Maxis Corp., Gilbert, Ariz., has purchased the patent rights to the Pull-It 3000 and Pull-It 1000 cable pullers. The company has joined forces with the inventor of the products, Brian Ray, of Ray Practical Technologies, also of Gilbert, to market the pullers nationally. The Pull-It 3000 was a finalist for the 2002 CEE News/EC&M Product of the Year award.
“We knew we acquired a great product,” said Bob Pothier, CEO of Maxis Corp., “but now we believe the pullers will revolutionize the way electricians pull wire.”
Ray developed the pullers after more than 20 years experience pulling electrical wire. He came up with the idea of using a commercial drill to power a wire pulling device when he became frustrated about having to tie up five of his workers on a 300-ft cable pull at an Arizona service station.
“We were on a job and we had three guys pulling on the cable and two guys feeding it,” he said. “I said, ‘This is ridiculous,’ and went down to the truck and grabbed a drill and an 18-in. drill bit, and then slid a piece of PVC over the top of it. The bell end of the PVC fit right over the chuck of the drill. I cut off a piece of the PVC, drilled three little holes where it fit into the hole of the chuck, and wrapped a rope around that piece of PVC. It worked great.”