Inventor Ed MacDonald wants to bring innovation and manufacturing back to the United States one product at a time.
His latest creation is what he describes as a “real American garage build” — quite literally turning his McKinney garage into a product development studio.
The finished product, named Buffalo Carts, begins a Kickstarter campaign Monday designed to raise $500,000 and launch full-scale production. The utility carts are available in a range of models and quick-change configurations to fit any need, such as camping, hunting, gardening and commercial use.
The electric-powered carts are available for preorder at a limited-time discounted price of $1,399 to $1,599.
MacDonald, owner of MB Innovations, is the consummate inventor. The 65-year-old’s extensive résumé also includes stints as an aircraft mechanic and a printing company proprietor.
“I always had the entrepreneurial spirit to just get out there, get it done, make things happen and do the best you can,” he said. “I spent good considerable years, probably five or six years, in CAD software design and really immersed myself in designing products.”
He’s made a lot of things — some of his first products included a patented door lock system, an automatic cash-counting safe and a medical hot and cold pack. After finding success with his beginning endeavors, he set out to sharpen his skills in product development and 3-D printing.
In 2002, he started MB Innovations, his own design and development firm that focuses on finding innovative solutions for needs identified by him or his customers. MacDonald said his inventions have netted him millions of dollars in revenue over the course of his career.
“I moved into product development and design because I really realized at an early age what my passion was, what I was good at, what I really enjoyed, and learned to really focus efforts on doing that,” MacDonald said. “Because if you enjoy what you’re doing, if you’re having fun, you could really actually apply a whole lot more endurance to what you’re trying to do.”
The Buffalo Carts invention grew out of a pitch he heard in 2018 from a father-son duo. It started as a contract build, but MacDonald continued the development process after they exited the project.
“I started doing some research on this,” he said. “I saw potential, and I realized that this is something that I could really jump into. So I bought [them] out.”
Buffalo Carts are named for the “sturdiness and outdoor ruggedness” of the classically American animal. MacDonald said the carts will be manufactured in the United States.
“We’re onshoring, we’re bringing everything back to America. We’re not getting anything from overseas,” he said. “It’s all American-made.”
He also believes the product can evolve.
“We have metrics that tell us we could be here for the next 10 years, fine-tuning it and tweaking it,” he said. “But we want to get it in front of potential customers as soon as possible. There’s a quote out there that says that if you’re not embarrassed by your first product, you’ve launched too late.”
MacDonald said he’s embraced his failures — such as the mesh laundry bag he created with individual slots for pairs of socks. His family provides the support to keep him moving forward.
“Make sure you have a good group of people, either family members or people around you, that believe in you,” he said. “Maybe they don’t even believe in the product so much that they believe in you.”
With Buffalo Carts, MacDonald also sees an opportunity to give back, continuing a practice he learned early in life from his parents.
“One of my personal goals right now … is to be able to contribute to causes that actually help Third World countries with medical and needs like that,’ said MacDonald, who spent time in Papua New Guinea, Nepal and Mexico as a child of missionaries.
“What I can do is help with finances and financial gifts, and I know where these gifts need to go. I have a real understanding of what people do need overseas, and really, it’s medical.”
