Colorado's toothpaste twister titans.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Two entrepreneurs market toothpaste squeeze devices - Company Profile

Wheat Ridge inventor David Barchus and Longmont-based Ralph Waffensmith share a vision. In their eyes, squeezing that last glob of toothpaste out of the tube is an inalienable right.

Barchus came up with the idea for Sure Squeeze in 1992, after being provoked by his wife's habit of squeezing the middle of the toothpaste tube. The patented product consists of two rollers connected by a coupler that acts as a brake, "a squeegee-like device," Barchus explained. The fact that Sure Squeeze is now sold for 99 cents apiece at Wal-Marts nationwide is the result of a lot of hard work on Barchus' part.

"It's grueling," said Barchus, an engineer. "It took three tries to get it into Wal-Mart. The third time was the charm."

After hand-making 12,000 products in his garage and securing the Wal-Mart deal, Barchus licensed the Sure Squeeze patent to OraLabs Inc., the Englewood-based oral care manufacturer. It has sold very well, with 150,000 units moving between Nov. 14 and Christmas 1998.

As volume has grown, Barchus has focused on managing the production end of the operation at OraLabs. "It was part-time," he said. "Now it's full-time."

Currently, Barchus is working on distribution deals to other large retail stores, noting, "There's a dozen different things in the fire."

For his part...