Divnick International, Inc.

Steve Divnick has always made things. He grew up welding, cutting, machining, and modifying everything from bicycles to electrical wiring circuits. He built off-road vehicles, and made them go faster and climb steeper. During his young motorcycling and off-roading days, he developed a reputation for being able to "fix anything with a pair of pliers and some bailing wire." If you were on a safari and your vehicle broke down, you would want Divnick to be on the trip!

After college, he taught at private high schools in California and Michigan from 1973 to 1981 (physical education, religion and guidance counseling) with a masters degree along the way. Even though he loved teaching, Divnick was drawn to his passion for mechanical creativity. He took a 2-year leave-of-absence from teaching in 1981 to devote more time to making and marketing his products. That leave-of-absence has stretched out several decades and an international business.

He enjoys speaking to business groups and colleges about inventing, marketing, and self-employment with a motivational emphasis. Hobbies include golfing, boating, and time with his five adult children and extended family.

He has invented and patented a variety of products for world-wide distribution, either through licensing, or manufacturing and marketing companies he has formed (see www.divnick.com).

In addition to patented products, he has designed products and modifications in many other categories such as a variable speed motorized pottery wheel, a hydraulic lift for smaller boats on the back of houseboats, and a tilting basketball pole.

One of his first major modifications, Divnick designed and built the first prototype Pickup-Van combo, now a standard in the RV industry as 5th-wheel tow vehicles. It was featured in magazines in the late 1970's. Click here for more pictures of the building process.

SLICK 50 and Demo Engines
While still a teacher in 1980, he tried his hand at selling SLICK-50, a product that treated engines with Teflon to reduce friction and increase mileage. But he wasn't very successful using the company sales-pitch, so he came up with a plastic window on the side of a lawn mower engine so people could see it running without oil...for hours at a time! This demonstration device helped him become the largest distributor in SLICK-50's history. At the same time, Divnick purchased truck-loads of these engines from Briggs & Stratton and hired students to modify them with the customized see-through glass window shown here. He sold them to fellow distributors all over the world. SLICK-50 is now sold in major department store chains and the see-through engines are still used to demonstrate Teflon metal-coating products.
The Auto Light Sentry
Another of his creations was an automotive alarm system that buzzed when the key was removed if the lights were left on. He first sold it as a kit to fellow teachers at the university where he taught so they would remember to turn off their lights on foggy mornings. Orders began coming in from everywhere. Within 5 years, it became a standard in the automotive industry. Modern digital versions are now on every car sold in the world.

Flight

Divnick became an instrument-rated pilot in 1982 and immediately began modifying his Cessna 210 to make it perform better. He later developed a passion for vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft (VTOL) that continues today. He has experimented with models and believes a full version of his design will lift the payload of a helicopter and match the airspeed of a fixed wing airplane.

Rotary Engine

Another long-term project is developing a rotary cylinder combustion engine that Divnick believes will improve on the efficiency and emissions drawbacks of the Wankel/Mazda design. When completed, it could be as little as 1/3rd the weight, have 1/2 the moving parts, and produce 50% more power than a conventional engine on the same amount of fuel. His goal is to challenge the traditional automotive engine market and have a light-weight dependable power plant for his VTOL. Of course, this would also go a long ways in reducing the world's dependency on oil.

Fund Raising

In 1985, he created and patented a fund-raising device called the "Spiral Wishing Well". Thousands of Wells have been sold to stores, restaurants, charities, museums, zoos, and many other locations. They have raised over $200 million for charities around the world. The one-day record is currently over $7,000! He added a miniature toy model in 1987, shown below. This product line continues to be one of Divnick's favorite because the money raised has done such wonderful things...from saving lives with transplants, sending blind children to summer camp, and much more. By the way, Divnick never receives any ongoing splits...100% of the money raised always goes to the listed charity. He states, "My job is to provide the Wells and the best-use strategies to maximize their income."

Golf

Divnick took up the game of golf in 1988, and thought it was unnecessary and cumbersome carrying a huge and heavy set of clubs around. He started working on a club with a transmission in the club head that could be locked on the various lofts of a conventional set. After four years of development and testing, he patented the Whole-In-One DIVNICK™ and now ships it around the world. (He wanted to call it the "Nicklaus" or "Palmer" but eventually settled on the DIVNICK™, a more available trademark!). It also has a telescopic shaft, so it collapses short enough for easy travel. Now you can play the entire game with just one club. The loft can be adjusted to replicate every club in your bag, including drivers and putters...and even half lofts. So it has twice as many lofts as a normal full set of clubs.

Shortly after introducing the adjustable club, he began to make telescopic drivers and putters for players that wanted to hit the ball farther than the shorter adjustable club was capable of doing, and have the more conventional feel of a normal putter. This led to a full line of telescopic clubs for easy travel, including the globally popular long chest putters.

The success of the telescopic driver has led to the design of the break-through BIG STIK™ titanium drivers. These clubs have achieved the nirvana of drivers: High Loft AND Low Back Spin at the same time. The drivers come in 11º, 13º, and 15º lofts. He has also added titanium high loft 3-woods called LITTLE STIK™ that make it much easer to get the ball up in the air off of fairways and out of the rough . Click here to read more about these new titanium drivers.

In 2001, Divnick founded a global communications internet company that sells a technology that lets you talk with anyone in the world over your computer 24 hours a day for low unlimited rates. The voice quality is better than the telephone. It can be one-on-one or with hundreds of people in the virtual room at a time. Click on the banner below to experience a live demonstration and see what all the excitement is about.

iBizGrams.com provides topical business-class ecards on motivation, appreciation, announcements, congratulations, and teamwork. The sender can add his or her own message to the variety of astounding graphics that populate these unique cards.

When asked to describe how he comes up with ideas, Divnick says, "I don't spend any time trying to think of things to invent. Ideas tend to come up naturally from normal daily experiences. There is always room for improvement...a better way to do things. Of course, the things I pursue are in the areas that interest me...golf, flying, water sports, etc. I might as well make money while I do the things I enjoy!"

Divnick's customers become loyal followers and are responsible for a large portion of the company's ongoing sales. Divnick comments, "Our customers are our best source of advertising. It only makes sense to treat them like I would want to be treated."

Divnick and his partners appreciate your interest in their products, and hope you enjoy your tour through the various web sites.

Inventing Information

If you are interested in inventing, how to get a patent, and related questions, we invite you to click here and review our free page about inventing.

Divnick's Blog about the Marketplace, College, Religion, the Ideal Job, and more...

Divnick has become an outspoken advocate of small business innovation and self-employment. He lectures to students and at other business and motivational venues. Through the years, he has developed strongly-held opinions about business, politics, and a variety of other subjects. Click here to read more about these topics.