Sometimes a good idea can be found anywhere. This happened to Chick Slocum, vice president of manufacturing at Waverly Plastics, a Waverly, Ia., company that makes plastic film. That film is converted into recognizable consumer products including trash bags and more recently, produce bags used in supermarkets. "I had this cordless roll (of plastic bags) sitting on my desk, and started pulling at it from the middle.

Only one bag came out," Slocum said. He repeated the process numerous times and then showed his discovery to Rose Van Nieuwenhuyzen, Waverly's president. "I asked her, 'Do you think you can sell something like this?' “He recalled. The discovery led the company to develop a dispenser for the bag, which it later patented and now sells as its Tug & Tote line. The product seemed like a perfect replacement for the rolls of plastic bags used by customers in supermarkets' produce sections. But to mass-produce the line, Waverly needed help. It turned to a longtime equipment supplier, CMD Corp. in Appleton, Wis., which specializes in designing and making equipment that coverts flexible film into plastic bags. "The way (Waverly's bag) is dispensed takes advantage of our technology," said Stephen Sakai, president of CMD Corp.

"It was a melding of our technology with their innovation and packaging." CMD produced a roller specific to Waverly's needs. CMD's machine takes Waverly's large plastic film rolls and converts them to smaller rolls of 800 produce bags, which are then inserted into a specially designed dispenser. What's unusual about Waverly produce bags is that they are not connected. CMD's machine layers the bags, which makes it easier for customers to pull out one bag instead of struggling with a roll. Van Nieuwenhuyzen estimated her company's produce bags are used in about 1,500 stores nationwide. United Supermarkets, which has 65 stores in Texas, and Fare way, which has 95 stores in Iowa, are among chains that use Waverly's bags. "This has been a great seller for us," Van Nieuwenhuyzen said of her firm's Tug & Tote line. She said those using the product have realized savings. The product helps stores cut waste. Van Nieuwenhuyzen said United Supermarkets already noticed an 8 percent savings in produce bags since switching to the new line. "There is no waste with this product; the dispenser allows a customer to make use of every bag in the box," she said.