Carey Returns to Outdoor with New Medical Kits Company

Salida, CO – Legendary baseball great Yogi Berra would certainly say it’s “déjà vu all over again” as Phil Carey re-enters the outdoor industry with Carey & Company, Ltd., manufacturers of outdoor first aid, health and safety products.

Out of the limelight of the industry since 2000, Carey’s newly launched company is a potential overnight powerhouse in the portable, packable, medical kits category. Carey enjoys the luxury of building on longstanding industry ties to partner organizations, sales reps and retailers, not to mention the wisdom gained from already having built a very successful outdoor first aid kit company. At the upcoming Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, Carey will introduce a line of 12 new first aid and medical kits ranging from single day use to international travel and expeditionary use ranging in price from $18 to $118 suggested retail.

“Carey & Company was formed to bring a fresh perspective to a rather mature product category,” Carey said. “Our mission is to build an employee-owned, alternative-powered outdoor company that offers the best products, participates in the industry and gives back whenever possible.”

Carey started his first company, Atwater Carey Ltd., in his barn outside Boulder, CO in 1989. At its zenith, Atwater Carey employed 42 people at its headquarters in Salida, CO before being sold to Wisconsin Pharmacal in 1997. Carey and his wife, Jan, periodically consulted for WPC, finally leaving for good this past October.

Carrying forward relationships he established during more than a decade in the biz, Carey & Company enjoys exclusive partnerships with such sought-after vendors as 3M and CoreTex Products as well as industry stalwart organizations such as Leave No Trace and Continental Divide Trail Alliance, as well as newer alliances like Carey & Company’s sponsorship of adventure racing’s elite Team Salomon-Crested Butte.

Carey’s reputation for building products that sell also proved instrumental in helping him assemble a team of some of the most respected sales representatives in the industry. Carey & Co.’s rep groups include Steve Schneider of Reps North East, Chris Rounds of Great Lakes Outdoor, Dan Eubank of Eubank Associates, Steve Copeland of Granite Marketing and Greg Letts of Pacific Outdoor.

Carey’s expertise in developing outdoor medical kits springs from his dedication to and training in emergency medicine. Carey’s certifications include the NREMT-Basic and Swift Water Rescue Technician. Many outdoor industry vets still vividly recall Carey’s professionalism and compassion as a First Responder during the catastrophic tornado that brought destruction and tragedy to the 1999 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City. At home in the quiet mountain town of Salida, CO, Carey staffs shifts in the emergency room at the local hospital and chairs the local Emergency Medical Services Foundation.