WCVB Features RuffDawg
WORCESTER, Mass. — In business, as it is in life, when you’re given lemons, deciding to make lemonade can make all the difference in being successful.
That was just the case for a Massachusetts industrial rubber products company that found itself making a pivot into the world of toys for pets. That company is Jefferson Rubber Works in Worcester.
For years, the rubber injection molding company has focused on industrial products for wastewater systems and other items such as rubber medical devices.
Jefferson Rubber Works finds opportunity in loss with dog toy line
Inspiration comes from unexpected places for Dave Pentland. As CEO of Jefferson Rubber Works, Pentland and his team produce a variety of rubber products including bellows, grommets, expansion joints and hoses. The 50-employee firm manufactures rubber products for the U.S. government, along with the automotive and health and safety industries, among others.
Article featured in Rubber News by Martin McConnell, April 2025.
But it was actually a loss of business that gave the company the idea for perhaps its signature product line: Ruff Dawg rubber pet toys.
Playing It Safe
Ruff Dawg’s philosophy is that anything a pet puts in its mouth should be harmless, and for the company, that starts with U.S. manufacturing.