades including polycarbonate, one blade with two different blade thicknesses with the yellow 2X plastic razor blade, T plastic razor blade: a T shaped wider blade with a regular base that fits all standard razor scrapers, and the 6” plastic razor blade to be an OEM plastic blade for Triumph™ and other 6” scrapers.
We developed and manufacture a new long handled scraper the EZ-X to hold a single edge blade using our Mini Scraper closure, the EZX-P a long handled scraper to hold plastic razor blades with a snap fit. The EZX-P has a design patent pending, the OEM 6” carbon steel razor blades as an affordable replacement blade for the universally available Triumph scraper.
We have branded packaging for all of our products and We have also developed many sources for unique items that complement our product line or which we found unrepresented in the marketplace. While we manufacture and source in the USA, we also source and manufacture in China having developed strong relationships with a select group of manufacturers.
We secured a USPTO Registered Trademark for MINI SCRAPER and MINISCRAPER and successfully defend it in all online markets. We have added Safe Scrape to our USPTO Trademarks and a patent pending for the EZX-P scraper.
Our warehouse is in Richmond Maine with one full-time manager and part-time staff as needed.
CDI in 2024 is a small and lean company, long established, with 35 years in continuous growth, and strong retail sales, steady wholesale sales, exclusive designs of products and their injection mold tools, trademarks, design patents, and extensive trusted relationships with manufacturers, distributors, and marketplaces.
Coastal Distributors is very well positioned for growth in retail and wholesale sales.