Bob and Jody Johnston
Greenfield
Innovation: Kiefer Paddler
www.kiefer.com
After noodling around with a pool noodle and straps from an old life vest, Greenfield inventor Jody Johnston concocted a device for young swimmers learning how to master the water.
The device, which Jody and her husband, Bob, named the “Paddler,” snaps around a child’s waist and holds him or her above the water as it allows enough flexibility to freely float and glide.
While the Paddler aims to keep kids afloat as a life vest or regular pool noodle would, the device has an advantage in supporting swimmers so they can learn how to float on their back and maintain a horizontal position as they swim.
“It’s a very significant development in the learn-to-swim market because up until now literally nothing has been designed and nothing has been available to support that kind of movement,” said Bob, who is a financial advisor at Principal Financial Group and president and chief executive officer of Special Needs Planning LLC.
The Paddler is an admittedly simple innovation, according to Jody and Bob. Jody created it with the couple’s son, Harley Wyatt, now 12, in mind. During an Autism Society of Wisconsin conference Bob was speaking at five years ago in Green Bay, Harley, who has autism, wanted to swim at the convention center pool. Jody drove around the area trying to find a device that would adequately support him in the water and purchased a regular pool noodle.
Once in the pool, the noodle floated away from Harley toward the deeper end of the pool. Jody, though not keen on swimming, was able to keep Harley out of danger and began to conceive the idea behind the Paddler.
The design process was a straightforward one, according to Jody, who said she wanted to piece together a device that would fit snugly around Harley’s waist while enabling him to learn how to swim.
Once Jody and Bob began taking Harley to pools with the Paddler in tow, the device attracted the attention of other kids, who would approach Harley, unbuckle the straps and try to fasten it around themselves. The Paddler also began to garner the attention of other parents.
From there, Jody and Bob secured a patent on the device in 2011. Bob, a serial inventor of sorts with a background in marketing, was confident in the product’s design and credits his wife for her creativity.
“I had a very persistent, smart wife, who just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” he said.
After securing a patent, the couple decided to negotiate a licensing agreement with Zion, Ill.-based swimwear company Kiefer Swim Products, which now has complete international access to manufacturing, distribution and marketing of the couple’s patent and trademark.
While Jody and Bob did consider launching their own business around the Paddler, they knew they already had enough to contend with between Bob’s profession and Jody’s commitment to being a full-time mom.
They also knew Kiefer Swim Products had the brand recognition, history and contacts to accelerate the product to market.
“They’re an international force in the swimming industry,” Bob said. “We’re just a couple of people from Milwaukee who have a good idea.”
Bob and Jody, who receive quarterly royalty checks from Kiefer Swim Products, still contribute to marketing efforts of the innovation. Jody has begun working on prototypes for adult-sized Paddlers. But before releasing the second generation of the device, the couple wants to properly brand the original device in order to help kids learn how to swim safely.
“Here we are helping kids learn how to swim and preventing them from drowning, and kids love it,” Bob said.
The Kiefer Paddler is sold at Kiefer’s two retail locations in Zion and Glenview, Ill., and is also available online at www.kiefer.com and www.amazon.com.
