IT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING YEAR FOR RANDY UNS, THE CREATOR OF THE "RHINO BAG" . IT IS AN ULTRA STRONG BAG THAT CAN BE FILLED WITH HOUSEHOLD WASTE AND THEN PICKED UP BY THE COMPANY.

LAST YEAR THE BELLEVILLE BASED COMPANY TRIED TO GO NATIONAL, BUT HAD SOME TROUBLES. SO "RHINO BAG'S CEO DECIDED TO TAKE HIS PRODUCT TO THE AIRWAVES.

RANDY:

"WE HAD SOME MONEY ISSUES, SOME SHARE HOLDER ISSUES, SO WE DECIDED, WHAT THE HECK, WE'LL GO ON DRAGON'S DEN AND GIVE IT A SHOT. IT MADE A LOT OF SENSE AT THE TIME, BECAUSE WE WERE SUCH A NEW COMPANY."

AND THAT LEAP OF FAITH PAID OFF FOR "RHINO BAG" ...

RANDY:

"SO ON THE SHOW WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST DEALS EVER DONE, ALL FIVE DRAGONS BOUGHT IN."

THE DRAGON'S AND UNS STRUCK A DEAL: 500-THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR 50 PERCENT CONTROL OF THE COMPANY. ...THE AGREEMENT ALSO CAME WITH A NUMBER OF GUARANTEES.

RANDY:

"AFTER WE WENT INTO DUE-DILIGENCE WITH THE DRAGONS AND THEIR LAWYERS, IT STARTED IN MAY OF LAST YEAR AND IT DRAGGED OUT UNTIL OCTOBER."

DURING THE LENGTHY PROCESS OF DOTTING THE Is AND CROSSING THE Ts ... UNS' COMPANY WAS GROWING

QUICKLY.

RANDY:

"SO MUCH HAD CHANGED ... IN OUR COMPANY, WE HAD ROLLED OUT NATIONALLY INTO CANADA, WE WERE READY TO ROLL OUT INTO THE U.S.

SO THE DEAL DIDN'T MAKE SENSE ANYWHERE, WE HAD ALREADY GROWN THE COMPANY."

SO ... "RHINO BAG" WALKED AWAY FROM THE DEAL IT HAS STRUCK WITH THE DRAGONS ... AND STARTED FORGING AHEAD ON ITS OWN.

RANDY:

"IT HAS WORKED OUT A LOT BETTER FOR US, WE HAVE MANAGED TO BRING IN NEW SHARE HOLDERS, AND NOW WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF MERGING WITH 4 OTHER COMPANIES."

UNS IS PRESENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING HIS COMPANY TO TORONTO.

"RHINO BAG" WILL BE ROLLING OUT INTO THE U.S. NATIONAL MARKET BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR ...

LIZ COOK, CKWS NEWSWATCH, BELLEVILLE.