Butler - The Extreme Mug Holding System by Glass Act

About Glass Act and the Butler
The Butler Mug holding design is based on two principals; stability and ease of use. These can be conflicting elements to a designer. Easy to use systems tend to lose the container in rough conditions, while stable systems tend to make the container hard to remove for use. The best blend possible for these two elements is a bottomless compression ring system that is sized to accommodate a particular size tapered mug. With the use of a compression ring, gravity and impulse forces, caused by rough conditions, actually work together to stabilize the system. And, when compressed by the ring, the tapered mug still easy to lift out for use.

Michael Vine, the inventor of the Butler system, is a mechanical engineer who spent many years in the sub-sea engineering field where fluid mechanical applications are the discipline. Being a life-long motorcyclist with a desire to perfect mechanical applications, the development of the Butler system came as a natural extension of his profession. As president and CEO of R&M Technologies, Inc. (the owner of Glass Act, manufacturer of the Butler) Mr. Vine claims that the best thing about the Butler is the number of people that insist that the system has been a lifesaver for them. Mr. Vine insists that 100% customer satisfaction is a primary key to a successful small business and Glass Act is a prime example.

Mike and Rita Vine

The Butler is truly a US product. The copolymer bracketing is made in Alvin, Texas. The mugs are made in Dallas, Texas. And our processing plant is in Lampasas, Texas. Our processing plant not only distributes all Butler products world-wide, but also contains the machining equipment required to machine all chrome and polished parts. Chroming is done in Austin, Texas while polishing is done in Ft. Worth, Texas.

We have spent a large portion of the last ten years traveling around the country in our Kingsley Coach visiting customers, dealers, and attending many of the popular shows in the motorcycle industry. Since the Butler system is now designed for all industries, the growth of the program is preventing us from spending as much time on the road. Although we plan to continue to “be out there” as much as we can in future years, far more of our time is now dedicated to “in house” quality control, machining, representatives and dealers.

The History of the Butler
The development of the Butler began in 1992 when I (Mr. Vine) was on a motorcycle ride in New Mexico. The average afternoon temperature was around 100 degrees. I had a water bottle in a drink holder. It was a type that is seen commonly in the motorcycle industry. It was the best available, and it did not work. At least it did not work for me. What I wanted was a substantial amount of fluid that would stay cold with ice, and in a container that was stable and useable. During that ride, I decided to do something out it. Once home and back in the shop, I began looking at the problem as if I were hired as an engineer to develop a solution. This decision led to the standard reduction of the problem down to its most precise design requirements. As I saw them, they were:

Strength – The system had to be constructed in such way, and of such material that breaking a part would not be a problem to the user.
Applicability – The system had to be designed in such way as to accommodate mounting on all types of vehicles where the same desire to have a useable cold fluid would be inherent with the operator.
Safety – Use of the devise must not interfere with the safe operation of the vehicle.
Stability – The container must stay stable in the holder during the often times rough conditions encountered on motorcycles and other power sports and working vehicles.
Ease of Use – The container must be able to retract from its holder in the easiest way possible in order to be safely used while operating the vehicle.
Insulation – The container must be able to keep cold liquid cold or hot liquid hot for a long enough period of time to at least get from fuel stop to fuel stop on a motorcycle, under any outside temperature conditions encountered.

I could not see that “drink holders” had ever been designed incorporating all of these design criteria. All were inexpensive devices that one might use in a car or boat. Basically, just a place to set a can of pop. Thus began the development of the Butler. After many prototypes and years of patent costs, the design that emerged was the Butler, which is now enjoyed by many thousands of people worldwide.