Success – MixKwik Tool Company LLC

New Product Development
MixKwik – Teton Valley, Idaho

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MixKwik is Better Than a Handshake

Kip Blair invented the MixKwik Spray Paint Shaker in his hometown of Victor, Idaho in 2008. He devised the idea while shaking spray paint cans by hand for a home construction job. With his arms aching from so much mixing, this self-described “Plain Jane carpenter with a Ph.D. from the School of Hard Knocks” took a break and had a “beerpiphany.”  Maybe he could save wear and tear on his arms by shaking the cans with his reciprocating saw. So he taped a can to his saw blade, fired up the saw, and began a shakeup of the world of paint mixing. His next challenge was to turn his rough idea into a prototype to see if it could become a commercial product. Kip sought design help from a local friend, Jerry Linn, who had worked with TechHelp.  

TechHelp Project

Jerry captured Kip’s ideas in AutoCAD and sent the drawings to the TechHelp New Product Development (NPD) Team at Boise State. He asked the Team to use their 3D printers to create a MixKwik prototype. Ten days later, Kip received a prototype that perfectly fit a spray paint can. His next challenge was to secure a can to the device. Another beerpiphany led him to the local ski & board shop where he grabbed a snowboard toe strap that worked perfectly. Kip now had a fully functional working device that could be turned into a commercial product. Next, Kip zipped off to the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, where the sound of his reciprocating saw attracted the producer of “This Old House.” The producer loved the MixKwick and promised to feature it on the show. The subsequent national exposure put MixKwik on the map.

Results

• Kip made investments in design and prototyping services that resulted in an innovative new product. 
• Kip secured several design and utility patents to protect his ideas. 
• Kip developed markets on Amazon and eBay and throughout the USA, Europe, Canada, Australasia, and the Philippines.
• The MixKwik is now used in a nature project to separate out bees from mites to save bee populations.
• MixKwik enjoys a healthy profit margin thanks to lean manufacturing and cost containment initiatives. 
• Kip can charge a reasonable price for a quality product by keeping costs down and quality up.