Ace Hardware Makes Innovative New Doorstop from Rock 'N Lock Available to Stores Worldwide; A Doorstop That Rocks - and Keeps Doors Open.

ROCKLIN, Calif. -- Ace Hardware, one of the nation's largest retailers, is making the innovative Rock 'N Lock doorstop available to its 4,500 retail locations around the world, Rock 'N Lock Inc. announced today.

The Rock 'N Lock Doorstop, a santoprene-rubber doorstop that rocks, stops a door and uses the forces of physics to keep a door open. Founder Michael Pendergrass invented the doorstop, turning the struggle to keep a door open with inadequate wedges into a new, fast-growing business.

"We are excited to partner with Ace retailers around the country," Pendergrass said. "Ace Hardware is well-known for helping its customers. With this doorstop, Ace associates will help people deal with a small, but annoying, problem -- keeping a door open."

When Pendergrass began creating his doorstop, he found that in the last 40 years, there hasn't been any significant innovation in the doorstop industry.

"For 40 years, people have had to deal with the short-comings of wedge doorstops that don't do the job," Pendergrass said. "Instead, they used whatever they could find -- chairs, trash cans, boulders or books -- to achieve the simple goal of keeping a door open. Our Rock 'N Lock Doorstop is particularly effective on doors that close automatically or have a large gap, from the floor to the bottom of the door."

Before the Ace Hardware deal, the doorstop was available in more than 100 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada, as well as on the Internet. Thousands have been sold since its official introduction in March 2005.

The company is currently in discussions with other large retailers and mail-order companies.

To purchase the Rock 'N Lock Doorstop or for more information, please ask your local retailer or visit www.rocknlock.com.