2024 Dealer Design Awards: Hand Tools

The Gold award in the Hand Tools category goes to Midwest Tool for its Grvty-Wrench (MWT-GW2), a lightweight, aluminum magnetized wrench design for quickly running nuts up threaded rods.

“Basically, the magnetic polarity lines up with the nuts and holds it in place, and you spin it like one of those [fidget spinners] that were really popular a couple years ago,” said Chuck Loparo, director of sales and marketing at Midwest Tool. “It’s kind of like that — you sit there and just spin it and spin it. And with the weight of the wrench, you spin it once and it goes for eight times. Depending on how hard you spin it, it basically cuts the time in half.”

The idea for the Grvty-Wrench was brought to Midwest Tool by a commercial HVAC technician, who one day, when running knots up threaded rod all day long while working a job in a New York high-rise, thought, “There’s gotta be a better way.”

“He came up with the idea … The last few of our new items have been brought to us by tradespeople,” Loparo said. “Some are further along in the development process than others. He had it dialed in, so we kind of just took what he had and ran with it.”

Midwest Tool then reached out to in-field technicians to determine the most common threaded rod sizes to focus on.

“Each size (3/8-inch and ½-inch threaded rod version; 8-millimeter and 10-millimeter threaded rod version) is color-coated for quick and easy identification while working,” Loparo said.

Zack Faulstich, a fifth-year HVAC apprentice for Poynter Sheet Metal and Local 20 Sheet Metal Union out of Indianapolis, Indiana, said, “It’s convenient to have both wrench sizes on both ends of it, and instead of turning the wrench all of the time, because of the way the tool was designed with the magnets, it’s hands-free and it’ll keep on spinning for you.”

Loparo said that the hexes on each end of the wrench allow technicians to easily tighten up two hex nuts for a more secure installation.

“Time studies have shown 27-30% time savings per foot,” Loparo said. “If you are hanging ductwork, pipe, conduit, or Unistrut all day, your fingers and your sanity get tired. The Grvty-Wrench makes this mundane task easier and faster.”

Though Faulstich is still too young to experience the aches and pains associated with a life in the trades, he can see how the Grvty-Wrench might prolong some of that inevitable pain.

“I know some older people in the industry that have tennis elbow from things like turning wrenches … This tool could reduce things like that,” Faulstich said. “It’s compact and a 3-in-1 tool, so you don’t have to carry so much.”

Since the product was introduced in March of 2024, contractors have had a positive reaction to its usefulness.

“They come in, see the product, and wonder what it does, and when they realize what it does, they think, ‘I hate doing that,’ and see how the Grvty-Wrench would make it better,” Loparo said.

The company has future plans to launch this product globally with metric sizes available.

The Silver award in this category goes to Fieldpiece Instruments for its Valve Core Removal Tool (VCRT) Dual Valve with Sight Glass (VC2G), a VCRT that allows technicians to safely remove the valve core and close the system off to reduce refrigerant loss.

The VC2G includes a (replaceable) capture rod with a press-fit gasket that locks in the valve core the first time. It also features an integrated sight glass that allows technicians to visually verify that the valve core is captured and that refrigerant is flowing, prior to extracting the valve core. The VC2G has interchangeable ¼-inch and 5/16-inch fittings that reduce the need for a second VCRT. Additionally, when adding an alternative fitting, the VC2G doesn’t grow in length.

The product also features a magnetic free-spinning cap that makes it easier for technicians to apply pressure with their hand against system pressure, while they thread/unthread the capture rod from the tool. This addresses a common need for technicians: convenient storage of essential components. The magnet keeps the captured valve core handy while the service is carried out, keeping it free of debris upon reinserting it in the service port and reducing misplacement of the valve core.

The Bronze award in the Hand Tools category goes to Malco Tools for its “Gold Standard” Cutter Bits for Sheet Metal Hole Cutters (HC1/HC2). During its research process, Malco interviewed several groups of trade professionals in the HVAC industry, in which the company received firsthand feedback from contractors that showed they needed a way to connect Malco’s existing Hole Cutters family of tools to an impact driver, in order to reduce the overall height of the assembly to fit smaller spaces and speed up tool changeovers. This feedback paved the way for the development of the cutter bits, which are impact-rated and meet the 1-year life expectancy in 26-gauge metals (normal use) when used both in a drill and impact driver. The lightweight aluminum frame make the HC1 and HC2 portable for a variety of hole-cutting applications in sheet metal. The HC1 Hole Cutter is adjustable for making 2- to 12-inch-diameter holes, and the HC2 model cuts 2- to 20-inch holes. They install to any corded or cordless drill within seconds, and make cuts faster than average when used with an impact driver.