It’s been six months since the tarp was lifted on Elite Innovations, Wilmington’s first maker space for entrepreneurs and inventors, and co-founders Andrew Williams and Brian Escarsega have quickly emerged as trusted go-to guys for inventors with a dream.

The South 18th Street facility is attracting a growing mix of blue- and white-collar inventors who want to share their ideas with the world. The maker space – part shop floor, part meeting space – equips its users with high- and low-tech tools and gives them a place to introduce concepts, get advice, tinker with prototypes and gear up for sales.

In a corner workspace recently, Williams, Elite’s CEO, demonstrated an air-powered hex nut driver he’s perfecting with Charles Hawley, a 67-year-old retiree who’s “aha moment” came while puttering in his woodworking shop in Bolivia.  

“Especially here on the coast, contractors have to hand-thread those nuts up and down rods that sometimes reach the second floor,” Williams explained. “The nut wheel decreases that time significantly,” eliminating tedious labor, allowing follow-on work to start sooner, speeding project completion and shaving costs.

Hawley received a patent for his nut wheel last July. Manufacturing will be managed by Williams and is scheduled to start this summer, with hopes of getting shelf space at Lowe’s or Home Depot.

Growing membership

The maker space currently hosts about 35 inventors – up from an initial six last fall – and more than 20 open projects are now being pursued using CAD software, 3-D printing, metal fabricating, vinyl cutting and numerous other tools.

The monthly membership fee is $25 for individual inventors and $50 for teams and small businesses. Military veterans get half off, and there is no charge for students.
About half of Elite Innovations’ clients bring in longer-term contract work that generates the most profits. Workshops on CAD usage, skateboard building and assembling small drones help pay the rent. The maker space also hosts Wired Wizards, a team of high school robotics enthusiasts.

Filling a gap

For Williams, commercialization is all about “test, refine, test, refine,” and that’s especially true as he continues working with Misael Otero, a Hampstead dentist who hopes to market an affordable denture to the poor, the uninsured and those without easy access to a practitioner.

“Nationwide, there are over 64 million people who do not have teeth,” Otero said, making his concept of an at-home, DIY denture marketable, he believes.

Assembling hundreds of molds from patients across the country and measuring them, Otero determined the average-size dentures that should be developed: five sizes in all, to be sold over the counter and online, and each offered in tones that complement gum tissue, teeth color and ethnicity.

Placing the denture in boiling water will alter the shape of the gum tissue and make it wearable, Otero explained. The DIY kit will include an upper and lower denture, a carrying case, adhesive and a cleaning tablet, all for around $80.

Since October, Otero has consulted with Williams on appropriate plastics, and about 20 different molds are being developed into prototypes to be tested on patients.

“Our foot is in the door with many, many different types of manufacturers, especially injection molding,” Williams noted.

Otero hopes to have his product available in 2016.

Other products in development include a truck bed extender that makes it easier to haul lengthy equipment without having it drop to the ground and a buoyant, anchor-equipped backpack, invented by Escarsega, to help surfers maintain their position in the water.

“I’ve had this idea in my head for probably eight years now,” said Escarsega, who believes the device is ideal for use at surf camps.

Meanwhile, Williams, an ex-Marine, has sold about 30,000 units of TacLace, a rapid-fire “pull, cinch and wrap” boot-lacing system that he devised in Afghanistan and improved in Wilmington with Escarsega. It’s being marketed to military personnel, first responders and outdoor enthusiasts.

Last-minute access

Corey Heim, Dry Corp’s chief operating officer, has transferred some prototype development to Elite Innovations from China.

The move wasn’t made for cost reasons but for quicker turnaround time.

“You have better control hands-on … doing something that day can make a difference,” Heim feels, especially if a trade show is imminent.

Williams is working with Heim on an as-needed basis.

“Manufacturing will slowly shift into U.S. favor, but until the exchange rate gets close enough to outweigh the cost of shipping from China, it is going to be tough for people to pursue the commercial markets with entirely U.S.-made products,” Williams said.

“With that being said, places like this offer expertise on how to overcome those cost differences and at least identify the product types we can bring stateside.”

Nailing down jobs

By creating a home for inventors who lack hardware, software or practical experience in product development, Elite Innovations has become the latest link in an expanding chain of local resources for startups and growing businesses.

The new maker space now operates alongside organizations such as tekMountain, MARBIONC, Cape Fear Community College’s Small Business Center and University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, whose director, Jim Roberts, continues to refer a variety of leads to the space. Others making referrals include Sean Ahlum, director of business development at tekMountain, who sees Elite Innovations as another way to keep promising talent in town.

The City of Wilmington is also showing growing interest in the space as a way to generate more jobs and tax revenues. 

Led by city manager Sterling Cheatham, more than a dozen city officials visited Elite Innovations in December “to see some of the innovation and creativity that’s happening,” said city spokeswoman Malissa Talbert. “That’s the exact type of thing that we need to encourage here.”

“I see this space creating businesses, creating jobs and impacting the regional economy,” predicted Williams. “I think that maker spaces are the new industrial revolution.”
 

IN THE HOPPER

Established companies and part-time tinkerers are making use of the Elite Innovationsmaker space. Here are some of the products being worked on in the shop.
 
Locally based Dry Corp has its own facility in Wilmington and manufacturing connections in China to make its line of waterproof electronics cases and accessories. But it still has turned to the maker space to help prototype some new products quicker than sending abroad.
 
Charles Hawley is developing an air-powered driver that would help builders thread hex nuts quicker. He received a patent for it in July and hopes to start manufacturing this summer.
 
Hampstead dentist Misael Otero is working on a way to allow people to make their own set of dentures at home. The DIY kits would let users easily alter the shapes to fit them. He sees the kits being available for purchase over the counter and online.
 
Clay Skelton invented the OrigoSafe device with the aim of cutting down distracted driving. The docking station requires the driver’s phone to be inserted while the car is running. Drivers can be connected through hands-free technology such as Bluetooth, but they can’t hold or look at their phone. While developers see a market for families concerned about teen drivers, the company also targets commercial fleets, allowing employers to monitor their drivers’ habits.