Natural Alternatives International, Inc.

panies.We also have a division where we mine our intellectual property with our own product known as CarnoSyn,which is multiple-patented amino acid for a variety of markets–sports nutrition, nutrition for the elderly, and healthcare practitioner markets. That represents about 15-20 percent of our mar- ketplace and contract manufacturing represents between 80 and 85 percent.” BVM: How does NAI differentiate itself from its com- petitors? LeDoux: “For starters,we reinvest our profits in our company in terms of capital equipment and in hu- man resources.We also put our money into primary research.We’re a debt-free company with almost $30 million in cash and all the tangible assets we have,which are probably north of $60 or 70 mil- lion, are all paid for.And so, recognizing that labor is a significant component of our competitors’ profit and loss statements,we focus on high-speed equip- ment that is largely automated that will allow us to do extraordinary throughput on a consistent, quality basis, keeping our direct labor costs at between five and six percent of our finished product cost–which is extraordinary. “We also believe that ‘Made in Switzerland’ and ‘Made in America’ has tremendous caché for many international markets, and that’s been borne out by seeing the rapid growth that we’ve experienced in keymarkets around the world. Consumers are very concerned about product efficacy and safety, and