STRICTLY BUSINESS: INDUSTRY ADDS WOMEN'S TOOLS

The requests were simple -- a left-handed monkey wrench and a women's spiral saw.

Yeah, sure!

I'm not a home-improvement buff, but I do know there is no such thing as a "left-handed" monkey wrench.

And, I wasn't too sure about a women's spiral saw.

Now I know. There is a special women's spiral saw, thanks to the invention of Bob Kopras, CEO and founder of RotoZip Tool Corp., of Cross Plains Wis.

Women are leading the surge in home improvement projects, according to a recent survey, and Kopras is doing his part to respond to the trend.

Kopras has invented the new "Solaris" -- the first power tool designed specifically for women.

"We're acknowledging women's involvement in the home repair industry and their need for a new compact tool, suited for smaller hands," said Kopras.

Kopras was in Southeast Missouri recently to film a commercial for his new Solaris.

The Solaris is smaller, not quite as powerful, but performs the same tasks as the classic spiral saws.

With everything from tools with small grips to gloves that accommodate long fingernails, the hardware industry is paying closer to the needs of women do-it-yourselfers.

Women accounted for almost 38 percent of all do-it-yourself purchases last year, according to the American Hardware Manufacturers Association. And, manufacturers are now redesigning tools to make the job easier for women.

A number of items were on display at he National Hardware Show this fall.

One of exhibits was the Solaris, a bright red power saw that is a smaller version of RotoZip Tool Corporation's original black model.

Kopras, and another RotoZip spokeswoman, Nikki Krueger, said many women find the original too big and heavy. The new Solaris is a pound lighter and has less power, which gives the user more control.

Garden Pals, a California-based manufacturer of lawn and garden products, has designed a lightweight line of gardening tools for women. This lighter weight line of tools includes reduced grip widths, stainless-steel blades that won't rust, and locking mechanisms that can be operated with one hand.

A Missouri marketer, Midwest Quality of Gloves of Chillicothe, is marketing longer, narrower work gloves to fit the female hand. They feature reinforced fingertips to protect women's fingernails.

Experts attribute two factors to the increase in women doing their own projects married women whose husbands are not inclined to do such work, and an increase in one-parent families.

Congratulations offered

Southeast Missouri farmer Charles E. Kruse has been re-elected to his fifth two-year term as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation.

Kruse, and his wife Pam, own and operate a row crop farm in Stoddard County, near Dexter, Mo., and for the past eight years, has been head of the state's largest farm organization.

"I feel that Farm Bureau has made a difference in agriculture and we see some real challenges in the future," said Kruse.

He is past executive vice president and CEO of the North American Equipment Dealers Association and a past director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Kruse has also served as a research agronomist at the University of Missouri Delta Center in Portageville, Mo. He is a retired brigadier general in the Missouri National Guard.

A graduate of University of Missouri, with a master's degree in agronomy, Kruse is the Missouri Farm Bureau's 13th president.

During the recent annual meeting of the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation, Kruse recognized another Southeast Missourian Peter Myers of Sikeston, Mo. for outstanding service to agriculture.

Myers, who serves as a state representative, is also a past deputy of agriculture for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He also serves on the board of Adopt A Farm Family of America Inc., a faith-based outreach group for rural farmers.

Sorry, Bill

In a recent article about Rhea Optical Co., William ("Bill") Dunn's last name was omitted.

Dunn of Cape Girardeau, sales manager of the company, has more than 14 years experience in sales, marketing and public relations.

Dunn, a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor of arts in English and a master's degree in English, is calls on optometrists in three states -- Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.

He worked with the World Wrestling Federation nine years as a merchandiser and television ring announcer, traveling throughout the Western Hemisphere.