Dan Fenstemaker, Inventor of the Original Inteletool
Inteletool products of northeast Ohio will be featured Thanksgiving weekend on the Do It Yourself (DIY) channel’s popular “Cool Tools” television program.
Inteletool attended the 2009 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, where the DIY television crew chose Inteletool to feature as one of its hot new tools on its “Cool Tools” show. There they interviewed Inteletool’s inventor, Dan Festemaker, and filmed his wife, Liz, demonstrating their product. The episode is expected to air several times over the holiday weekend, most notably Thanksgiving Day at 8:00 a.m.; Friday, November 27 at 8:00 p.m.; and again Saturday, November 28 at 5:00 p.m.
Inteletool, by definition, is an Interchangeable Telescopic Tool. In other words, the tool head comes off the pole and the handle telescopes for a longer reach. The interchangeable tool heads are full size, commercial grade steel and come in a broad variety of designs: round point shovel, leaf rake, hoe, steel garden rake, spade, scoop, two broom styles, lopping shears, tree saw, aluminum scoop, as well as a line of firefighting tools. Its telescopic pole, the strongest on the market, reduces to a size that’s easy to store in one of Inteletool’s two versatile carriers, a backpack or a duffel bag.
The basic set, called the Intelekit, includes one two-to-four foot telescopic pole, an Intelebag duffel for storing all the kit pieces, and three interchangeable heads: round point shovel, steel garden rake, and leaf rake. The Intelekit sells for $119.99 plus shipping and can be ordered from www.inteletool.com. All Inteletool products come with a lifetime warranty.
A northeast Ohio painting contractor, Fenstemaker wondered why other tool heads weren’t available for his telescopic paint handle, so he began to design his own. “Why not come up with a whole line of tools that interchange on an industrial strength telescopic pole?" he thought. During the prototype stage, he gathered materials from his workshop, bought parts, and hired a machine shop to do his fabricating and welding. Adding new tool heads as the design progressed, the Inteletool stood up to all tests put to it by the shovel and the rake. Inteletool was born and he soon filed for a Patent.
Fenstemaker says his Inteletool products are useful to homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts, of course, but are gaining interest among professional landscapers, golf course and grounds keepers, and even fire fighters. “I think Inteletool’s appeal lies in its broad range of uses and its durability. Because it’s compact and portable, it’s also ideal for apartment and condo residents.”
Inteletool has received strong praise from the Louisville, Ohio Fire Department for its steel scoop shovel and stiff push broom. The Department made suggestions on both the telescopic pike pole and drywall rakes, which Fenstemaker implemented and has taken to production. With a focus on search and rescue teams who want to use the heavy-duty, specially designed tool heads for their work, Inteletool was recently highlighted in Fire Rescue magazine’s New Product section.
Inteletool launched its updated website, www.inteletool.com, earlier this month to coincide with sales expected from the “Cool Tools” program and holiday gift-giving. Inteletool also has been approved for sale on Amazon.com.
