Eric Pendarvis said the idea for what became Gorilla Hinges germinated in 2001 when he experienced a binge of broken hinges on his ice chests.
After replacing a radiator hose on a company 18-wheeler, he cut the old hose into strips with a knife and used them to replace the repair his ice chests.
But the screws kept pulling out of the hose material, so he cut pieces from an old plastic gas can to make washers.
The make-shift hinges outlasted the ice chests.
His experience caused him to look at other people\’s ice chests.
“Everybody had ice chests with broken hinges,” Pendarvis said. “People had to run all over to find hinges. Some held their ice chests shut with bungee cords.”
His search for durable material led him to try old conveyor belts, which he called “the toughest stuff you could find.” He began to study plastics to find a material that was tough but food grade.
As a next step, he made clay molds for the hinges to get patent-ready.
His mother, interior designer Jamie Gaabo, did the artwork for the patent and the sales material.
He was convinced that he was on the right track, with a product that was simple and inexpensive — and something everybody needed.
He started out the hard way, bagging and delivering product by himself.
“Try bagging 10,000 screws by hand, 16 at a time,” Pendarvis said. “My eyes were going every which way by the time I was done.”
Things got easier when he hooked with Service Tool Company out of New Iberia.
“They manufacture and distribute,” he explained. “I do the promotional stuff. We are selling all over the U.S. and five different countries.
“We have sold 40,000, and to this day none have come back.”
Asked if he was worried about putting himself out of business with such a durable product, he smirked.
“I\’m not worried about that,” Pendarvis said. “Stores have whole aisles of ice chests. If I put hinges on all those out there, I\’ll be sitting pretty.
“Everybody loves them once the use them. You can open an ice chest all the way — no strap needed.”