History of French American Reeds.
Back in New York, 19 year old Maria Maccaferri, who did not know a word of English and had only the remains of the $25 check Mario left with her, was worried about her husband*s return yet had faith that he would be home soon. She received a telegram from her husband that read, "I’ll be home tomorrow." She remembers grabbing her baby and dancing around the apartment filled with joy. Once rejoined with his family in New York, Mario set up the machines that he had sent over from France and began to run the French American Reeds company out of a factory on Broadway. Mario and Maria ran the business together: he was the idea and marketing person while she supervised production and ran the business. Mario continued making improvements on the design of his reeds, always improving on his own design. One day, Mario brought some samples with him to a Benny Goodman show and gave them to him. The very next day, Goodman paid Mario a personal visit at his factory and raved about how incredible the reeds were. Soon all the top musicians were visiting Mario asking him to fix their instruments. They began to use and professionally endorse his reeds in concert and on advertisements, never allowing payment from Mario. The endorsements combined with the war in Europe lead Mario to dominate the reed industry. In order to meet the increasing demand, Mario needed more machines to supply reeds, but the Second World War prohibited him from obtaining new parts to build the machines. With his ability to innovate and invent, Mario adapted the available machinery to suit his needs. He worked on the machines while at the office and at home. In their apartment, Mario made a draft board that fit on top of his daughter’s playpen. He was determined to meet the need of his customers as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the war in Europe presented several other problems to Mario’s reed business. The imported French cane from which the Maccaferris produced their reeds was unavailable due to the war. After an unsuccessful attempt to grow cane in Arizona, Mario adapted and formulated a solution: plastic reeds.
Upon the invention of the plastic reed, many in the music industry scoffed at Mario’s idea. How could a piece of thin plastic have the same quality and resonance as a piece of fine French cane? The scoffing ended when Benny Goodman came to Mario’s side, again offering praise to Maccaferri and his latest invention. The plastic reeds soon became the popular and endorsed choice of many Big Band stars. The plastic reed was just the beginning of Mario’s career in the plastics industry. With his ability to foresee a window of opportunity, Mario invented the next piece of ingenious plastic work: the plastic clothespin. During the summer of 1944 when the Maccaferris were at their vacation home in the country, Maria noticed that she did not have enough clothespins so she asked Mario to go to the market in the village and buy some. When Mario asked the shopkeeper about clothespins, the shopkeeper replied that it was wartime and there were no clothespins to be had. Mario returned home and told Maria that he was going to the plant and would be back soon. That night, Mario brought home six prototypes for the plastic clothespin. After Maria hung her silk slip out to dry, she noticed two holes in it from the clothespins. The next day, Mario perfected the design and the plastic clothespin was born. Mario was able to foresee that a demand for the clothespin existed, and he sought to supply it as quickly as possible.
