A Kiwi invention has been voted the top children’s product in the United States.
The spring free trampoline was invented by New Zealand engineer Keith Alexander and has global sales of over $30 million a year.
Gone are the dangerous metal springs, replaced with fibreglass and plastic and how it all came about is a real case of believe it or not.
Keith Alexander has done what all inventors and engineers dream of, designed something new that is being used by millions around the world
The King of Kiwi ingenuity is thrilled with his achievement.
“I am pretty stoked, it gives me a lot of satisfaction to see this product out there and there’s the little kid that comes up to you and says my daddy says if I do poos and wees in the toilet I am going to get a spring free trampoline. I get a lot of satisfaction out of that” he says.
Keith works as an associate professor of engineering at Canterbury University and started spending some of his spare time reinventing the old Kiwi favourite.
“I wanted my kids to be on one and when I asked my wife, who is the mother of an 18 year old, now is the time to get a trampoline and she said no it is too dangerous” he explains.
Every year 2000 New Zealand children visit emergency rooms for trampoline-related injuries. So for 7 years Keith set about designing some safer alternatives. He came up with three before finally finding the perfect solution.
“The first one was an inflatable one based on inner tube idea - the mat stretched across the top of it. That worked quite well for small kids but not very bouncy.
“The water tramp was just an idea to see if we could make a water trampoline. We made some floats for it took it down to Hagley Park and put it on Victoria Lake and tried bouncing on it there. It works after a fashion but it’s not something you want to sell.
“Then the last one with the fibreglass rods and this is the one, the commercial one, they thought had the best opportunities.”
Keith began testing it in his own back yard using Kiwi ingenuity then at the engineering school at Canterbury University until finally he had the finished product.
The spring free trampoline went into production in 2003, Canterbury University sold Keith’s idea to a Canadian businessman and now it can be purchased around the world including Wal-Mart where sales of 150,000 are projected this year.
Keith couldn’t be happier with his invention:
“My vision was to sell 30-40 a year in New Zealand and maybe one day someone would be interested in taking it to America but to have 27000 a year is a bit overwhelming, I can't cope with that” he says.
Keith’s Kiwi design has just been voted the top children’s product in the United States.
Josh Hill, the New Zealand Marketing Manager of the spring-free trampoline is also enjoying the invention’s success:
“Getting 100,000 American citizens voting for a kiwi product even though they don't know it is from New Zealand, it feels fantastic.”
The award doesn't give me as much satisfaction as knowing that people are buying it and parents feel happier that their kids are safer.
So is this the mother and future of all tramps?
Keith would like to think so:
“I would like to think it is the future until something better comes along. I hope that is quite a long way off!”