Tucked off Route 28, there is an office where employees called InventionMen navigate their workplace atop elaborate skateboards.

They spend their days turning innovative ideas into tangible objects.

And they're really good at their jobs.

Davison Design and Development of O'Hara earned two 2006 Industrial Design Excellence Awards for two of its creative products. The Hover Creeper took a silver award and the BikeBoard earned a bronze. The recognition catapulted the company into a spotlight shared with Apple, Nike, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Motorola.

"We're pretty pumped," says George Davison, company president. "It's like the Academy Awards of our field. I mean, these are the best products in the world."

Some of last year's IDEA winners include the Motorola Razr, the Apple iPod Shuffle and the Nike Considered Boot. Davison, the largest rapid prototyping company in the United States, is gaining international respect for its ability to create inspired designs for businesses all over the world.

"We're the company behind the company," Davison says. "We design and invent things here then they go to the market with it."

Davison's staff are hired by companies to update, better or begin their product lines.

Sitting behind a dark wood desk in front of an enlarged photograph of Davison shaking hands with President Bush, the CEO compares his 17-year-old company to the fairy tale, "The Elves and the Shoemaker." Like the mythical creatures who came to the old man's cottage each night to assemble his shoes, Davison has a warehouse of machines creating and testing new products 24 hours a day.

The BikeBoard concept, a unique hybrid of a bicycle and a skateboard, was brought to the Pittsburgh firm by Southern California's John Iavarone. Davison developed an entire line of BikeBoards and since the products have made their way into various sporting goods and toy store chains, as well as being featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, The Gear Guru and American Chopper.

"I love that product," Davison says, a boyish grin sweeping across his face. "I'm a big kid. I ride them all the time."

So do his employees.

Everybody who starts work at Davison gets their own BikeBoard, which they decorate to fit their personalities. The boss encourages employees to use them at the office.

"The beauty of this thing is that it's like surfing. It's like riding a wave," Davison says as he shifts his weight one way and pushes the steering wheel another.

BikeBoards come in four different sizes, the first three catering to specific age groups and the last one designed specifically for extreme sports enthusiasts.

Two of Davison's three children own BikeBoards and he insists it helped them make the transition to two-wheeled travel faster than most kids.

"They learned to ride bikes at an abnormally early age," he says.

The Hover Creeper, a corporate product owned and licensed by Davison, is a 14-pound floating surface for mechanics who need to get at the underbelly of an automobile.

Developed by Davison's Ralph Kalkbrenner, a 73-year-old former Westing-house employee, it uses compressed air bladders to stay afloat. A simple touch of a button returns the user to solid ground.

"Imagine trying to torque something when you're on wheels," Davison says. "This is a better working tool than the traditional one.

"I know a lot of mechanics are going to really like this. There's a cool factor to it."

By eliminating the wheels on traditional creepers, Davison InventionMen were able to get rid of the most expensive part of the product. The Hover Creeper should be available in stores this fall.

Other Davison products shoppers likely have seen on store shelves is the Can Pump and Pour, which acts like a "fizzkeepper" for carbonated beverages. Its lid snaps onto any can, then the user pumps out the air, keeping its contents from going flat.

They also are the company behind the Bagstor, the small tube perfect for hanging in a kitchen cabinet where people put their grocery store bags for future use. The product is flying off the shelves in stores like Linens N' Things.

A team from Davison will travel to Texas in the fall to accept the IDEA awards.

In the meantime, Davison InventionMen remain hard at work, continuing to impact the world of invention from their modest O'Hara home.