Tom Nicol

Inventor of HangPro Drywall Lift for WALLS
Director of Operations and Research and Development
Casper WY

Tom was born in Washington State and as a young boy was always the kid helping his Dad with construction projects. From pouring concrete to building a garage and anything in between, they wouldn’t even think of hiring someone to do home repairs or projects. This is where he got his DIY way of life.

In the Spring of 2009, Tom and his wife Cathi decided to build their 3 rd home, this time in a rural part of Wyoming while still living in Missouri. Living the DIY life he built those houses by himself, from excavating and pouring foundations to roofing and everything in between. When he got to the drywall portion on the new house, knowing he didn’t have any help he contemplated hiring someone to hang and finish but in DIY fashion he took on the task by himself.

He first hung the ceiling with the help of a ceiling lift which made the job much easier but when it came to the walls he couldn’t find anything to help him with the transporting, lifting and holding of the drywall. He struggled with the drywall for 5 days by himself and completely trashed his back and shoulders. It took a couple of weeks to recover and he knew there had to be a better way to hang drywall on walls.

He started out by drawing sketches then rounded up some old scrap steel, cables and wheels and built the first HangPro Lift for WALLS prototype. He had built several things like this through the years and knew that some work and some don’t. When he finished building the first lift, he happened to have a 12 foot sheet of drywall in the garage. He put it on the lift and couldn’t believe it, the lift worked perfectly and the HangPro Lift was born. Within a year he applied for a patent and one of his proudest moments is when he was granted that patent in 2012.

After a few minor tweaks he settled on the current design. The HangPro Lift is a product that will save many backs and shoulders from injuries and stress. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to transport, lift and hold a sheet of drywall and that energy can be used on other things now. One person using the Hangpro Drywall Lift can now transport, lift, adjust and hold panels against a vertical surface with no help or strain. The lift can be used with any material that is under 150 lbs and in a panel shape, OSB, siding, plywood, doors, mirrors, signs etc. This is a true DIY dream of Tom’s, inventing something that allows others to live the DIY way of life.

Tom knew he couldn’t get the HangPro Drywall Lift to market by himself so he partnered with Hardy Shao and Myron Ferguson. Hardy is past President of Worldlawn Power Equipment and currently CEO of Drillcraft Tools Corp. Hardy has been honored with several awards for his dedication to promoting the State of Nebraska. Myron Ferguson, better known as “That Drywall Guy” has over 30 years experience as a drywall contractor and is the bestselling author of Drywall; Professional Techniques for Great Results which has sold over 400,000 copies. Myron is a regular contributor to several trade magazines and travels the country teaching drywall and related topics at trade shows. Myron has a love for drywall and promoting the construction industry. Together the three partners created HTM Innovations, LLC which will be bringing more great new products to market in the future. The three partners make a great working team with each member being a specialist in their area of expertise for many years and their wives each playing an important role and bringing their own expertise to the business.

The HangPro Drywall Lift is Revolutionizing the Drywall industry.