"Spin Clean" Inventor Finds Opportunities at INPEX
Being a painter can be expensive. The average painting crew of three changes their paint rollers approximately three times in one day. At $3 a roller, that adds up to $6,750 a year just purchasing rollers!
That's what inspired Dennis Hutchinson to invent the "Spin Clean." The invention consists of two parts, The Gripper and The Spin Clean. The Gripper allows users to easily remove wet, messy paint roller covers from the frame for cleaning without getting paint on their hands. The Spin Clean is a simple tool that cleans paint roller covers to the core, making them ready for reuse in sixty seconds. It can also be used to mix paint.
Hutchinson came to INPEX in 2004 to exhibit the Spin Clean. "My partner, Fred Clemente, found INPEX while searching on the Internet, and we decided to give it a shot," he said. "Now that I look back on it, I'm so glad that we did."
The Spin Clean won two awards at the INPEX International Awards Dinner, a Bronze Medal in Construction and a Bronze Medal in Hardware and Tools. Hutchinson was ecstatic upon learning that his invention had won awards. "Winning the awards at INPEX was like winning that high school football championship all over again. What a feeling! I was so proud."
While at INPEX, Hutchinson showed the Spin Clean to a panel of judges at the Electronic Retailers Association (ERA) New Products Panel Review. His invention was one of 30 chosen to be invited to participate in the ERA New Product Showcase in Las Vegas last September.
Hutchinson also has some other possibilities in the works. He's currently talking with a representative from a high-quality door and window company in Norway that specializes in home improvement products.
He is also in talks with Glidden® for a cross-promotion deal with their paint and his invention. Hutchinson said that he has attended several trade shows, and has been trying to make direct sales. "I've been selling them outright, and what I've brought has sold out in the first day." Because of this response, he has been working with QVC about the possibility of airing the Spin Clean in one of their segments. Hutchinson is also in discussions with ACE Hardware to sell the product in their hardware stores.
In March of 2005, Hutchinson attended the International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago as part of Inventors' Corner with INPEX. While there, a television crew from the Home and Garden Television Channel (HGTV) approached him and talked to him about the Spin Clean. He later found out that the segment was going to air on Father's Day. "After it aired, we had 1,400 hits on our Web site that same day from people wanting to know where they could get this," Hutchinson said.
Inventors' Corner is a special INPEX program for inventors who would like to exhibit at a national trade show. Instead of exhibiting alone, inventors can pay INPEX a fee to be a part of the INPEX display along with other inventors. The advantage of being in the Inventors' Corner is that the area is publicized and promoted by the Home & Housewares Show as an area to find inventors in the housewares' field.
Hutchinson hopes to attend INPEX in the future because he felt that the 2004 show was so beneficial. "The Inventor's University [was worth the cost of the booth], and I really felt like the speakers and seminars there were very useful to me as an inventor," Hutchinson said.
He urges inventors to attend INPEX if they can. "I felt that there was such a wealth of knowledge at INPEX, and I encourage anyone to go if they can possibly go. It gave me tremendous confidence to mingle with people like myself, and I really came out of INPEX with such a positive experience."
For more information about the Spin Clean, you can visit Hutchinson's Web site at www.spinclean.com.
While the above exhibitor's experience is not typical of what most INPEX exhibitors can expect from attending the trade show, the events reported are a result of what can happen from attending INPEX – The Invention Show.
