Article: DIY powers through tough times; direct response continues to build a strong foundation for hardware marketers facing cautious consumers.(MARKET SPOTLIGHT)

Talking to Brian Harker, you'd think the Dow Jones average is about return to the good old days of 14,000. "We're now tripling production," says Harker, managing director of Better Tools & Fasteners, the Indiana-based maker of the Grip Tite (TM) Super Sockets & Wrenches line of tools that remove stubborn and hard-to-reach nuts and bolts.

And he adds the company has doubled its profits each of the past three years--a period when most businesses have been struggling just to keep their doors open.

In fourth-quarter 2008, a line of the company's tools sold out on Amazon. com., cam. And when Harker got on orvQVC? Well, you guessed it--sold out.

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