Deluxe hockey bag invented by Bolton merchant
By MARK PAVILONS Editor

Aldo Buccioni stands with his Hockey Tower at the recent Hockey Show in Toronto.

A Bolton businessman is meticulous about every ingredient in his restaurant. With that same dogged pursuit of always improving the product, he set about creating the ultimate hockey bag.

After more than a decade of planning and creating, Aldo Buccioni, owner of Baffo's Pizza, debuted the Grit Hockey Tower to the world in 2006, to an overwhelming response.

The standup bag is a combination of everything a hockey player needs for his/her equipment. It's a dresser, suitcase, organizer, drying unit and off-season storage unit, all in one lightweight, wheeled unit. It even has a blade port to protect your stick, which, once firmly attached, acts as a handle to steer the tower. Another great feature is the vented bag helps dry the gear and reduce odours and contains a removable laundry bag. A carpeted flap folds down so you can keep your feet dry.

It's all very practical, Buccioni observed, but the process to design and patent the bag was long and painstaking.

He remembers sitting in a dressing room, watching how players struggled with their gear and how it was stored. He remembers thinking why did he have to lug his equipment around in a long, soft bag and deal with the odours. Buccioni has played goal all his life, and rose in the junior circles of minor hockey. He's played men's hockey in Bolton for many years.

Originally designed as the Hockey Buddy, Buccioni created models in the early '90s from pizza boxes, wood and plastic. Once the designed was somewhat perfected, local lawyer Mark Penfold helped him apply for North American patents, granted in 1998.

From 1996 through 2004, Buccioni worked with dozens of locals. Equipment designers Len Clements, Jerry Wright, Ed Mann and especially Lance Perrin. Also pitching in were arena managers John Cook, sports retailer Glen Pilson, hockey players Gary Stewart and John Sowerby, who all offered their expertise. Business plan advice was provided by Joe Luschak, Jim Schaefer, Bruce Holtom and Dave Wedgbury.

Husky was approached for plastic mold information, but Buccioni abandoned the hard shell idea when it became too costly.

In 2004 he teamed up with Greg Collins of Pace Design, an established hockey equipment creator. They began working on a soft-shell unit and a year and thousands of drawings later, the first prototype from Asia arrived in 2005. Grit Inc. was formed in 2006 with Pace and Dominion Skate of Brampton awarded world exclusive rights (www.gritinc.net).

Last year, the Hockey Tower appeared at 45 Sports Experts stores in Quebec. Buccioni noted exposure on a November episode of CTV's Canada AM resulted in literally thousands of emails which quickly sold out the Tower.

In fact, the Tower is in extremely short supply but available at George's Arena Sports in Bolton. Next fall, the Tower will be available at Sports Excellence, Source for Sports (200 stores across Canada) and Sports Experts outlets. It will retail between $149 and $159.

Buccioni appeared at the Hockey Show in January, where the bag was also well received, from all over the world. They have booked more than 10,000 orders in seven countries around the world. Some big customers are from England, Switzerland, Russia and as far away as Australia.

The Tower comes in two sizes - one for youth up to 12 and the other for adults. Buccioni said even young players can pack the bags themselves, because everything - skates, gloves, helmet, pants and pads - have their place in adjustable compartments.

Buccioni said he has changed the lowly hockey bag and elevated into a unique piece of equipment in its own right.

The Tower itself can also be used as an equipment caddy for a team, storing medical supplies, water bottles, pucks, etc. It's also poised to evolve, too. Buccioni said the next generation of the Tower will include front and side zipoff panels which can be embroidered with team colours and logos.