By Anne Hemingstreet

It’s 6 a.m. in Sacramento, California, and Sri Lankan-born Deepal Wannakuwatte arrives at the South Land Park Starbucks, as he does everyday at this time. The employees clad in green aprons know him well and quickly prepare his order before he can say, “two, to go, please.” Deepal is owner and president of International Manufacturing Group Inc., better known to its customers simply as RelyAid. The company was established in 1989 by the Wannakuwatte family in Sacramento. For over 16 years the company has been serving dental health professionals nationwide with protective gloves, infection control products and other supplies. It is the fastest growing glove and infection control company in America.

After friendly exchanges with the baristas, Deepal leaves with his order and heads back home to enjoy a soy latte with his wife and business partner, Betsy, and visit for a few minutes with 12-year-old daughter, Sarah, as she gets ready for school. Soon Deepal leaves for work with the latest e-mail print outs and other paper work for the day ahead. Though driven by his work, Deepal firmly believes, “There is nothing in this world more important than family.” RelyAid is family-owned and operated, and the principle of family is a cornerstone of the company.

RelyAid’s primary aim is to be the complete glove solution for dental professionals. Gloves have been part of infection control for just the last 15 years, primarily the latex, powdered, ambidextrous type. Besides protecting both patient and hygienist, several unforeseen problems have surfaced, including contact dermatitis, hand fatigue and injury. Repetitive motion disorders of the hand and wrist, including carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), tendonitis and chronic pain, affect thousands of workers each year, costing employers millions of dollars in lost workdays and worker’s compensation claims. In 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported almost 27,000 cases of CTS, resulting in an average of 25 lost workdays per case, more than any other work-related injury. In addition to lost workdays, California figures show the average cost per worker’s compensation claims for CTS to be more than $37,000.

“From the knowledge we’ve gained over the years, we’re continuing to develop new options better suited to the needs of hygiene professionals. One day, we will look at the powdered latex ambidextrous gloves still common to our industry with the same amusement we look at the clunky, oversized cell phones of yesterday,” says Senior Executive Vice President of RelyAid, Gary Coraggio, from his office in Phoenix, Arizona. “Dental hygiene professionals are especially prone to glove-related problems, and RelyAid is committed to protecting a hygienist’s most valuable instrument–the hand.”

Aloetouch® Ease is the glove created to prevent the very problems dental hygienists often suffer from as a result of wearing powdered, latex, ambidextrous gloves. In late 2003, RelyAid partnered with Medline Industries to create a glove that is an anatomically correct, left- and right-fitted design. All Aloetouch Ease gloves are manufactured using a process similar to that for production of surgical gloves. This process allows the thumb to be placed in line with the natural configuration of the hand, about two inches in front of the other digits. This manufacturing design allows the glove to fit the hand and fingers more comfortably and ergonomically. Ambidextrous gloves are produced with the thumb aligned with the other fingers, exerting a continuous force against the thumb that constricts movement and causes additional stress on the thumb muscles. This can lead to fatigue and impaired dexterity.

To address the problem of contact dermatitis, RelyAid selected aloe vera. For centuries, aloe vera plants have been used in the treatment of human burns and skin wounds. Aloe vera has also been used in the treatment of leg ulcers, seborrheic dermatitis, acne vulgaris and alopecia areata. In short, there is something amazing about the healing power of aloe vera. All Aloetouch gloves are powder-free and use a patented manufacturing process that applies the aloe vera to the entire interior surface of the gloves. When the gloves are worn, the user’s body heat activates the aloe, coating the hands and fingers with a concentration of aloe vera.

Originally available only in latex, RelyAid will introduce Aloetouch Ease, left- and right-fitted gloves in a nitrile version in April, with the stretch vinyl model being introduced in the Summer of 2005.

First-time Aloetouch Ease glove users are often amazed at how much better their hands feel with the less restrictive, fitted examination glove. According to Gary, “This glove will revolutionize the dental hygiene community. Aloetouch Ease is the perfect answer for every hygienist who suffers with dry, chapped hands or the thousands who complain of hand fatigue due to wearing an ambidextrous glove. The combination of reducing stress on the ligaments in the hands along with the moisturizing benefits of aloe vera, makes Aloetouch Ease the perfect glove for every dental hygiene professional.”

“Over the years, our loyal glove customers have asked us to carry other infection control products, so we have added and will continue to add key non-glove products for our customers and do it at attractive prices,” says Deepal. Therefore RelyAid is proud to feature many infection control products and oral care products that appeal to hygienists including products by Crosstex, Medline, All-Pro, Zirc, Beutlich Pharmaceuticals, Richmond, Deepak Products, Nu Radiance and Gelato. RelyAid also features private label products including personalized toothbrushes and facemasks. RelyAid is always on the lookout for new products, evidenced in 2004 with its new line of personalized toothbrushes.

In March 2005, RelyAid will be introducing another new product line with its first apparel catalog, featuring colorful scrubs, jackets and lab coats. “This new apparel catalog should be very well received by dental hygienists because we know most are on a fixed uniform budget and our concept is to sell fashionable scrubs at the lowest prices in the market,” says Gary.

As it enters its 16th year, RelyAid’s success only seems to be picking up momentum. The company currently has just over 35 employees between its home office in Sacramento, an office in Phoenix, and its outside sales force throughout the country. And there are large expansion plans in the works for this year, with a goal of hiring 50 independent outside sales representatives throughout the country.

The company also has a new Web site (www.relyaid.com) featuring online ordering and video presentations. The new 35,000 square foot warehouse in Sacramento allows orders to be filled quickly and provide same-day shipping.

Technological innovations exclusive to RelyAid have set them ahead of the pack of examination glove manufacturers. RelyAid and Aloetouch Ease gloves are currently being featured on nationwide television on CNBC in a program called World Business Review, hosted by General Alexander Haig and the Pankey Institute’s Christian Sager. RelyAid is one of a select few dental companies chosen to be featured in a segment called Innovations in Dentistry.

The reason RelyAid was chosen for the CNBC television piece is simple–popularity. The rising popularity of Aloetouch Ease fitted gloves among dental professionals brought RelyAid to the attention of the show’s producers. Aloetouch Ease gloves are unique and innovative because they answer the two most troubling issues for glove wearers–contact dermatitis and hand fatigue. Gary will represent RelyAid during filming of the Innovations in Dentistry segment.

Over the years, RelyAid established relationships with more than 30 dental associations and societies across the country, including the Illinois State Dental Society and the Colorado Dental Association. An innovative dividend program was developed with the help of Dr. Herbert H. Hooper, a past president of the Sacramento Dental Society and a trustee of the California Dental Association. As dental association members purchased RelyAid products, dividends were earned for the associations. Since 1988, RelyAid has paid more than $3.5 million in dividends to the participating professional organizations.

In addition, RelyAid offers an 8% rebate on all purchases for members of the Illinois State Dental Society and the Colorado Dental Association. “RelyAid and the Illinois State Dental Society have had a very good working relationship over the years and the RelyAid Rebate Program allows the membership to see real benefits in being a member,” says Gregory A. Johnson, director of professional services at the Illinois State Dental Society.

As RelyAid moves into the future with new products, a larger sales team and a continued dedication to being the complete glove solution for dental professionals, let’s not forget its history, which makes an interesting read. Deepal was born and raised in Sri Lanka as the only son to parents Bertie and Doreen. The couple owned and operated a rubber plantation in Sri Lanka, which had been in the family for more than 100 years.

Deepal was offered a tennis scholarship at the University of Georgia so he left Sri Lanka with his parents’ blessing to study business. Upon graduation he planned to return to Sri Lanka and join the family rubber plantation business, something his parents looked forward to. For graduation, his parents gave him a vacation to California, which he arranged before his return to Sri Lanka.

That vacation changed his plans.

While in California, Deepal fell in love with the city of Sacramento. Then he met Betsy and fell in love all over again. That was 30 years ago.

Even as RelyAid offers top quality products, the highest in customer service, and is continually making improvements to meet the needs of the industry, the core component for the company’s success always comes back to a strong family foundation.

Each morning Gary rises early and heads into the office where he and Deepal talk by phone about the previous day’s key data. This is just the first of many phone contacts during the day as they coordinate efforts between Sacramento and Phoenix. After the 7 a.m. call, Gary takes a break to drive son Christian (age 8) and daughter Kendall (age 6) to school before heading back to the office. He and his wife Nathlie also have another son, Cameron (age 1). “One of the best things I have learned from watching Deepal,” says Gary, “is how he always puts his family as his number one priority. I am very lucky to work for someone who not only understands I want to take my kids to school each day, but encourages it.

“Deepal and I are very much on the same page when it comes to our vision for the business and what it takes to be successful. I think the lessons each of us learned early in life about competing in athletics had a lot to do with that,” says Gary. He was a three-sport high school athlete and has coached high school basketball in Arizona for the past 16 years. Deepal is a former Davis Cup Tennis Player and National Lawn Tennis Champion of Sri Lanka. He maintains a 4.5 rating in tennis today.

The Wannukuwatte and the Coraggio families have melded into one big extended family. The two families vacation together each summer and frequently spend time together throughout the year as well. Deepal puts it into perspective, “Our daughter Sarah and the Coraggio kids are all like brothers and sisters. It has been really fun to watch them grow close over the past few years. I always tell Gary that our kids are the reason we work hard each day.”

Deepal Wannakuwatte, Owner and President
Company founder Deepal Wannakuwatte was born in Sri Lanka, where his family has owned rubber tree plantations for more than 100 years. A former Davis Cup Tennis Player and National Lawn Tennis Champion of Sri Lanka, Wannakuwatte attended the University of Georgia on a full tennis scholarship and received an Undergraduate Degree in Business. He moved to Sacramento in 1972 and was one of the first to teach tennis professionally at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club in Sacramento. He was the creator of the innovative RelyAid concept of establishing a dividend dues rebate program with dental societies throughout the country with the help of his colleague Dr. Herbert H. Hooper, a past president of the Sacramento Dental Society and a trustee of the California Dental Association.

Gary Coraggio, Senior Executive Vice President
Gary Coraggio is Senior Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for RelyAid. Gary attended Arizona State University, graduating in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication. Before joining RelyAid in 2002, Gary spent 10 years working in the dental industry for SmartPractice in Phoenix, Arizona. Since joining RelyAid, he has helped lead the drive to get Aloetouch Ease gloves to market. Gary’s dental industry experience and understanding of the value of Aloetouch Ease gloves has been instrumental in increasing the awareness and popularity of surface-coated, ergonomically correct gloves among dental professionals.