Mel West
Mel West saw a need and aimed to fill it. That’s the short story of how the retired minister started Personal Energy Transport (PET) in
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| Photo by Parker Eshelman |
his Columbia, Mo., garage 12 years ago. Thanks to West’s ingenuity, more than 10,000 people hobbled by polio, landmine injuries or other disabilities are getting around on their own using sturdy, hand-cranked, all-terrain wheelchairs.
The idea for PET came about when a visiting missionary from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then called Zaire) told West about the need for three-wheeled chairs that could navigate muddy, rocky trails. Retired and with some extra time and energy on his hands, West decided to see what he could do to meet that need.
“When I was growing up on the farm, I always tended the lamb who was the most sick first,” he said. “I think we need to do that with people.”
West enlisted the help of friend Earl Miner, a product designer, and together they came up with a metal-framed prototype with a wooden bed and bicycle-like pedals powered by hands instead of feet.
“We sent it over and told them to put it in the worst places to see if it will stand up and work,” West said. The prototype stood up very well, and the orders started rolling in.
A lifelong do-gooder with plenty of friends and connections, West was able to organize a team of volunteers quickly. He toted PETs to church meetings, conventions and conferences to enlist help and raise money for parts. Soon, a network of 12 small-scale workshops in the United States and three more in South Africa, Zambia and Mexico were churning out thousands of both adult- and junior-sized PETs a year. Each one is made at a cost of about $250.
The largest workshop is still in Missouri, but operations outgrew West’s garage years ago. Fifty-six people volunteer, and 18 others are on the waiting list to help out.
“We just don’t have room for them,” West said.
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