Dr. Grady Dugas is a 1953 graduate of Louisiana State University School of Medicine. He recently retired from Family Practice in a small Louisiana town where he practiced for over 40 years. He was Medical Director of the local nursing home for over 30 years. It was in the nursing home that he became aware of the growing problem of wheelchair related falls among the semi-ambulatory patients who did not or could not remember to use the manual brakes on their wheelchairs. He considered this a personal challenge and set about to find a way to save these fragile people from injuries that might alter the rest of their lives.

He began his experimentation with locking systems and his first patent (#5,203,433) was issued on April 20,1993. The wheelchair locks/brakes were made of stainless steel, and worked very well. However, they were heavy and had a tendency to require maintenance.

In 1996 Dr. Dugas met and started working with Bill Hoge of United Plastic Molders in Jackson, MS. DuPont Engineering Polymers assured them that the present day formulations were the perfect materials to make the locks/brakes. Experimentation began again with the cooperation of the staff at United Plastic Molders and production began with the new patent pending design. (Patent # 5,984,334 issued November 29,1999) Dr. Dugas and Mr. Hoge formed a corporation, SAFER Automatic Wheelchair Wheel Locks of MS, Inc and orders were accepted and filled.

Bill Hoge has been President and Operations Manager of United Plastic Molders Inc. since 1978. United Plastic Molders is a complete tool and die facility with 22 presses from 20 tons to 500 tons. It covers an area of approximately 50,000 square feet and is in full operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They make everything from duck calls and fishing lures to agricultural supplies and appliances; from model ships to OSHA approved safety glasses. They have the molds set and staff available to produce and assemble the SAFER automatic lock kits or to fit the automatic locks on the wheelchairs at the factory.