Biomag man is ‘just a humble Kiwi’

Continues from page 1 households has purchased the product, and total sales of nearly 500,000 mattress covers. With prices for the company’s flagship magnetised products ranging up to $789, annual revenues can be reasonably inferred over the past 10 years to average in excess of $10 million.

Margins are also high, McCarty said.

The origins of the company date back to the early 1990s when McCarty, who controlled the rights to the Woolrest brand, was grappling with ways to spin his fibre into gold.

‘‘At that point, woollen underlays had became a commodity, and the market pricedriven. We could have moved it offshore and taken production to China, but we didn’t want to do that,’’ he said.

Instead, he teamed up with Australian Thomas Blackhurst, who ran BioMag, and the two products were combined. In 2002 Blackhurst was bought out and the McCartys became sole owners and operators of the company that recently expanded its presence into the United Kingdom and started advertising magnetised blankets for pets.

(‘‘Give your best friend drugfree pain relief!’’ advertising for the dog underlay – costing £59 for the deluxe version – says on the company’s UK site.)

BioMag isn’t McCarty’s only trick. The family business was textiles, and various holding companies he controls have the New Zealand and Australian rights for fashion labels such as American Apparel, Black Apple and Minty Meets Munt. For a time, he worked with King Kapisi on the rapper’s ‘‘Overstayer’’ label.

McCarty said it was his reputation for direct marketing that encouraged Wayne Tempero, later to become nationally known and charged with firearms offences for his role as Kim Dotcom’s bodyguard, to form a partnership distributing a selfdefence DVD.

Company filings with the ASX show McCarty has taken punts on biotech start-ups, and still holds a A$2m stake in listed real estate vehicle Audio Pixel Holdings.

And, still with textiles, McCarty recently partnered with his son to move into golfwear in the US. Jason McCarty was a hot golfing prospect, in 2001 earning a tour card on the Australian PGA Tour, before settling down as a club professional at exclusive courses charging eye-watering fees.

McCarty Jr split his time between New Zealand’s Cape