Duluthian's invention goes down the drain
Zip-It designed to clean out clogs

8-31-00

By Peter Passi
News Tribune staff writer

Gene Luoma of Duluth doesn't mind seeing his hard work go down the drain. In fact, he hopes it will.

As the creator of the Zip-It -- a patent-pending device that helps clean sink, bath and shower drains -- Luoma dreams of a day when his product will be fished into in bathroom pipes throughout the nation.

He's in the process of manufacturing, packaging and shipping his first orders of product to Menards this week. The nation-wide home-improvement store has ordered 35,000 Zip-Its. The product is expected to sell for $2.95.

Jeff Evans, a buyer for Menards, confirmed that Luoma's drain cleaner would be appearing on store shelves in September. However, Evans said company policy prohibits him from discussing the merits of or market for any specific product.

On that count, not surprisingly, Luoma is happy to oblige. ``This is a simple solution to an age-old problem,'' he said.

Luoma said the average person loses between 50 and 150 hairs per day, and most of those strands wash into the drain.

He estimates that more than 90 percent of the drain problems people encounter result from a build-up of hair in the first several inches of pipe below sink-, tub- or shower-floor level. Chemical drain cleaners often flow past these clumps of hair without removing them and can take hours to work. What's more, Luoma said many of the products are potentially bad for the environment.

He recalls repeatedly taking apart the bathroom drains in his house and using bent-up clothes hangers to clean them out. Finally, last fall, Luoma decided there had to be a better solution.

He carved a strip of plastic from the bottom of an old snow sled and cut barbs into its sides. When he stuck the strip into a slow-running drain and pulled it out, it came back with a fistful of hair.

That Christmas, he made more of the drain cleaners and gave them away as gifts to friends and family. ``I didn't think much about it afterwards,'' Luoma recalled. ``I threw it in a drawer and didn't expect to do anything more.''

The overwhelmingly positive response of people who had tried his device made Luoma consider marketing it. He researched to see if anything like his drain cleaner had ever been patented, and he found it was unique.

He applied for a patent and began refining his product. Luoma experimented with several different plastics before settling on one with the right properties. He found a nylon blend mixed with other plastic fillers gave the strip the strength and flexibility he sought.

Luoma also invested in the development of a detailed plastic-injection mold with barbs that were fine enough to catch hairs yet strong enough to endure repeated use.

He then took the product to his nephew, Dan Stocke, an accomplished marketer who Luoma contends could sell ice cubes to Eskimos.

Stocke contacted an acquaintance at Berglund Elnes Associates, a Twin Cities-based distributor with ties to Menards. In February, Menards looked at the product prototype and agreed to carry it.

The product also has been warmly received at trade shows, including an event recently hosted by the International Executive Housekeepers Association in Louisville.

Destry Holmes, a marketing coordinator for the Association, said the product caused a stir. ``People really seemed excited by it.''

Luoma explained that housekeepers working everywhere from hotels to college dormitories are hungry for an easy and effective way to clear drains of problem hair. Stocke gave away hundreds of sample Zip-Its at the show in Louisville, but Luoma said the expense was worth it, as several orders have resulted.

Developing new products comes naturally to Luoma, who grew up on a farm near Floodwood.

With nine brothers and sisters, Luoma quickly learned how to improvise. ``If there was a problem of some kind, you had to look around and see what you could find to solve it with,'' he said. ``Money was a tool that we just didn't have.''

Luoma didn't pursue a career in agriculture, but the lessons of the farm have served him well during 30 years of work as an engineer and designer. He now owns and operates his own business, Design Pro, a company that designs and builds steel molds for the concrete industry.

He also has put his skills to work at several other businesses, from Control Data to Jeno's, where he designed and patented a machine to perforate pizza crusts.

On the side, Luoma has developed and patented several other inventions, including a machine for placing and retrieving plastic traffic cones, a portable solar-powered traffic light for use in construction zones and a draw-back device to assist bow hunters.

Luoma now recognizes the Zip-It could reach a wider market than anything else he ever designed. Flying back from a trip recently, Luoma said he looked down on all the houses below. ``It made me think... Every one of them has a drain.''

Luoma Enterprises expects to launch a Web site --
www.zipitclean.com -- in September.

Peter Passi covers business and development. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 279-5526 or by e-mail: ppassi@duluthnews.com