A Finger Saved Could Be Millions Earned

Jeff Montgomery doesn't have a lot of money. He'll tell you that. And after nearly $10,000 spent on a recent investment, he has even less.

But that could all change for the better—and soon—should Montgomery's investment end up in the right hands. In this case, those might be four-fingered ones.

Montgomery, a laborer by title and a welder by trade for the public works department of  (a Pittsburgh suburb), has invented the "Lid Buster"—patent pending—and he showed it off at a borough council meeting on Tuesday night.

Montgomery demonstrated how his invention allows one worker to safely, easily and quickly lift, remove and replace a 180-pound manhole lid. By doing so, the Lid Buster not only saves labor time for municipal bodies, but it also saves parts of actual bodies.

"It saves your fingers," Montgomery said. "I've seen people smash their hands trying to grab a lid."

The Lid Buster has been so effective that Baldwin's municipal workers have been using it in their day-to-day duties, especially after newer-model manhole lids designed to fend off storm water have been growing in popularity. The newer lids do not have large holes in them that a pick or a crowbar could fit into, but Montgomery's invention essentially grabs both sides of a lid at once with automatic adjustment for the lid's size. (See depiction here.)

At the recommendation of Baldwin Borough Manager John Barrett, Montgomery entered the Lid Buster into a recent Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) "Build a Better Mousetrap" contest, and it placed second.

First-place honors went to a Warren County invention that was more vehicular-based. Montgomery thinks that that might have had something to do with it, alluding to the transportation element.

"It's a PennDOT competition," he said.

But Montgomery hopes to have the last laugh. Not only has he been approved for a patent—"No one else has this particular idea," he said—but he has incorporated his Lid Buster sales effort as a business, has launched a website and is looking for mass consumption by government agencies region- or even nationwide.

Or, he said, another entrepreneur could offer to buy the business from him if the price is right.

"Right now, I have a company that is discussing with me either coming in with me or buying me out," Montgomery said, noting that he doesn't want to make a hasty decision. "Like with my wife, no matter what I do, I'm going to be wrong," he joked.

It's hard not to root for a guy like Montgomery, a 1979 graduate of who lives on Frederick Street in the same borough that he works for. And the Lid Buster itself is a lot like the man—strong and clever.

Montgomery, 51, who has one of those handshakes that Old Spice commercials are made of, said that inventions of his are scattered all over the Baldwin Municipal Complex. He and other Baldwin Public Works employees use them often, he said, but the Lid Buster is the first of his creations that he's taking a leap on and putting his family's money behind.

And so far, it's working. Montgomery said that representatives from 13 municipalities have already purchased a Lid Buster, and with a June trade show on the horizon, bigger things could lie ahead.

Numerous Baldwin councilmen wondered aloud on Tuesday night if they'll see Montgomery on ABC's "Shark Tank" reality show soon. On "Shark Tank," aspiring entrepreneurs compete for investors' money, and millions of dollars are available.

Montgomery said that he has contacted the show.

"I'm really hoping it takes off," he said. "Everybody—except for one, maybe two boroughs—that I show this to when I take it out, they buy it."

Said Baldwin Councilman Bob Collet to the inventor/salesman, "If you're selling stock, let me know."

But Montgomery's not on Wall Street yet. For now, he's still making Lid Busters in his own garage and selling them for around $250 each. But he's hopeful that more sales will lead to a cheaper price tag and, of course, bulk production that takes him out of the assembly line.

"Hopefully, from now on, I won't be making any more."

This is the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch's "Greatest Person" profile for May 2012. Read other Baldwin-Whitehall "Greatest Person" profiles here (dating to October 2011).

And check back with the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch later on Wednesday for more odds and ends from Tuesday night's council meeting.

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