Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NORTH OGDEN — After years of spilling gas while filling up ATVs, lawnmowers and other machines, Brad Ouderkirk decided there must be a better alternative to traditional gas cans.
As a result, he spent seven years developing his own gas can and preparing to bring it to market, according to SureCan's Trent Woolsey. Ouderkirk's solution, SureCan, has drawn praise from national media outlets and even the stars of "Shark Tank" since its release in May 2015.
"(Spilling is) something that he and everybody around the country (who has ever used a gas can) has as a frustration ... and he wanted to help solve that problem," Woolsey said. "No fuel (company) can has ever developed a product where the spout is at the bottom. All of the fuel cans you have to pick up, tip forward or upside down to get the fuel out. His idea was to bring it to where gravity does all of the work, not your arms or your back."
The North Ogden-based company describes SureCan as being "the greenest red can" because it also prevents toxic vapors from permeating the container. In 2015, SureCan partnered with UCAIR to exchange its gas cans for older alternatives that aren't EPA compliant free of charge. Woolsey said they swapped about 7,000 gas cans at the event, which was the equivalent of eliminating 800 cars from the roads over a period of five years.
"It was a great way to help better the air quality here in Utah, especially being a Utah company to kind of give back," he said.
Woolsey, who is Ouderkirk's son-in-law, has been involved with SureCan from its inception. He said it has been exciting to witness the company's success first hand from the ground up. He especially loves watching customers use the fuel can for their first time.
"You can literally see the light flip on when they see it, (thinking) 'I can't believe someone hasn't invented this before now,'" he said.
Now, SureCan is looking to expand into different applications for fuel cans and hopes to design additional accessories that customers can use to improve storage and ease of use, according to Woolsey. He said they are also working to bring manufacturing of SureCan to North Ogden. While all of the corporate operations are run out of Utah, SureCan's manufacturing efforts are presently located in Tennessee.
"We're a new manufacturer that is excited for the future," Woolsey said.
