Document 3DOE9YKB5YYye2ykMGzQOrE0

FILE NAME: Asbestos in Hair Dryers (HD) DATE: 1974 Mar 22 DOC#: HD052 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Letter from Gillette to CPSC RE Consumer Product Safety Commission Investigation Hand Held Hair Dryers with Requested Info  . y Joveph E. MuDonty OfWril March 22, 1974 - TH# Gete Compony - - -*f r O ^ i W M H >o-- Mrc>nirm " 4117)*31-7000 Mr. Dovld P. McGonlgle Inspector Co"nsumer Product Safety Commission 408 Atlantic Avenne * Room 208 Boston, MA 02210 ' Re: Consumer Product Safety Commission Invcstlgatlon- . Hand Held Hair Drvers Dear Mr. McGonlgle: . Pursuant to your request which we received on Tuesday, March 19, 1974, 1 . enclose herewith on behalf of The Gillette Company ("Gillette'') pan of the Information requested concerning hand held hair dryers a s follows: 1. Identification of all hand held dryers sold by Gillette by model number, tradename and trade introduction and termination dates as set forth in columns 2 through 5 of Exhibit A. 2. Field quantities of all hand held dryers sold by Gillette as set forth in columns 6 and 7 of Exhibit A. Also included are factory shipments -nd trade inventory estimates as set forth on Exhibit B. All figures are national as Gillette sells its products throughout the United States. 3. Names and addresses of manufacturers and ports of entry as set forth In columns 8 and 9 of Exhibit A. This will also confirm that arrangements have been made to allow' an authorized Inspector of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (the "Commission" ) to select at random six samples of each hand held dryer presently being sold by Gillette from inventory' located at the Gillette Manufacturing Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, our central distribution point. We also enclose on behalf of Braun North America ("Braun"), an unincorporated division of The Gillette Company, part of the information which you sim ilarly requested as follows: CONFIDENTIAL G 00420 March 22, 1974 ' Page 2 1. Identification of all hand held dryers distributed by Braun by model number and tradename as set forth In columns 1 and 2 of ExhlbltC. 2. Total quantities for the period January 1, 1969 through March 19, 1974 as set forth in column 3 of Exhibit C. Braun distributes its products ' throughout the.Unlted States. 3. Name of manufacturer and ports of entry as set forth In Notes 2 and - 3 of Exhibit C. - I l l s our understanding that an-authorizud Inspector of the Commission has already selected at random sam ples of the Braun hair dryers from Braun's warehouse in Cambridge, M assachusetts. A s far as the balance of the Information which has been requested.by the . Commission, Gillette has implemented the necessary procedures to gather and collect all of this data in Boston from our various units across the country. As you may be aware, the Appliance Division was recently relocated from Chicago to Boston and the disruptive effects of the move have not yet been 'illy eliminated. Much of the data requested is contained In files which have not yet been unpacked and reorganized. Furthermore, many of the employees who were fam iliar with such files did not relocate and new employees are extracting the necessary . Information. We intend to supply the Commission with all of the necessary . information as soon as possible. While we have every intention of cooperating with the Commission, we do want to raise one question at this tim e. Section 16(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (the "Act") provides that every person who Is a manufacturer or 1 distributor of a consumer product shall establish and maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such information as the Commission may, by rule, reasonably require for the purposes of implementing this Act or to deter mine compliance with rules or o rd ers prescribed under the Act. We are not aware that any such rule has been promulgated by the Commission. Specifically, it is unclear what procedures should be followed If we desire to keep confidential certain information which we deem to be proprietary. In the absence of any published rule of the Commission, we hereby notify the Commission that we regard die sales and quantin' figures submitted herewith as confidential infor mation within the meaning of Title 18, Section 1905, United States Code, and we hereby formally request appropriate confidential reatment of all such m aterial. Let me emphasize once again that we intend to fully cooperate with the Commission in gathering the necessary facts. Very truly yours, * JEM / G 00421 < IIM D IM LU D R Y ER DATA 3/ 20/74 > Itrr <!r>drl Trademark Trade Introduction Date fll 5.'5 li.T'-l Max . 10/70 bus T.:L'-2 Max 7/71 V'-}? TlID-?\ liax Plus 3/72 i SO7 Vld i- 9hs 902 ' HD-5 ID - 3 t!J-4 IIU-7 . Super Max Mux for Men Mux Super Max 6/72 . 6/72 7/7 5 8/73 915 J'L'.p Max for .Men 8/73. I'ZS IJ9-J0 Mighty Max 11/73 Trade' ' Termination " -Ditto ft) ' 1971 -V74 ' 10/73 7/73 ' 11/73 -- -- -- -- -- FIELD QlWiTITIES (M)f2) 12/31/73 . 2/20/74 73 m D o> H m D . .. . ,Supplier ' . Port of Entry Yaaada (3) (5) Yaoudn, NLshlki 'W ' Vanada 1 11 ' ' ' H 11 1* . ' " . ''v' ' (1) Dates of first and last units shlppod may vary a month olther way; last 70M Of -niD-2 should ship by 4/74. . ' (2) Field q u an titie s arc determined by adding together the units In a ll lo ts on vhlch a customer o r consumer return has been received. ... . . " \ (3) .V lJicii - Yumedo E le c tric Ind. Co., L td ., 50-11.1 Choao Yahlroi Sualda-Ku, Tokyo, Jnpan ' (5) Addreo - N'lshiki Industries In c ., 36-5 Chorw Kakuoron Dorl, Chi-KusakiJ, Nagoya, Japan ' (5) Cn a rough ultim ate b a sis 94t o f a ll hand-held entered through S e a ttle , S i through Utnnoapoll's, 11 through Chicago, and le ss than 11 through San fran cisco . . O o 2N> EXHIBIT A N> Max HD-2 HD-2A HD-4 Super Max HD-5 HD-9 Max/Men HD-3 HD-9 HAND HELD DRYER FACTORY SHIPMENTS (000) Units ' ' ,, 1971 197? 1973 2 M os. 1974 March 1 , 1974 T rade Inventory E stitrate iI REDACTED Mighty Max HD-10 Total Max HHD * EXHIBIT B G 00423 redacted HLD - 31 HLD 6 HLD - 500 HLD - 231 HLD - 4 ' HLD - 21 se rie s Brnun Mini Hairdryer Braun Styling Dryer ' Braun Ultra 500 Braun Mini Dryer Braun Mini-Mini Dryer Braun Mini Dryer Prior to 1969 Spring, 1970 Prior to 1969 Notes: 3. Information on import quantities prior to 1969 Is not available. , 2. All products arc manufactured by Braun AO In Ynanufacturing facilities at'Markthcidenfeld, West Germany. 3. Port of entry is Boston, MA with occasional entry through New York. F.ntrys in 1969 were through Toledo, Ohio. 4. Models HLD - 4 and HLD - 21 se rie s arc no longer being distributed. EXHIBIT C G 00424 sr