1 (770) 807-7223By Ken Sugiura
The gadgetheads have spoken: They're pushing a cordless yard tool sprung from the minds of two local companies.
Uncrate.com, a popular online magazine that touts the coolest in gadgets, clothes, home decor and the like, recently gave an endorsement to Craftsman Cordless Convertible Tools. Two Gwinnett County outfits, Slingshot Product Development Group and Original Power, did the brainwork behind a system of four yard tools that can be powered by the same rechargeable battery.
Uncrate liked that the tools are cordless, that the batteries provide better-than-average run time and that the one-hour charger has docks for two batteries. You can buy a line trimmer, hedge trimmer, blower and pole saw, sold separately.
"The intent is that one battery would let you complete one task in an average-size yard, and then you switch batteries, and by the time you finish that task, the other battery is charged again," said Noah McNeely, Slingshot's vice president of design, who led a team full of Georgia Tech graduates in creating the system.
Sales have been fair since the line came out last June, Original Power president Kirk Turner said.
The line trimmer, which comes with one battery and the charger, sells for $120 at Sears. The other tools are between $50 and $110. A second battery is $40.
Slingshot is one of the Southeast's leading product design and development organizations. The company's development teams utilize unique and proven strategies to rapidly launch products for clients in a variety of industries, including consumer products, medical, electronics, military/security, automotive, aerospace, toys, and other categories. Slingshot has developed products with dozens of corporate clients including The Coca-Cola Company, Plantronics, Conair, Kimberly Clark, CharBroil and Lockheed, as well as with innovation-based start-ups.
The company offers a full range of product development services including ideation, conceptual design, prototyping, engineering, design for manufacture, packaging and program management. Additionally, sourcing and manufacturer coordination services are offered through Slingshot's Asia office near Shanghai, China.
Slingshot Product Development Group was founded in 2001 by Sam Zaidspiner, President; George Hatzilias, Vice President of Engineering; and Noah McNeely, Vice President of Design.
