BAZETTA — With the unexpected, added time they had, many people spent the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic catching up on housework, reading books and countless other pursuits.

Others, such as Scott and Kellee Miller, spent their time inventing things.

“We had the idea in the early 2000s, but decided to do something with it during the first year of the pandemic. We were stuck at home and decided to bring it to life,” Kellee Miller said.

The “it” to which she referred are universal saw chain storage products, which mostly resemble large bright-yellow and bright-orange hoagie-style buns and are used to house chains of all sizes for chainsaws. They could be compared to tool boxes or tackle boxes for the chains, she added.

The couple had a table filled with their invention Friday on the inaugural day of the third annual International Firewood Expo at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds, 899 Everett-Hull Road, Bazetta

The event continues 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the fairgrounds.

The chain storage products are made from mold-injected plastic and are resistant to oil and gasoline spills. They also are assembled partly with stainless steel pins, Kellee Miller explained.

In addition, she touted the product’s practicality and usefulness for organizational purposes.

“It’s the perfect on-the-go solution,” Miller said, adding, “You’re going to save time, money and frustration.”

Hosting the expo is Joe Nay, who owns Cortland-based Ohio Wood Burner LTD, but didn’t get his start in the firewood industry.

“I was a corporate guy with khaki pants and a button-down shirt. I had an office and a cup of coffee at one time. I was in risk management. I was a corporate hack; that’s all I was,” he said with a chuckle.

Nay recalled having left the corporate world to help the family take care of his father while discovering that firewood “was a side hustle.” Around that time, Nay’s wife gave him the green light to start his business, which continued to grow as he helped care for his father, who died in October 2019, Nay remembered.

The expo has an estimated 60 manufacturers from across the U.S. as well as from Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Sweden and Finland, Nay noted.

One of those who traveled a considerable distance south to be part of the expo is Andrew Easton of Perth, Ontario, Canada, who runs Eastonmade Wood Splitters. On Friday, he conducted a demonstration of one of his pieces of machinery in which firewood slid down a ramp before being sheared and split, with a chute that expelled sawdust.

Using a machine that relied heavily on hydraulics was Matt Crain, a field tech with Wood-Mizer Manufacturing of Batesville, Indiana. The heavy-duty equipment can handle all grades, slabs and makes of lumber and other wood products, Caine said.

Kenny Finley, who runs GearHaul Universal Mounting Solutions in Chanute, Kansas, said he came up with the idea of inventing products such as a SawHaul, which mounts to trailers, recreational vehicles and various pieces of equipment.

“It also provides security, efficiency and extra safety to equipment,” he said.

Finley also had related items Friday that included a ToolHaul, which has the same capabilities as the SawHaul. The latter is practical for carrying gasoline, long-handled tools, chains, wrenches and “anything you might need that doesn’t easily fit in anything else,” he added.

In addition, the product line has sold in 33 countries during the last four years, Finley continued.

A major additional part of Nay’s exposure is his own YouTube channel. Calling himself “a social media influencer,” Nay has amassed more than 50,000 online subscribers, with more than 15 million views from all over the world.

Perhaps as important is that he has leveraged relationships and many local and regional manufacturers, which made the expo possible, Nay said.

If you go…

WHAT: Third annual International Firewood Expo

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Trumbull County Fairgrounds, 899 Everett-Hull Road, Bazetta

COST: $5 per person. Children 12 and under are admitted free