Named FIXANG, the tool makes it easier for a single person to quickly fit the securing straps around a load. When the driver starts putting up a strap and hooks the first hook in the trailer, they can use the strongly magnetised steel tool to keep the hook in place.
This means the driver can drop the other end of the strap through the cargo and can work with the ratchet strap to secure the load without worrying about issues with the first hook.
According to the specifications, the tool can be used with most straps used in transportation, and it is basically indestructible under the intended use.
The simple yet effective tool has already brought French lorry driver Christophe Prieur three accolades. This includes a gold medal in the Transport and Industry section of the invention competition Concours Lépine, a first prize from the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), and the Innovate Prize for Industrial Contact Research.
Prieur, who drives lorries for the Groussard transportation company, has long had a passion for creating tools. So much so that he has been a regular visitor to the Lépine invention competition for 30 years.
The prototype of the FIXANG was ready in time for the 2020 competition, but the event had to be cancelled due to covid. Prieur, however, didn’t hang around to see what awards juries would say about his creation. He patented the invention, found out how to manufacture it on the large scale and started selling the tool online.