I recently tried out a brand new product from Skan Technologies. The product, WurkPads (pictured above), is a new style of knee pads that secure comfortably to your pants without the typical uncomfortable straps that go behind your knees. For those working professionals that need this kind of protection, this is a product that you should definitely try.
Below you will find excerpts from my interview with James Williams, CEO of Skan Technologies (www.skantechnologies.com). I met Jim via a Linked-In group we were both members of online. He was gracious enough to take part in this interview.
James Williams, WurkPads Creator
CHUCK: Tell me a little about your background and what it is that you do today?
JIM: I am owner of Skan Technologies, LLC. I started Skan Tech as a way to bring my ideas from the drawing board to the market. Most of my ideas revolve around ergonomics and efficiency. Whenever I am doing something my mind naturally starts spinning in the background looking for a better way to achieve the desired end result. If I have an idea I write it down or make a voice note on my phone. Tinkering in my shop is one of my favorite hobbies so I’ll make a prototype out of junk I have laying around and see if there is any future for the idea. The downside of this is that I tend to save old vacuum cleaners and other broken stuff. Fortunately I have plenty of space behind my shop in Alaska to hide my stuff so our house doesn’t resemble a hoarder’s domain. Of course starting up a product development company is not cheep so I still commercial fish in Alaska 4-5 months a year to augment our income. I started fishing for crab (Deadliest Catch) back in the ’80s when Dutch Harbor was the wild west and the Elbowroom gained it’s reputation. Now I primarily fish for Halibut.
CHUCK: Where did you come up with the idea for WurkPads?
JIM: Tension on the Fishing Vessel Kilkenny was high during the summer Shelikof Straits Scallop season so we decided to take a break for a week. I used this time to begin work on an out building on our property in Homer, Alaska. I was putting in the sub floor, hating the latest set of kneepads that I had purchased because the strap kept biting into the back of my thighs and calves. The idea for a strapless kneepad had been circulating through my grey matter for some time and on this day it surfaced again. “How can a get rid of this freaking strap” kept spinning in the background. I was blinded by the bright light that came on in my mind and immediately went to my shop to tinker. I had some old suspender clips and foam from work I had done on the NeckAid project so I pulled my utility knife out of my tool belt, trimmed out an oval, and after modifying the suspender clips, attached them to the edges with pop rivets. Voila, a strapless kneepad was born.
A prototype of the WurkPads
CHUCK: How long did it take you to get from prototype to product available for purchase?
JIM: A long time. The light that seared my retina came on in June of 2006 and I told myself that I was going to steamroll this product to the market as fast as humanly possible. We received our first run of 1500 pair in August 2010. Not exactly steamrolling. The winter of 2006-07 I refined the hand-tooled prototypes and got them into the hands of tradesmen. My parents were building a house at the time so we had a few sets on the site for the subs to try. Of course there were issues with the crude prototypes but we had an overwhelming thumbs up from those who tried them. I searched for a company to help engineer and produce the product and came across GID (www.gidcompany.com). The product development time line was agonizingly slow since Jim Grimes and I are both perfectionists. I would tell him what I wanted. He would come up with a better solution than my idea. We would get a prototype made. I would test the prototype. I would make suggestions based on field tests that I performed. We would make another prototype. etc. Grimes and I are both strong headed but once the wax is cleared from the ears we both are open to alternative view points and solutions. The collaboration was synergistic.
CHUCK: What types of professionals are using the WurkPads?
JIM: Carpenters, plumbers, tile guys, utility workers, handymen, landscapers, gardeners. We have a few large corporations that offer it in their PPE crib. We are working on getting it to the Air force and National Guard.
CHUCK: I heard the WurkPad will soon be available in the big box home improvement retail stores, when will that happen?
JIM: We have gotten the green light from one of them. When the buyer saw the product he said that it “screamed quality” and wanted to keep the quality standard for their high volume purchases. We are negotiating the deal this week. I imagine it will be available from the big boys sometime in 2011. In the meantime product can be purchased from Skan Tech’s website (www.skantechnologies.com). You have to see the user video on the site to appreciate the product.
CHUCK: Any plans on the drawing table for new products?
JIM: Yes. There are several… if your readers want to see them they’ll have to sign a non-compete agreement or look for them on the Skan Tech website in hopefully less than 4 years.
CHUCK: Any advice you can offer a ‘wanna be’ inventor?
JIM: It’s not for the faint of heart. Write your ideas down and test them out if possible. Treat it as an expensive hobby and maybe you’ll make some $ down the road. Get a good patent attorney. I can recommend one. Even if you think you know what you’re doing legal counsel is still a must. There are a lot of scams out there that just want to take the inventor’s money and never really put any effort into their ideas.
To learn more or purchase a pair, go to www.skantechnologies.com. Jim has offered a $5 discount to my readers to purchase a pair of WurkPads. Click on ‘Contact’ on the top menu and send me a request for details.
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