5 Inventions with Ties to the Greater Daytona Region

Over the years, the Sunshine State has served as home to countless inventors, including many with ties to the Greater Daytona Region! For a dose of creative inspiration, local entrepreneurs can look to their success stories as proof of what’s possible for area innovators.

Just read on to learn more about five inventions with ties to the Greater Daytona Region. 

Adam and Desiree Haller: SubSafe

Ideal for picnics, sporting events, fishing trips and days by the beach, subs pair perfectly with outdoor fun—which means they pair perfectly with Florida’s outdoor-loving culture, too. To keep subs fresh and safe from water and sand, Adam and Desiree Haller from Port Orange created the waterproof SubSafe container (available in two sizes for all sorts of subs) and brought it to the popular Shark Tank program. Here, they received financing and publicity for their product, a BPA-free, dishwasher-safe tool that can be purchased online and at various retailers.

Bill Booth: three-ring release system for skydiving

Volusia County is known across the nation for its lively skydiving scene—in fact, DeLand is the Skydiving Capital of the World! We have local inventor Bill Booth to thank for that. The multi-talented musician, engineer and entrepreneur operates United Parachute Technologies and Complete Parachute Solutions from DeLand (but this isn’t his only local contribution—Booth also serves as chair of Stetson's School of Music Advisory Board). He is known for many achievements across several fields, but some of his most important contributions to the field of skydiving include the development of tandem jumping, and the three-ring release system which has been essential to skydiving safety ever since, to name just a few.

Bill France, Sr.: NASCAR

Today, NASCAR is one of the Greater Daytona Region’s biggest, most beloved pastimes—and we owe its invention to Bill France, Sr. During the Great Depression, France moved his family from Washington, D.C. to Daytona Beach and opened a service station here. His lifelong passion for all things automobile (and automobile racing) eventually led to him promoting races, and then regulating them, and then, ultimately, founding the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, or NASCAR, as we know it today.  

Mike Hensler, Sr.: Surf Chair

Daytona Beach is known as the World’s Most Famous Beach—and one local inventor helped make it (and beaches across the country) more accessible for all! Mike Hensler, Sr. was a Daytona Beach lifeguard when he created the Surf Chair, a customized recreational wheelchair whose large, sturdy wheels and corrosion-resistant materials (plus an umbrella bracket for relaxing shade) let wheelchair users enjoy the coastal environment in an all-new way.

Nancy Tedeschi: SnapIt Screw

Daytona Beach inventor Nancy Tedeschi’s SnapIt Screw was born out of familiar circumstances: trying to work with a tiny eyeglass hinge screw and wishing for a better solution. Instead of simply wishing, of course, Tedeschi created that better solution herself: a longer screw that would easily slip into place, at which point the user could remove the detachable tip and go about their day.

The Greater Daytona Region is home to solutions for businesses that are in the process of growing—or are working to hatch their next big idea. Whatever your needs may be, contact Team Volusia today to learn more about the economic opportunities that abound here.