The Bigg Lugg Story - From Inventor PETER KAHN

I invented BIGGLUGG 8 years ago when I was a contractor. It was my response to the frustrating predicament of how to keep the cordless screw gun close at hand. Despite the availability of hammer loops, knife sheeths, nail pouches, etc., there was no good way of carrying a cordless screw gun.

Everyone did the same idiotic things with these expensive tools. Stick it in a tool pouch, grab it between your thighs, stick it under your arm or put it on top of a stepladder. So, after doing the above for so long and watching my new Dewalt slide off the roof, I went inside the client's house and grabbed a metal coat hanger, twisted it up to hang from my work belt and hold the drill. I thought, "hey, this is definitely easier and safer but a little crude." It worked well enough, though, that I decided to rent a house Montauk, Long Island (known as "the end"---the closest place in the U.S. to the U.K.) and work at nights to make a real product to solve this nagging problem. "The end" took on new meaning, as this became the end of cronic frustration and the beginning of Bigg Lugg Incorporated.

This brought me to the next stage of my life: marketing my little invention.

I went down some twisting roads but finally found a guy that took it to market while I manufactured it in the USA with the help of my Hispanic worker's families working at home, also known as "cottage industry." This was a means to keep costs down and not have to open a factory that would be very expensive and increase costs. I am eternally grateful for the help of our southern neighbors, enabling me to produce this at a cost that was not prohibitive for the average workperson.

Once the demand increased for the product, and could no longer keep up with production, it went to a factory on Long Island, New York; then a professional knock-off artist got around my patent and brought a Taiwanese product to the market, forcing me to look toward mainland China for manufacturing. Once this began, I was able to work on a pet project of mine: a pneumatic nail gun carrier. This took me three years and countless prototypes, to arrive at a solution. This gave birth to the two-part system known as Bigg Lugg 2: a bungee-and-ball to wrap around any tool, and a cushioned belt-clip receptable. Together, this system carries any tool under 10 lbs.

Then, once again, another situation arose when putting up crown moulding in my farmstead and rested my pneumatic nailer on top of a six-foot Werner ladder. Ignoring the inherant danger in doing this, I proceeded to cut a piece of moulding, kick the air hose, thereby knocking the brad nailer onto my 110-year-old wooden floor. I immediately went outside to my shop, and fabricated what became known later as "Ladder Lugg." From prototype to mold to finished product, one needs a CAD programmer, in this case, Ken Bertoli, my longstanding brilliant CAD designer. We've continued to work together for the past four years, and look forward to many years of collaboration.

Thanks to all the people that have helped me realize my ideas, and all those who have bought and used my products thought the years. I look forward to the next ten years of bringing innovative products to the market --- products which help make work safer, less frustrating, and more convenient.

Peter
AKA The frustration buster!
[Contact Peter Kahn]