Some new ideas on an ancient piece of equipment

Bill Bresnahan knows a good idea when he sees one. Just as importantly, he also knows how to take someone else's discarded idea and make it better.

The Medical Lake resident saw such an opportunity a couple years ago when a man approached him for help with an idea to improve one of the oldest tools in the world - the wheelbarrow. Bresnahan said the man wanted to improve the stability of the yard and garden implement by adding a third wheel, and asked him for help with his idea.

The Philadelphia, Pa. SWAT team veteran, who had success with his idea to essentially redevelop the Adirondack chair - marketing the product through QVC for starters - agreed to help. Eventually, however, the other man abandoned his effort to turn his idea into a product, and because it was now "commonwealth property," Bresnahan picked it up.

While at church one Sunday, Bresnahan told friend and fellow congregant Kirby Killman about his project, and the Badger Lake-resident asked him if he could join with him to bring the idea to fruition. And thus, "The Miracle Wheelbarrow" was off and running.

Bresnahan said the improvements they have made are based on one aspect alone.

"Safety, safety, safety," he said. "That's what people are looking for today."

The improvements to an implement that dates back archeologically to second-century China starts with two additional wheels on the historically single-wheeled device - two large ones up front and a slightly smaller one in back to enhance stability. Bresnahan said they tweaked this original idea by making sure those wheels are outfitted with flat-free tires.

They also added a brake on the back wheel and a handle designed so that the operator never has to lift the implement, just push and pull.

"It's very maneuverable," Killman said. The Navy veteran added that a friend of his near Airway Heights who raises livestock but has a bad back decided to purchase a Miracle Wheelbarrow to use around the farmyard.

"He was surprised by how easy it was to push and pull around his farm," Killman said.

That's the standard model. The pair have also developed an ultra-model that has three additional features: a strip of LED running lights along each handle, an 800-lumin LED headlight and a horn.

"That's a safety feature," Bresnahan said of the horn. "You hit that button, it activates an air horn and they know you need help."

The duo are also working on an "Ultra Model 2" adaptation which would feature a "quiet, quiet" battery-powered motor that can be recharged overnight. Currently, they are selling only the standard model on their website, http://www.miraclewheelbarrows.com, along with the Adirondack-style rocking chairs Bresnahan outfitted years ago with a full American Chiropractic Association's lumbar system.

Bresnahan said these are made in Pennsylvania, while the wheelbarrows are made in China, Australia and hopefully in the future, Canada.

Bresnahan said they have had success selling their wheelbarrows locally and around the country. Recently they had both products on display at the annual AgExpo in Spokane.

"Many people at the show came up to us and said, 'Why didn't I think of that,'" Bresnahan said.

The two 72-year-old men spent two years and a lot of their money patenting the Miracle Wheelbarrow, something Bresnahan advises other entrepreneurs against.

"We maxed out every credit card we had," he added. "I encourage anybody who has an idea to not patent it. Sell it yourself."

That said, both are excited about the prospects for the product, which has enjoyed success so far.

"We've re-invented the wheelbarrow, so to speak," Bresnahan said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].