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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Madison Electric Products launches Sparks Innovation Center, an online resource for electrical product inventors
BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio (April 29, 2010) – Madison Electric Products, Inc., is tapping the worldwide reach of the Internet with the launch of the Sparks Innovation Center, a new website section devoted to the company's strategic effort to partner up with inventors and electricians in the field who have ideas for innovative new electrical products.
Located online at www.MEproducts.net/sparks, the Sparks Innovation Center provides information for inventors and an online questionnaire to submit a product idea. While there is no guarantee a product will make it to market, Madison Electric Products does guarantee a careful review of every idea submitted and a quick response as to whether the idea fits into the company's product development plans. If it does, the inventor is contacted to continue the invention submission process. If not, the inventor is encouraged to join Madison Electric Products' field testing staff and future focus groups,
as well as to submit other ideas for future consideration.
"The initial response has been tremendous. We were at a recent electrical industry trade show and many electricians told us they frequently came up with new product ideas, but had no idea where to take them," said Brad Wiandt, president of Madison Electric Products. "The Sparks Innovation Center is the place to take those ideas. For Madison Electric Products, it's an exciting initiative that also builds upon our company's legacy of innovation and our commitment to creating new strategic partnerships."
Madison Electric Products is not new to forging relationships with inventors. The company was founded by an inventor named Earl Atkinson in 1929, who invented the "Madison strap," a product still used by electricians today.
More recently, Madison Electric Products announced a new relationship with Time Saver Products, Inc., in Cleveland in February to launch the full product line of Clip-it™ electrical cable supports, invented by Time Saver's founder, Doug Hill. Last December, Madison Electric Products announced a similar agreement with Smart Box, Inc., of Long Island, New York, to sell and distribute a complete line of Smart Box electrical work boxes invented by Smart Box's founder, Greg Herth. Both Herth and Hill were electricians with over 25 years of experience who had ideas for products that could get the job done better, faster or easier. Their success stories can also be found on the Sparks Innovation Center section of the Madison Electric Products website.
Madison Electric Products online marketing efforts include a redesigned corporate website, a quarterly eNewsletter called The Conduit, and a social media presence on both Facebook and Twitter. Online marketing is overseen by Madison Electric Products' Director of Marketing, Rob Fisher, who was hired in 2009.
About Madison Electric Products
Madison Electric Products provides the electrical supply and manufacturing industries with over 2,000 products and helps inventors bring innovative electrical products to market. Founded over 80 years ago on Madison Avenue in Cleveland and still headquartered in northeast Ohio, the company created one of the electrical industry's most relied-upon products, the Madison Clip. Today it boasts a customer serviceoriented coast-to-coast network of sales agents and distribution centers, as well as offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and Shanghai, China.
Website: www.MEproducts.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MEproducts
Twitter: @MEproducts
26401 Fargo Ave
Bedford Heights, Ohio 44146
(216) 391-7776
(800) 631-7775
Fax: (216) 391-7912
Innovation that works.™
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