
Necessity, the mother of all invention….GroPole came about as a result of my wife, Loretta’s dismay when looking at our garden littered with crooked wooden stakes of various heights – it was not a pretty site (pun intended). Being a very artist
... read moreic and visual person, she needs things to be aesthetically pleasing to her eyes; therefore, she wondered aloud “Why doesn’t someone make an adjustable plant stake that grows with the plant.” At first, I ignored her. But as retirement age approached, I was told that I still had too much to offer and was informed that “I would not be sitting around all day and doing nothing but watch TV”. Instead, she suggested that I put my knowledge and experience in producing plastics to good use and design the adjustable stake she had envisioned. She correctly pointed out that many people take great pride in the appearance of their gardens. And while homeowners with large gardens were sure to appreciate something so practical, she also added that it could work just as well for someone with just a small area to tend, like a condo owner who just had a small patio with potted plants. “The seed had been planted.”
While we had over 35 years of experience in the Plastics Industry manufacturing all types of items for other companies, we had never had to sell anything of our own. This would be a new challenge - not only producing an item of our own but marketing it as well. I met with a product designer, and, after several revisions and refinements, we arrived at the current patented version of the GroPole. We also proudly made the decision to produce the GroPole here in the USA to help keep our economy healthy and our citizens working here at home.
We have always had a garden growing up (it was part of our heritage) and today, having fresh vegetables on hand now seems to be becoming the fashionable thing to do. Now, more than ever, with tough economic times challenging many families, a garden of any size is a very effective way to save money, eat healthy food, and bring a family closer together by allowing them all to share in the “gardening experience,” especially with the innovation and ease offered by the GroPole!