Above, inventor Marco Longley (second from right) of Richmond shows how his product, The Heft, can even be attached to a mic boom while filming a followup segment for CBC's Dragons' Den at Fortin's Home Hardware in Chilliwack on Saturday.
The Heft is a secondary handle that is easily attached to tools — such as snow shovels, brooms, and long-handled gardening tools — which makes tools more ergonomic, reducing pain, fatigue and potential injury for the worker.
Longley originally appeared on Dragons' Den in December 2012, where he went on the show with zero sales and ended up making a deal. Earlier that year, he was at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas where he won a bronze medal for new inventions.
After years of fine-tuning the product and it finally being mass-produced, Saturday was the first time Longley had seen his product in stores.
He named his product The Heft because is sounds strong, says wife Anne, but it also unofficially stands for "highly effective fulcrum tool."
The Heft is exclusive to Home Hardware stores across Canada and retails for around $20.
Read more about Marco Longley in the Richmond Review, our sister paper:Dec. 4, 2012 - Richmond inventor to appear on Dragons' DenDec. 6, 2012 - Richmond inventor gets offer on Dragons' Den
