Local Inventor Making Waves In The Hardware Industry

A local inventor has revolutionized a common construction tool.

In construction, studs are placed every 16, and at times 24 inches, however the common tape measure doesn't account for the centre of the stud.

"They always have to count back three quarters on each side and make a mark so the stud is placed in the center," Waldemar Lorenz of FG PRO near Steinbach explains.

It's a quirk in tape measure design that has caused many headaches for contractors over the years, especially those who put up walls on a daily basis.

Lorenz solution was simple, inspired by common sense, the FG PRO Mark King has the inch-and-half wide studs pre-marked on the tape.

"We've had such a good reaction, people just love it," he says.

The locally designed tool is stocked in local retailers, including Winnipeg.

They also print marks on both the top and bottom of the double-sided tape measure blade.

Lorenz was recently at a convention in Las Vegas and says deals are in the works with a number of large U.S box stores.

Speaking with other tape measure manufacturers, Lorenz says they often hear, "why is there nobody else doing this?"

"If you just focus on one thing, you can miss something else," he says. "Sometimes it takes another person with a different perspective to develop something new."

Their first prototype was built in December and they have begun focusing on distribution.