The definition of “excellence” I feel exemplifies what our judges look for in the recipient of the INPEX Award of Excellence:

excellence n. – possessing good qualities in high degree

Each year, the INPEX Award of Excellence is given to an exhibitor who not only conceives an innovative idea but also possesses good qualities in high degree as an inventor and human being. At INPEX 2008 this year, that exhibitor was:

Gary Copus,
San Joaquin, Calif.

Gary is the brains behind Copus Industries LLC, a sheet metal fabrication and manufacturing company committed to excellence and driven by charity. At INPEX 2008, Gary exhibited the “Rollerboard Load Handler”, a device that makes loading and unloading pickup trucks and SUVs easier.

Made of steel, the product fits most full-sized standard bed pickup trucks and large SUVs with tailgates. A person first places the invention into the back of a truck or SUV, then loads cargo on top of it. When an individual gets to the unloading area, he or she simply opens the tailgate and rolls out the cargo.

Gary hopes his invention can help people avoid injuries like the neck and back pains he suffered from regularly loading and unloading his pickup truck. He even puts his invention to use on a daily basis. “I use it for going to the dump yard and for rose bush clippings and groceries. It never leaves my vehicle,” he said.

INPEX thanks and congratulates exhibitor Gary Copus for his continual pursuit of excellence!

For those who don’t know, Zagreb is the capital and largest city in Croatia. It’s also the cultural, scientific, economic and governmental center of the country. Zagreb even hosts its own annual invention trade show, ARCA – which will be taking place next week (September 16-21, 2008). ARCA is an international exhibition of novelties, new ideas, new products and technologies.

And ARCA is just one example of Zagreb’s interest in promoting invention, innovation and technology. Another example is the city’s presence at the InventHelp INPEX Trade Show. At INPEX 2008, representatives from the Zagreb Inventors Association were in attendance to hand out a special award to a worthy INPEX exhibitor. And that exhibitor was

Steve Baker
Goleta, Calif.

Baker received the Zagreb Inventors Association Special Award for his invention “DUS-T™”, a protective mask and t-shirt combination. This distinct accessory provides wearers with immediate access to protection from harmful inhalants, such as germs, dust or chemicals.

Baker’s work as a contractor led him to invent the “DUS-T™” for his own, daily use. “I suffered every day with poor-fitting, expensive disposable masks that didn’t work well,” said Baker. “You can trust the DUS-T™ to always be there, so I use that now.

Thanks to the Zagreb Inventor’s Association for traveling to InventHelp’s INPEX Invention Show and handing out this special award to inventor Steve Baker!

Among the special awards handed out to inventors at INPEX are four regional awards. INPEX exhibitors are grouped by country, and winners for “Best Invention” are selected from Europe, the Far East, the Pacific Rim and the Americas (North and South). Since we have inventors and delegations from all over the world at INPEX, choosing a winner in each category is no easy task. In today’s blog, I’d like to formally announce the INPEX 2008 winner for Best Invention of the Americas. And that winner is:

Best Invention of the Americas
Mitch Marcovici, New Providence, N.J., U.S.A.

Mitch received the award for his invention, the “ScrewMaster™” – a tool that enables individuals to tighten and loosen screws more efficiently. Mitch came up with the idea for his invention after working with screwdrivers that he felt just weren’t getting the job done optimally.

“I had to unscrew a long bolt and it took a long time,” said Marcovici. “That caused me to think of a faster and more practical screwdriver.”

As a solution, he devised the “ScrewMaster”, which would double, or quadruple the speed of fastening or loosening a screw or nut – while requiring no additional torque from the user. Made from steel materials, the invention would feature a design similar to traditional screwdrivers, but with an added “Efficient Mechanical Rectifier” application that makes screwing quicker and easier.

Congratulations to Mitch on receiving the Best Invention of the Americas award at InventHelp’s 2008 INPEX Invention Show! In addition to this award, Mitch also was named INPEX Grand Prix Second Runner-Up and awarded $2,000.

Here are the other regional award winners from INPEX 2008:

Best Invention of the Pacific Rim
Chua Kek Heng, DiagnoCARD, Malaysia

Best Invention of the Far East
Lim, Jung-Min, Tutu CupHolder, Korea

Best Invention of Europe
Rudolph Harbeck, Mobile Flood Protection, Germany

Though overlooked in past generations due to gender inequality, women inventors are responsible for many of the world’s greatest products and innovations (for a sampling, visit InventHelp’s Famous Women Inventors Web site). To recognize the great strides and accomplishments of women inventors, InventHelp’s INPEX Invention Show honors one exhibitor each year with the Woman Inventor of the Year Award. The recipient of this award has a truly inventive and entrepreneurial spirit, representative of all the women inventors in attendance at INPEX.

We are proud to announce the 2008 INPEX Woman Inventor of the Year award was presented to:

Marlonia Ivy
Corona, Calif.

Marlonia Ivy invented an illumination system for homes and businesses called the “Morning Star Seasonal Lights”. The idea behind the invention is to simplify the process of holiday decorating and eliminate the unsightliness of festive lights left up well after the holiday season has passed.

“Seeing Christmas lights left up months after the holiday affected the overall appearance of our neighborhood,” said Ivy. “It was a real eye sore.”

Like any good inventor, Marlonia saw a problem and used her creative mind to solve it. Unlike traditional holiday lights, the Morning Star Lights are designed to remain safely and tactfully affixed to a home’s exterior all year round. This eliminates the hassle of mounting and removing holiday lights with the change of seasons. In addition, the lights can be set to blink to music, activate automatically when pedestrians and cars roll by or operated by remote control.

Congratulations to Marlonia Ivy for being named INPEX’s 2008 Woman Inventor of the Year!

Greetings and salutations inventors and entrepreneurs,

While it seems like we just wrapped INPEX 2008, it’s already time to get to work on InventHelps 2009 INPEX Invention Trade Show! That’s right, here at INPEX, we work year round to make sure each show is the best it can possibly be. And we want the 2009 show – our 25^th annual – to be one for the record books!

With that in mind, here are the dates and hours for the 2009 show:

INPEX – June 24-26, 2009

Wednesday, June 24 – 12pm-6pm

Thursday, June 25 – 11am-6pm

Friday, June 26 – 11am-5pm (open to the public 2pm-5pm)

Just like this year’s show, INPEX 2009 will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. We thought this “green” building was a great fit for INPEX and we hope to take further advantage of this beautiful facility at next year’s show. Inventors, make sure to mark your calendars now so you’ll be available to attend the 25^th annual Invention and New Product Exposition (INPEX) in Pittsburgh!

And, if you book a booth for INPEX 2009 today, you can save $200 off the regular price! That’s right, with the INPEX Early-Bird Special, if you purchase a booth now through September 30, 2008, you’ll receive a $200 discount! To receive the INPEX Early-Bird Special, call 1-888-54-INPEX or fill out our online information request.

See you at the 2009 show!!