Grant Brown of Madco Machine Inc. uses his new ratchet to tighten a bolt on an engine head. Photo by RANDY FIEDLER/Advocate staff

Burnt knuckles and time spent on hands and knees searching for dropped fasteners proved inspirational for Grant Brown.

The owner of Madco Machine Inc. in Red Deer has developed a unique set of fasteners that eliminates the frustrating and sometimes painful exercise of trying to fit a ratchet socket onto an inaccessible nut. And he thinks they have commercial potential.

Brown’s threaded fasteners snap directly onto a standard ratchet or ratchet extension — eliminating the need for sockets. The fasteners are held in place by the spring ball on the ratchet or extension until they’ve been screwed tight or removed.

The idea behind Madco Fasteners arose as a result of Brown’s longtime involvement in stock car racing. Conventional sockets were an ongoing source of problems when performing tasks like loosening or tightening the nuts on valve covers.

Often, the fasteners would fall out of the sockets.

“Especially when the header is hot, there’s just no possible way of doing it. So you end up jury-rigging something with a socket.”

Brown is optimistic the racing industry will recognize the advantages.

“Potentially we could see some of the Nextel Cup teams using our valve cover fasteners, for instance.”

Socket-head nuts and bolts would also be useful in other settings, suggested Brown.

For instance, fasteners that must be removed frequently or are in sensitive places could be replaced with Madco Fasteners.

“There will be places like that, where the industry will say, ‘You know what, the benefit of knowing those fasteners are never going to fall outweighs the use of conventional fasteners, so we’ll pay a little bit extra.”

Brown has filed for patent protection in Canada, the United States and world-wide under the Patent Co-operation Treaty — a complex process he acknowledges was an eye-opener.

“And a wallet-opener too.”

But he’s now ready to go into production, ideally with the help of a manufacturer that would buy production rights for Madco Fasteners. He hopes to make some connections at the Nov. 12 to 14 National Industrial Fastener Show in Las Vegas, where he’ll have an exhibit.

“That’s where all the big corporate heavyweights will be.”

Brown was at last year’s show scouting for production partners.

“I basically went down with a couple fasteners in my pocket and a clean shirt on.”

Madco Fasteners also gained some exposure at last year’s Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando, Fla. Blaise Gaucher, Brown’s racing crew chief, was there pitching the product.

Brown even auditioned for the CBC program Dragons’ Den, where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of successful business people in hopes of attracting venture capital. Although he failed to earn a spot on the airwaves, the experience was beneficial and gave him some good tips, said Brown.

The big challenge, he said, has been demonstrating the need for socketless fasteners to people who wouldn’t use such equipment.

“Too many of the people I try to pitch the idea to are desk people. That makes it tougher.

“I’ve got to get it into the hands of the user. Once that happens, they’ll bring it to the higher-ups.”

Brown hopes to set up displays in retail fastener shops, and has a Madco Fasteners sign on his racing car. He’s also gotten valuable marketing help from his website designer, Rod Ormon of CodeWest Ltd.

He hopes to soon capitalize on the contacts he’s been making.

But if he hasn’t secured a manufacturer by the end of this winter Brown is prepared to go into production himself — with his Red Deer machine shop the base of operations.

He’s convinced he has a winner, pointing out that billions of threaded fasteners are used every year around the world.

“Just that little sliver of the fastener industry would end up being a huge thing.”

More information about Madco Fasteners can be found online at www.MadcoFasteners.com.