Seattle, Washington
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded TuffNek and sibling brand, RuffGuard, a new patent for design updates to its line of integrated nail protection products. The new designs improve product retention within the stud bored hole across all stud material types, increasing product reliability for nail protection.
"We prioritize customer feedback, including that of our manufacturing partners. These new designs provide greater positional reliability across metal and wood studs and a greater diversity of conditions," says TuffNek CEO, Shannon Loew.
TuffNek invented the category of integrated nail protection by combining code required nail plates as a collar into a custom pipe isolator, solving two UPC functions in one. That saves material and time from the beginning of the supply chain all the way through job site installation. "We are constantly improving our product," says Loew, "which begins with observing how our customers use the product and consistently listening and watching for how to tweak designs."
The new designs include a variety of friction fitting features that hold the product firmly in place once installed while still enabling plumbers to reposition it during rough-in. The variety of features allow for choice by licensing manufacturers, creating options that best match their tooling capabilities and evolving material costs.
"We design both with end result and manufacturing in mind." Loew continued. "The product is only as good as it is efficiently produced and we realize that the cost of tooling and materials is constantly evolving. The more options we create for our partners, the faster we get to market with a better priced, reliable product."
TuffNek and its sibling RuffGuard are each available in standard and acoustic dampening models. Both brands are each separately available for license to manufacture and distribute in the U.S. and internationally within wholesale and retail channels. The designs are patented and names trademarked. Contact hello@tuffnek.com to learn more.
