Posted 9/27/01
RC Inventor makes outdoor grilling easy
By Danielle Strenke
The Shinler family of Rush City used to spend hours outdoors during the winter, doing activities like snowmobiling and winter cookouts.
For their grilling, LeRoy Shinler would bring along a metal rack from the refrigerator. Not exactly ideal, he realized there must be something more convenient to pack onto a snowmobile. At one point, he made another one from clothesline wire.
A couple of decades later, he decided to invent something that was lighter and more portable for outdoor grilling. He came up with the EZ Roll Up Grill, making one by hand for his own use.
He forgot about the invention for a few years, until his daughter told him he should have it patented and start selling them. Last year, after retiring from his work as a commercial sprinkler fitter, LeRoy took the advice and decided to begin the process of making the grills to sell.
Which isnít easy. The all-stainless steel roll-up grills are unique to anything else on the market. So unique that LeRoy couldnít find existing machinery to make them.
When he did talk to wire manufacturers, LeRoy said they were certain that the wires couldnít be bent the way they are in the EZ grill.
So he simply invented machines that could make the EZ Roll Up Grill. It takes seven punch presses to make the grill.
ìHeís always tinkered,î said Cecilia Shinler, LeRoyís wife of 43 years. ìAnd heís a perfectionist.î
LeRoy has a large workshop on the familyís acreage outside of Rush City. Aside from a short move, LeRoy has lived in Rush City his whole life. Cecilia is originally from Hinckley.
LeRoy began piecing together the grills, which weigh only three pounds, and rolled up are only 3î by 13î, and the Shinlers are slowly beginning to market their product.
Just recently, the grills were made a feature on the web site, upnorthoutdoors.com, and Cecilia will be selling the grills at craft fairs and other similar events. They are also displayed at Bohaty Hardware in Rush City.
The Shinlers say the grill is perfect for so many outdoor activities, especially camping. ìWe will probably go to camping shows this winter,î Cecilia said. ìThat will be the biggest draw because camping is where people will use them the most.î
But it is not limited to camping. People have been buying the grill to use while boating, canoeing, motorcycling, snowmobiling, and day hiking.
LeRoy has more than 300 of the grills already in stock, and will continue to make them all by himself. The grill is made under the Shinlerís company heading, Practical Unique Products. It comes complete with its own heavy-duty vinyl bag, which are sewn by local women. It is dishwasher safe, and rolls up quickly and easily. The bags come in either bright orange or camouflage green.
The Shinlerís hope their invention will take off, but if not, LeRoy is doing something he truly loves. ìHe couldnít wait to retire,î Cecilia said.
And he is supported in his efforts by the coupleís seven children and 19 grandchildren. ìThey are all very supportive,î Cecilia said.
LeRoy doesnít think heís done anything amazing with his grill, just found a new way to do something. ìLook aroundñno matter what you look at, you can figure out a way to do it better,î he said.
But the grill has been noticed. Shortly after making the first samples, LeRoy took it to the Minnesota Inventors Congress, where it won the ìmost popularî award. For more information about the EZ Roll Up Grill, contact the Shinlerís, 320-358-3556.