The Story

The Origin

Starting off as a custom builder and general contractor, Rick Harpenau’s passion for home improvement was evident early in his career. What started off as handyman work in his younger years developed into becoming one of Palm Beach County’s go-to contractors in property development back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Rick went from an employee with various businesses to owning and operating his own general contracting business, Marlin Construction. Marlin Construction proudly built complete single family home communities with a keen attention to detail.

When finishing the homes, Rick wasn’t pleased that clothes dryers could not visually align with the washing machine and could not be pushed flush against the wall because the transition duct required at least 4”-7” between the appliance and the wall. The “Ah-Ha!” moment hit, and Rick immediately sourced a local sheet metal manufacturer to hand break a rectangular box that can be recessed in the wall which allows the dryer’s duct work and transition flex to connect within the cavity of this box. He called it “The Dryerbox®”, patented the design, and pursued licensing deals with sheet metal manufacturers across the country.

The Dryerbox is simply a better way to vent the dryer. As the product’s popularity grew, Rick left his construction company to focus on the Dryerbox. InOvate Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2001 to strengthen brand recognition, grow distribution channels, and create other innovative solutions.

InOvate Today

Over 20 years later, InOvate’s niche focus has led to additional patented SKUs and other unique products that deliver a sense of pride to engineers, builders, contractors, and home service companies throughout North America. Our mission is to improve laundry room safety and efficiency by providing quality “Made in the USA” solutions and outstanding customer service to our entire customer mix. The Dryer-Ell™, Dryer Wall Vent, DryerFlex, DryerJack, Defender, Dryer Clamp, Dryer Placard, and the LintAlert® all revolve around enhanced aesthetics and efficient venting.

If you’re building a new property or find yourself in a laundry room wondering, “is there a better way?…”, InOvate is here to make real improvements for your residential or commercial projects.