5 Minutes with Tim Descoteaux

A tractor wouldn’t be able to deliver anywhere near as much of its potential without attachments. They must be the easiest way to bring multifunctional capabilities to your shed without breaking the budget or taking up too much valuable storage space. And they don’t get much more versatile than BigToolRack’s innovative range of racks. But it’s not just the products from the American manufacturer that are noteworthy, the man and the story behind their conception are too.

Here we talk to Tim Descoteaux, founder, inventor and managing director of BigToolRack to find out how these products came to fruition and how they have the potential to revolutionise day-to-day life with your tractor.

Hi Tim, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. How would you describe your products?

There are two we’ve brought to the UK and Ireland through Reesink UK. The Yard Rack was our first product and that came about simply through my sheer frustration of working my tractor and believing there must be a way I could get more out of it. And the second is the Ultimate Rack, which is essentially a mobile workstation for on and off your tractor.

Where did the inspiration come from?

Let me begin by saying I was not looking to invent something or start a new company, it just happened based on my needs. I’ve always had a passion for tractors, farming, and landscaping equipment and I’ve owned many tractors and different types of equipment throughout the years and always found the same problem – a lack of storage space. I started BigToolRack to get more out of my compact tractor.

When I was using my compact tractor and doing some spot seeding, I needed a bucket, rake, grass seed, fertiliser, topsoil and straw. For that I need a bucket, rake, grass seed, fertiliser, topsoil and straw. I didn’t even have a place to put my gloves! I had to leave them on the floor or hold them. I kept thinking there must be a way to securely store everything I need and not have to keep returning to the last location I was in to retrieve my tools because there was no way to carry them while using the bucket.

So, you have the problem, how did the solution come about?

I built a mock-up rack and spent one summer working with my son and daughter on our property using the rack to carry all our yard tools. Everything was securely attached out of the way of the cargo area. I showed them how it worked and what it could do for us. I could use the loader for moving topsoil and at the same time as having all my tools attached to the rack, I could even tow my utility trailer or log splitter, split the wood, and load it right into the rack. It worked and completely eliminated the need for return journeys to the shed, garage or barn!

What happened next?

I took the concept to a few of my close friends. Two of them are now investors in my idea. We hired a design team and showed them the system which at the time was made from wood, metal and some standard hardware hangers from a local store! They made drawings and we tweaked them to create the design you see today. Many new features appeared throughout this process which made it even better. Once we finalised the drawings, we took them to a company in Brooklyn, NY where they built our first two prototypes to test. We tested these for several months and made many changes that had a large impact on the performance of the product. There are so many things to consider when building a product like this.

We had our first production run of 25 units. During this time, we were building a website and talking to dealers. I will never forget the first rack we ever sold – getting that call from the local dealer is something I will remember forever, we knew people wanted our product!

During this process you developed another product – the Ultimate Tool Rack which has become your flagship product. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Yes, that’s right. The Ultimate Rack is essentially a mobile workstation for on and off your tractor. It carries everything you need – honestly everything! It’s the next generation of the Yard Rack for both the compact and sub-compact tractor. It has a large cargo area and so many universal tool holders for rakes, shovels, axes, a chainsaw holder, long lumber/fence post carrier, weed trimmer carrier, even a garden hose/extension cord carrier. It also has a counterweight option that allows you to hang suitcase weight on the rack to give you the additional ballast you need when moving heavy loads with your loader, as well as a trailer hitch feature and a click on wheel system that converts your rack into a roll-away storage system to neatly store your tools in your garage or barn. The real beauty is you can outfit your rack the way you want it to fit your needs/work. This system easily attaches to a tractor’s 3pt hitch and still gives the ability to tow a trailer once it’s attached.

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You’ve recently entered the UK market for the first time through distributor Reesink. How did this partnership come about and how has the process of working with Reesink been?

We had a small distributor in the UK working with us part-time and he introduced us to Reesink. With its history, longevity and impressive track record in our sectors, we’re excited to bring our products to the UK market through them. Reesink has been great to work with and we look forward to what’s to come.

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