Inventor Dick Demeree, lead engineer Rob Trobaugh and lead sales representative Christopher Randall with the silverware wrap machine. (contributed photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – If you've ever worked in the food industry, you're probably familiar with the labor-intensive process of rolling silverware into paper or cloth napkins, often with no extra pay after spending hours on your feet serving customers.

Prototype of the silverware wrap machine. (Contributed photo)

Dick Demeree, Rob Trobaugh and Christopher Randall want to make that method easier by bringing a device to market that actually wraps silverware, speeds up the process and improves sanitation at restaurants.

Demeree, Trobaugh and Randall are trying to raise $40,000 to fund a silverware wrapping machine they have developed. With a working prototype in hand, the trio is looking to automate the device and sell it to restaurant chains.

Randall, lead sales representative and an aerospace engineer at NASA, said the only similar devices available are large scale, expensive and not suited for use at individual restaurants and hospitals.

"If you've ever eaten at restaurants, you may not think about it, but for every bundle of silverware that is rolled into a napkin, there is someone in the background who rolled that bundle by hand," he said. "We always hear about issues in the kitchen like cross contamination and unsafe food temperatures, but we rarely hear about other threats. For example, the cleanliness of your eating utensils."

The group recently applied to launch a Kickstarter campaign, but was denied last Friday. Kickstarter is a "crowd-funding" resource that allows entrepreneurs to seek funds for projects from everyday people instead of relying on a bank for a loan or other capital. Kickstarter runs on an "all or nothing" principle, meaning a project will not receive funds if the fundraising goal fails.

Kickstarter told the group that its invention did not fit the website's project criteria. They're in the process of filing an appeal with Kickstarter to reconsider their campaign.

If that doesn't work, Randall said the group will reach out to other crowd funding sites, as well as local investors to try to get the project off the ground.

Trobaugh, the lead engineer who has already invested close to $250,000 into the machine with inventor Demeree, said the average person can roll about two bundles of silverware per minute, but with their device, that number increases to six.

Designed to be a low-cost machine, the "economically feasible" device could significantly save restaurants money on labor, Trobaugh said.

"It gets the job done faster with less labor," he said. "There are always the complaints that people's hands and wrists hurt. Anything you can do to reduce physical stress is a positive for an employer."

The idea for the silverware wrap machine was conceived in early 2010 when Demeree's daughter, who worked at Cracker Barrel, told her father about heated arguments that restaurant servers got into over wrapping silverware.

Demeree, who said he's "historically been known as a doer," moved to Huntsville from Syracuse, N.Y., in 1960 to work for the space program.

"I was used to doing things that people said could not be done," he said. "That was my job. If something wasn't working and they couldn't get it working, I was the man they came to."

He left the program in 1972 to become owner and president of EP Corporation in Clarksville, Tenn. EP Corporate was a Mexican food restaurant that seated 200 and fed as many as 600 people a day. When Demeree's daughter told her dad he should create a machine that wraps silverware, he approached Trobaugh, his friend and next door neighbor, about developing the product.

Using Demeree's idea, Trobaugh, who does automation design and management for Maples Industries in Scottsboro, planned a prototype for the machine. Emmanuel "Manny" Valvo, a machinist in Atlanta, helped manufacture and build the product.

Area restaurants have expressed interest in the machine since its inception, Demeree said.

"Also, the health department is really excited about it because of the sanitary ramifications," he said.

Randall said "so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive." He said one local restaurant, which he declined to name, has expressed interest in leasing the device to reduce labor costs.

The group will launch its website for the project within the next few days. To learn more about the silverware wrap machine, visit D&R Supply Co.'s Facebook page or email Christopher Randall directly at c.x.randall@gmail.com.

Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.

Check out the silverware wrap machine video Demeree, Trobaugh and Randall submitted to Kickstarter:

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.