Out of roughly 3,000 people participating in Lowe’s “Into the Blue Product Pitch Event” for small businesses, the owners of the T-Rex Ripper Staple & Nail Extractor emerged victorious, winning a purchase order from the major retail chain, which will sell their product in all 1,700 Lowe’s locations for 90 days until May 24.
Jerry Sindt of Aloha, Ore.-based Sindt Tools LLC, learned of the opportunity while scrolling on Facebook in the summer of 2022. He applied online and was selected to pitch the product at Lowe’s tech center in Charlotte, N.C., competing against thousands of other small businesses and their products.
“We made six pitches that day and made it to the end to win a huge purchase order in the hand tool category,” Sindt says. “It was an amazing day—like being on a game show that you have been working hard to win for 12 years.”
Lowe’s is carrying Sindt’s 15-inch T-Rex Ripper Staple & Nail Extractor/Demolition Pry Bar. Sindt also offers a 21-inch model on Amazon.
“Winning such a large purchase order from Lowe's is a game-changer for us,” Sindt says.
Sindt, his brother, Jason, who invented the T-Rex Ripper, and their partner Ron Warren, who passed away in 2019, had been working on the product for a dozen years, says Sindt: “It is a relief to finally make some headway.”
“The exposure we will get from being at 1,700 stores is invaluable,” Sindt adds. “It makes it easier to get in the door at other retailers and wholesalers.”
