Profile - Prop Pal THE EUREKA MOMENT


The reputation of the ‘Prop Pal’ structural support system is spreading far and wide. Andy meets with its inventor and finds out more about this robust and highly effective product.


T


he best ideas can strike when you least expect them. Builder Steve Cheshire


awoke suddenly one morning with the basic concept for the ‘Prop Mate’ needle system ready-formed, proclaiming to his better half “I’ve got it, I’ve got it! ”, then quickly scribbled a sketch for a prototype before the notion faded. Six years and a name change later, and Prop Pal is impressing users to the extent that the product pretty much markets itself through word of mouth.


In short, everyone who uses Prop Pal tends to wax lyrical about it, but what purpose does it serve and what sparked the idea in the first place?


“There’s a growing trend for wider house extensions, with flush ceilings allowing for open plan living,” Steve begins. “Where a cavity wall needs supporting, architects and structural engineers require that propping is carried out by a competent builder. They often don’t think about how this can be done, so the concept for Prop Pal is to make such jobs easier and safer.”


“Prop Pal brings a peace of mind for builders,” adds Richard Binks, sales manager at Hollingworth Design Ltd (HDL), a Stockport-based medical and aerospace equipment manufacturer which makes the Prop Pal.


“Prop Pal was tested to seven tonnes before it gave any kind of deflection, but the product is officially load rated at 1050kg. It is manufactured from 4mm s275 structural steel, and they’re all given a batch number so they can be tracked back to the mill where the steel was made. The original design was built in 5mm steel and was fully welded, but our design engineer Andy Durrant used modelling software, took it down a gauge and removed all welds. Prop Pal is just as strong, but it now looks a lot cleaner and is much lighter as a result.”


How did Prop Pal develop from the prototype to the product we see today?


“I made the first prototype out of plywood, and made sure that it fit with various props,” says Steve. “I took it to several manufacturers before I eventually found a company called Fabtech, which mocked one up in sheet steel. The first one failed testing, but we added a fold and that did the business. After that we made ten.


“It’s such a simple idea,” admits Steve. “I did my own research initially, using the internet and looking for patents, but there was nothing on the market quite like it. I’ve got a problem-solving sort of mind, and this ate away at me until I had my Eureka moment – that finally happened around 7.30 on a Sunday morning in 2015!”


approved on my sister's birthday on June 18th and it was finally


‘‘


received on July 29th which is my birthday.


,


Six years is still a fair amount of time, in terms of product development. Did you have to jump any hurdles along the way? At this stage, Steve’s son David joins the conversation:


’’


“One of the biggest stumbling blocks we had to begin with was getting the orders out on time,” he says. “Other manufacturers promised us short lead times, and would then miss them by weeks. That’s the main reason why we moved to HDL.


Prop Pal inventor Steve Cheshire


“By that time I had sold my share in the family business and was working as a sub- contractor for other builders. We used Prop Pal for the first time on a site in Cheadle. I knew it would work, but it was still great to see it doing its job. I think we’ve been through seven different iterations between that first sketch and the current product.”


Other equipment can support walls too, although none quite as capably or reliably as Prop Pal. How come the basic format hasn’t been thought of before?


“It’s great to be able to use a local company, and we also promote the fact that it’s made in Britain.”


Once in a fit state to bring to market, who bought Prop Pal first and how quickly did it become established?


“Even though the business has been around a bit longer, we finally sold our first one in June 2018. The hire companies followed a few months later,” says David. “A2B Building was our very first customer.”


“The chap originally wanted six units, but we didn’t have our first production batch at that time,” adds Steve. “I still had my ten


The patent was


30 Executive Hire News - September 2021


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