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Scraping five layers of wallpaper – including an olive green floral pattern – off a farmhouse wall took hours.
That was just one of the projects that convinced Justin Kuhn there had to be a faster way to remodel homes.
The Hicksville, Ohio, resident wanted a machine to scrape away old flooring or wallpaper in the houses he was renovating and reselling, but he couldn’t find a device like that in any hardware store. So Kuhn, a welder by trade, decided to create one himself.
In less than two years, his invention – the Spyder Scraper – has made it to store shelves as far away as Australia. Kuhn said he has sold nearly 80,000 of the scraper blades this year, and Do it Best and Ace Hardware stores are stocking them. His company is on the verge of turning a profit, and Kuhn left his day job to market the Spyder Scraper full time.
“I came up with a good idea, and it changed my whole life,” he said.
Kuhn created a thin metal blade that fits into any reciprocating saw. The saw’s motion helps renovators and contractors quickly strip off linoleum or rubber-backed carpeting, he said. The Spyder Scraper also can be used to remove wallpaper or paint from plaster walls, although Kuhn said it may not suitable on softer surfaces such as drywall.
Ace Hardware Corp. franchise owners were clamoring for the product after Kuhn displayed it at the company’s spring convention in Dallas. Ace Hardware moved up its schedule and added the Spyder Scraper to its warehouses during the past month, said Craig Hansen, power tools buyer for the Oakbrook, Ill.-based company. Hansen declined to say how many Spyder Scrapers the company bought, but he said Ace Hardware already has placed a second order to keep pace with demand from its 4,600 stores.
Hansen expects the Spyder Scraper will succeed because the inexpensive item saves homeowners and contractors time. Ace Hardware locations are charging between $10 and $12 for one, and Do it Best Corp. stores are selling the blade for between $9.99 and $12.99. That’s a small price to pay for a product that makes a difficult job easy, he said.
“I think everyone’s going to see the value in getting one,” Hansen said.
The initial demand overwhelmed Kuhn. Do it Best store owners ordered 4,000 Spyder Scrapers when he displayed his invention at the Fort Wayne-based cooperative’s October trade show, he said. At the time, Kuhn was making 50 blades a week in his garage.
Kuhn turned to his cousin, Fort Wayne developer Roger Delagrange, for help. Delagrange, who owns the Cherry Hill and Autumn Ridge golf clubs, became Kuhn’s silent partner in JK Products LLC, the company that markets the Spyder Scraper. With Delagrange’s investment, Kuhn said he was able to find a manufacturer, trademark the Spyder Scraper name and fill the Do it Best show orders.
About 750 Do it Best stores now stock the Spyder Scraper, said Jeff Frazier, the cooperative’s merchandise manager for power tools. Cooperative members honored the Spyder Scraper with the Members’ Choice award at the Do it Best May Market, the cooperative’s biannual trade show. Cooperative members give the award to the 10 most promising products at the show, which had about 1,700 booths.
The Spyder Scraper also won the Retailers’ Choice award at the National Hardware Show in May. A panel of retailers, including Ace Hardware, Do it Best and True Value Hardware store owners, honored 36 innovative products among the thousands displayed at the Las Vegas show, said Dan Tratensek, director of publications for the North American Retail Hardware Association, which gives the awards.
Trade show awards can help startup companies get their products on store shelves, Tratensek said. Entrepreneurs with small production capacities may struggle to get the national chains’ attention, but 32,000 independent hardware stores – including franchises and cooperative members – offer many sales opportunities. But even reaching independent store owners can be difficult without a million-dollar advertising campaign, he said.
Winning a trade show award “gives the smaller manufacturer a chance to break into the industry, which guys like this want,” Tratensek said.
Kuhn’s success comes from his drive as well as his appealing product, Frazier said. Kuhn approached Do it Best to get advice about his invention and how to market it. He was determined to reach out to retailers who could make the product a success, Frazier said.
“He’s really got the desire to push,” Frazier said.
Kuhn left his welding job at steel manufacturer Nucor Corp. in May to market the Spyder Scraper full time. He spends his days drumming up sales and his evenings packaging orders for shipping. His girlfriend, Heather Stayer, is JK Products’ only other employee. She answers phone calls and helps ship orders.
JK Products expects to turn a profit soon, and Kuhn has great expectations for its future. His invention’s patent is pending. Kuhn hopes sales will continue to increase as more stores sell and promote the Spyder Scraper.
“Our company just keeps growing and growing,” he said, “and that’s what we want it to do.”
jglenn@jg.net
