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Needing a 'better way' led to Bucket Buddy invention |
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By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition |
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November 7, 2002 -- "There's got to be a better way" is the seed of an idea that has grown into a patent-pending, power shovel implement that Larry Humphrey calls a Bucket Buddy. While clearing cedar trees from a fence line about two years ago, Humphrey, of Emory, built himself a "crude" version of a tool that assisted in the chore. The tool, in the shape of a big shovel, attached to Humphrey's 38-horsepower tractor's front-end loader. After realizing the efficient way the tool worked to dig down and sever roots, plus scoop out the tree, Humphrey thought others could use such a labor-saving device. "I made a prototype first; I just built it for me to use," he said. Humphrey used the power shovel on small trees while cleaning up the area around his assisted-living facility, The Rosemont, in Sulphur Springs. Even though he thought about marketing the implement after he had such personal success with it, a couple of years passed before he acted on it. "I had the idea for it in my mind and I built a couple of crude versions of it," Humphrey said. When he had the design that worked best, he took it to Sulta Manufacturing in Sulphur Springs. The Bucket Buddy has a universal mounting and adjustable links so it fits most front-end loader buckets. The power shovel portion of the implement is made of 3/8-inch steel, rolled. The main force of the implement comes from the tractor's hydraulics that govern the bucket. As plans for marketing the new creation evolved, Humphrey created Bucket Buddy Products, a company for his implement. He has advanced through the patent legalities with the Bucket Buddy to have it declared "patent pending." "They (patent agency) said they would let me know by 2004" about whether the patent would be granted, he added. Sulta manufactured 25 Bucket Buddys, and Humphrey has been marketing them to area tractor dealerships. Already he has agreements with Farm Country in Sulphur Springs, Pittsburg Tractor in Pittsburg, Paris Farm and Ranch Center in Paris, and Deen Implement Company in Forney. These dealerships will sell the implement, Humphrey projects, for $525 to $550. "The dealers have all been receptive" about the Bucket Buddy, the inventor said. One of the first dealers Humphrey contacted was Farm Country's co-owner Danny Cooksey. "He wanted to try it out first, so he put it on a 100-horsepower tractor and dug up some trees at his mother's house," Humphrey said. Cooksey said a test run of the implement proved its durability. "I tried to tear it up and couldn't." The pine trees he took out by using the Bucket Buddy were about eight inches in diameter. "It's a good design and it's economical ... a lot cheaper than a bulldozer." Cooksey said the Bucket Buddy is ideal for "landscapers or weekend warriors." Humphrey is marketing the Bucket Buddy as a multi-use attachment. Not only is it a labor saver for tree removal, but it can also be used to excavate soil, transplant trees, and can be used as a trencher that doesn't leave mounds of dirt on the ditch's sides. Humphrey can be reached at 903-473-4260 or by e-mail at ccc@1starnet.com. |
