Kupa Inc.

Corporate Officers

Richard Hurter President

KUPA Inc. — A Brief History:

How We Started

Mr. Kito Ochi founded KUPA in 1984 to meet the needs of the young and growing nail salon industry. They named their company KUPA, an acronym combining the names Kito, Upshaw, and Associates. The first revolutionary products for KUPA grew from their extensive knowledge of dental products. Both of these gentlemen had a long history of working with dental industry products. Upshaw had been working in the dental industry since the 1940s when he became a Certified Dental Technician in U.S. After owning and managing dental laboratories and supply companies, Mr. Upshaw became acquainted with the nail salon industry in the early 1980s. At that time, the industry was in its infancy and the nail technicians were forced to adopt products from the dental profession few actual "nail products" existed at that time. The lack of products spurred Mr. Upshaw to attend a beauty trade show. There, he witnessed nail technicians demonstrating the application of what appeared to be the same product he had previously used in the manufacture of dental implants. As he watched the nail technicians work with the acrylic, he was reminded of how difficult it could be to shape and file. He knew that the dental industry had recently begun using electric files to successfully shape this material and realized that it could be adopted for the nail industry as well. WHERE WE ARE NOW

The KUPA name is now synonymous with high-quality electric nail filing equipment. Many technicians refer to their machines simply as "The KUPA". When Mr. Ochi passed away in 1994, Mr. Upshaw became the sole leader of the company. Since that time, Mr. Upshaw has led the company to explosive growth - more than 200% until his retirement in 2010, when he was succeeded by Richard Hurter. Richard has been with Kupa since 1984. He has a wealth of knowledge and foresight for this industry. His expertise and creativity will continue to bring new and quality products to nail salons everywhere. Over the past few years, KUPA has implemented a four-point plan to develop several proprietary products:

1. Middle-Market Electric Nail File Machine. The ManiPro Original was developed to be a middle-market product in the KUPA product line. It brings to manicure tables the basic features expected from a KUPA product without additional costs. Superior-Grade Carbide Bits. When the nail industry needed high-quality and competitively-priced bits to use with electric nail files, KUPA initiated the use of Precision Carbide Bits. Many of the industry's current carbide designs were developed by KUPA.

3. The Newest E-File. At present Kupa offers an extensive line of E-Files for every level of nail technician. The newest model is the Portable ManiPro Passport with the “first ever Acetone Resistant Control Box”. Nail Professionals everywhere have spoken and have voted the ManiPro Passport the #1 electric nail file for nail professionals by readers in both the Nail Magazine Readers Choice Awards and NailPro Magazine Awards.

4. Professional Enhancement Line. A complete collection of nail enhancement products – Artfinity (Nail Embellishments such as Charms, Bling), Divinity (Acrylic Nail Extension Products), Gelfinity (Hard Gel Nail Extension Products) and Spafinity (Hand and Foot Care Products) are KUPA's exciting newly created product lines. We aim to fill the void left by dealers that are not authorized retailers of Creative Nail Design or OPI products.

5. Our Website. Kupa has developed an extensive website featuring our E-files and Enhancement Products, as well as informative “how to” educational videos that can be viewed on
Kupa TV through our YouTube channel free of charge. https://www.youtube.com/user/KupaInc

WHERE WE ARE GOING

KUPA will continue to create and launch proprietary products that meet the needs of nail technicians. Future products will incorporate technology from within and outside of the nail industry to make the nail technician’s life more convenient, portable, safe and cost-effective. Over the next few years, KUPA will also be developing electronic articles and guides to help nail technicians improve their business as well as their nail-filing skills.