Design Exchange Awards
By Design Engineering staff
General awards InnovationCanadian inventors recognized for their innovative creations
Award of Merit
Company: Sport Systems Unlimited Corp.
Product: Industrial sawhorse
Often, the best innovations are bred out of necessity. When the workers at Sport Systems Unlimited Corp. started using their extruded aluminum tubing—normally used to make arena boards—to hold up large loads on the plant floor, they knew they had an innovation that could hold its weight.
From this, the Waterloo, Ont.-based company developed a range of heavy-duty industrial sawhorses. Constructed from tempered aluminum extrusions, each of the company’s standard 32-inch model sawhorses weights less than 50 pounds but has a safe working load limit of 1,500 pounds for centre-point loads and 3,700 pounds for distributed loads. The company has also designed specialized versions that can safely carry a distributed load of 12,000 pounds per pair.
The introduction of this product is part of Sport Systems’ corporate strategy to diversify the company beyond hockey boards. Their new customers typically manufacture very heavy equipment or machinery, such as jet engines, electrical boxes and mining equipment.
www.horsesbeforethecarts.com
Award of Merit
Company: Brushpoint Innovations Inc.
Product: Pulsating Power Toothbrush
Brushpoint Innovations Inc. of King City, Ont. designed its Pulsating Power Toothbrush to have the same features as national brands but cost less to produce. Developed so as not to infringe on competitors’ patents, the toothbrush uses a single AAA battery to power a 1.5V motor, which turns a long articulating shaft running up to the head of the toothbrush. The shaft has a unique offset design which, when rotated, causes the split head of the brush to vibrate up and down.
www.promotionalelements.com/brushpoint
