Duane Jury retired from construction in 1995, but knew there was some way he could improve the industry’s work environment.
“When I was doing construction I would ask myself, ‘What do you do with all these cords?'” he said.
The Oregon resident’s concerns prompted his invention, the Cord Tracker. It’s been on the market for four weeks, and already Jury has built a customer base.
His device is made of two aluminum tubes that hang from the ceiling of a truck canopy or van. One tube, with holes cut into it for hanging bungee cords, slides in and out of a larger tube padded with nylon webbing. The bungee cords wind around the cargo to keep it neatly wound in a single-file line, rather than spread out in a tangled mess around the truck bed.
“It started when I decided to cut a knot in a plastic tube and tie it with a bungee cord,” Jury said. “I used that for about a year and a half and then someone suggested I get a patent.”
Jury chose Sapa Inc., an aluminum provider on the West Coast, as the manufacturer.
“I wanted it in plastic but I realized that plastic changes shape. I took it to Sapa and they cut the holes and knotches in the aluminum just like I had in plastic,” he said.
The invention comes in 6-foot-4-inch or 8-foot lengths and can be created for right- or left-handed workers. The shorter design holds up to 18 cords with a total weight of 240 pounds; the 8-foot tracker can hold 24 cords.
Although his invention was intended for contractors, Jury said anyone who experiences cord hassles could use the device.
“As I got older, it was harder for me to jump in my truck and try to find cords,” he said. “Cord Tracker keeps the cords all lined up and makes it easy to pull them out.”
Customers typically e-mail Jury at [email protected] to purchase the product.
You can reach Ebony Horton at [email protected]
