Kerry Hammond has learned the hard way that just because he can build a unique product, it doesn’t mean the customers will come.
Two year ago, the Tofield, Alta., farmer designed a press frame to work with a porta power kit. But so far it hasn’t generated the kind of sales needed to pay the bills.
However, he isn’t ready yet to give up on his invention, which he calls the PortAPress.
Porta power kits, which include a hydraulic pump, extension ends and adapters, are typically used in the autobody trade for frame straightening and as jacks.
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“If you start a business you just can’t give up,” Hammond said.
“You have to set your sights on the far end of the tunnel and keep going.”
One of his challenges is to convince farmers that his tool, also suitable for the oil, and pulp and paper industries, should be a staple for their operations.
“It’s just not a tool that’s been associated with farming much yet, but that will come,” he said.
Hammond invented a C-frame press compatible with any porta power by a threaded interchangeable nut. This nut ensures the threading fits into the press.
With Hammond’s frame, the tool becomes more versatile and can do jobs like removing bearings from combines and straightening metal dents. Straightening shafts and angle irons and pressing pulleys off shafts are other potential uses for farmers.
With a 335 degree working radius, the tool can also be used as a vice clamp, and as a jack in tight conditions, Hammond said. Because his PortAPress is easy to move to the field, it can reduce farmers down-time during harvest, he said.
“It’s like fertilizer. It costs money to put it in the ground but then it makes money.”
Hammond, who worked in the sheet metal industry for years as a welder and fabricator, said this isn’t his first project. He designed the conveyor belts for Edmonton’s recycling system and also devised a grain bin aeration system.
Neighbors and friends often ask him to help solve problems, he said, adding he is adept with a wide range of tools.
“I guess it’s God’s blessing to have a lot of different skills but it can be a curse because I get asked to do everything.”
He decided to design a press frame after talking to a neighbor who had an idea that he asked Hammond to turn into reality. After looking at the design, Hammond was interested but wanted to make it more versatile.
“I like manufacturing. I wanted to get back into it,” he said, adding he now makes all the C-frame presses on his farm.
He and his wife Lois have sold more than 100 presses and Hammond hopes that will increase to 100 a month within two years.
“There are a lot of hurdles. When you start you don’t know everything that will be there.”
Liability insurance for the tool costs thousands a year and patenting costs add up, too, he said.
As the couple raises their four kids, living on income tax payments and working at off-farm jobs, it’s easy to become discouraged, said Lois.
But then buyers start calling and the situation looks better, she said.
Now the two are searching for the right marketer for their product.
“Building the thing is easy. Marketing is the hardest part,” said Hammond, adding they have a few retailers and also get sales through farm and trade shows.
