If you’ve ever done home repairs or construction, you’ve probably found yourself standing at the top of a ladder, but the tool you need is left on the floor. Or worse, you carried the tool up, only to watch it drop or slip and crash onto the ground below. After many years in construction, Trevis Mayfield decided there had to be a better way.
And that’s why he invented the Multi-Hold-It Tool Holding System. It’s essentially a nylon strap that goes behind your neck and over your shoulders. A D-clip on one end of the strap attaches to you via a belt loop & which side it’s attached depends on left or right-handedness. The other end has a quick-connect/disconnect that attaches to a handle grip fastener wrapped around the handle of a tool. The tool can dangle and be hooked onto a Multi-Hold-It hip clip.
Sales manager Jeff Foster explained, “It frees up both hands. When you need a tool, you can reach down without looking, and it’s there. When you’re finished, put it back on the hip clip.”
Multi-Hold-It was a big hit at the AHMA Hardware Show in Chicago in April and at the recent National Hardware Show in Las Vegas in May.
“We had a demonstration running on our laptop in Las Vegas,” Jeff recalled, “And we almost ran out of CD copies of the demonstration. Seeing the interest among actual buyers and store owners just knocked us over.”
Jeff feels the possible applications are endless. Combining safety and efficiency, he explained that roofers love using it to hold their roofing nail guns. Drills and caulking guns are a natural. And there’s a big demand for extra handle grip fasteners and more hip clips & so customers can just leave one on each tool.
And according to Jeff, people are always coming up with new ideas the company hasn’t even thought up. Gardeners, for example, have suggested using it to hold a bucket for pulled weeds. It can be hooked up to a wheeled suitcase, leaving your hands free in airports. It can be used to carry tackle boxes or bows for bow hunters.. And there’s a huge potential market among paint ball enthusiasts.
“The paintball market is driving us nuts,” Jeff explained, “Because we don’t have time to go after them right now. And it’s a little different setup because we use a barrel grip fastener. All the National Guards are now using paintball guns for training; we’ve talked to a couple of Guard colonels here in Kansas. It gives the Guardsman a way to load more quickly and holds the gun so it’s ready to use all the time. Some National Guardsmen here have bought their own and just love it.”
The company is also currently discussing private labeling Multi-Hold-It for a large hardware retailer in Canada. Other ongoing negotiations include co-packaging with tool manufacturers. They would produce a version in the tool company’s colors with the tool’s logo, and it would be sold as a package.
The product is available through the company’s web site and can be ordered carded (for retailers) or un-carded for individual customers. Everyone pitches in to meet those orders. “We’re all paying our dues,” Jeff noted.
“I’ve been in sales for 30-some years,” he said. “This is the first product that has had no negatives mentioned. I’ve never been so excited about a product in my life.”
