Manatee paramedic creates
construction toy
By SARA KENNEDY skennedy@bradenton.com
 
BRADENTON - One day four years ago, Keith Lock  went to his father-in-law's  house to repair the sprinkler system. He spread some of the plastic sprinkler parts on the floor, and when he returned, his children, then  4 and 7 years old, were fitting the pieces together to build fanciful shapes.
 
It took years of effort and planning, but Lock is the  proud inventor of Konstruk-Tubes, a toy that evolved  from the day his kids spontaneously began tinkering  with sprinkler parts.
 
Lock is president of his own local company, which  makes the toy.
 
"They were enthralled," Lock, 37, a resident of  Whitfield Estates, remembered about his children,  Cameron, now 11, and Ashley, now 8.
 
Made with bright pieces of tubing that fit together,  Konstruk-Tubes made its debut at the New York  International Toy Trade Show last month.
 
Educators like it because it encourages a child's  creative spirit. Parents like it because it develops  hand dexterity, hand-eye coordination and color
recognition. And kids like it because it's fun.  Each $29.95 kit has 72 pieces - 40 tubes and 32  special fittings that make a variety of shapes and
structures. The pieces come in a cardboard can  with a lid, for easy storage.
 
Lock, who is a full-time paramedic for Manatee County EMS, researched the market during his  off-hours to make sure he had an original idea.
 
"I saw it's wide open as far as construction toys  go," he said.
 
Once he settled on a design and a name for the  toy, he hired an attorney to apply for a patent.  Patent and trademark submissions have been  completed, and the product is protected under  the designation "patent pending."
 
Meanwhile, Lock haunted toy trade shows to see what was out there.
 
Eventually, he began looking for a local  company that could build a prototype, a task that fell to Valintech Inc., a company in Whitfield
Park whose specialty is tube injection molding.

It was a big moment when he first saw the  prototype, but Lock still had to find $175,000  to manufacture Konstruk-Tubes.
 
"I decided to seek investors," he said. "I was  doing presentations; I went to banks, went to investors; I formulated a business plan, all this
while still doing my regular job," he said.
 
As a paramedic, he worked 24 hours straight  and then was off for 48 hours, which provided a  window for him to get the fledgling business off
the ground. But he was always scrambling.
 
"The 48 hours I was off, I would jam-pack my  schedule to knock out as many tasks as I could,"  Lock said.
 
He finally assembled enough money from investors  and ordered 5,000 kits from a Hong Kong manufacturer.  About two months later, the order arrived on a ship  in a huge cargo container unit. Lock had to rent  space to store the mountain of toys until he could  sell the first one.
 
A sales call to Roger Dearing, superintendent of the  Manatee County School District, paid off.  "He ordered two for every elementary school in the county
- 66 units," said Lock, obviously a little relieved. "It was a very good first sale.
 
" Now, Lock has been asked to develop a larger version,  maybe one that would fit in a tub rather than a  cardboard can.
 
And in the meantime, Lock's company - Lockmade, LLC, 6023 26th St. W., No. 211, www.konstruktubes.com  - is looking for a local dealer. It already has dealers selling  the product in Canada, New York and Texas.
 
Was it worth all the trouble?

 
"It's well worth it," said Lock, who said that a successful inventor needs a "very good creative spirit and a lot of determination."
 
"It's neat to see kids build and make things with your  product. It validates everything."
 

School Board of Manatee County
P.O. Box 9069 Bradenton, Florida 34206-9069
DR. ROGER DEARING SUPERINTENDENT

School Board Frank Brunner
*Chairman*
Harry Kinnan
*Vice-Chairman*
Barbara A. Harvey. Walter E. Miller
Larry Simmons

July 31, 2006  

Keith S. Lock
819 Southern Pine Lane
Sarasota, FL 34243

 Dear Keith:

  This correspondence is a follow-up to our conversation several weeks ago about your newly developed children's manipulative kit entitled, "Konstruk Tubes". Following our discussion I spoke with several of the district's early childhood education administrators .

   Based upon the kit that you showed me and the printed packet that you shared with me, we all believe that these manipulative toys would be a great addition to our elementary schools' educational supplies. We believe that a variety of educational games and activities can be devised from the tubes, which would help improve students' hand-eye coordination, sequential learning and developmental education.  

With this letter of support, we would like to order two sets of each kit for each of our 33 elementary schools. In addition, I want to encourage you to continue on this project. We are always eager to find new and innovative ways to develop children's educational progress.  

Sincerely,  

Dr. Roger Dearing Superintendent of Schools

c: Lynette Edwards Tim Kolbe
 

Performance Rehabilitation Institute & Sports Medicine

3-150 Eastlake Rd.  Suite 101  
Palm Harbor,FL 34685
(727) 781-1223
Fax: (727) 772-1161 

Konstruk Tubes are great for many reasons. With this toy, children are given the chance to use critical thinking skills. Children are able to plan what they would like to build and then do it. This gives a child a sense of achievement and accomplishment while playing and being creative. This toy helps to improve a child's motor and sensory skills which is why we use them here in our physical therapy clinic. This simple but unique toy can help a child of any age improve fine motor and visual motor skills. Perceptual skills are also incorporated when utilizing Konstruk Tubes. Bilateral coordination of the child's arms, wrists and hands are used when constructing different creations. Playing with this toy also improves coordination between the child's eyes, arms, hands and body posture. Dexterity can beadvanced along with grip strength. Overall, Konstruk Tubes intertwine learning and playing as well as helping to aide in the rehabilitation of children with all sorts of disabilities. Ultimately, it can help any and all children to achieve everyday independence through creativity.

Sincerely,

Todd S. Minear P.T. President/PRIS Physical Therapy

Dr Toy

Konstruk-Tubes™
Age Range:6 - 12
Price :29.95
Phone:941.920.3506
Introduction:2007  

Types: Construction Toy - Creative Product - Educational Skills Product

Konstruk-Tubes™ is an innovative new construction toy. It is a tubular based building kit that reminds you of Tinkertoys updated. The kit utilizes 3 sizes of tubes along with 10 different shaped easy fit connectors that allow child and adult to create fun and unique structures. Konstruk-Tubes™ is made of child safe translucent plastic (polypropylene) in brilliant colors. The product is dishwasher safe. Besides providing hours of fun, Konstruk-Tubes™ incorporates: Problem solving, eye-hand coordination, color recognition and improved hand strength and dexterity. There are no batteries required, just building and basic fun for the whole family to have fun together. Konstruk-Tubes™ meets ASTM F963-03 and EN 71 safety standards.

Dr. Stevanne Auerbach / Dr. Toy
268 Bush Street
San Francisco, California 94104 USA