Trailer with tech will ‘sell itself’
The new owners of a failed automatic boat trailer company are hoping the country will not have another ‘‘particularly bad summer’’ this year.
In fact, a good summer would mean two things for Balex Marine South Pacific: people out on their boats, and, hopefully, people seeing other boaties using the company’s hydraulic technology.
‘‘The product will sell itself as soon as people see it working,’’ co-owner Daniel Given said.
‘‘But that is a goal to have a good summer, yes.’’
Given and Reon Oak bought Balex from liquidators in June after the company collapsed following it raising $330,000 through equity crowdfunding last year.
The pair run Hong Kong-based manufacturing and supply chain management company Gait International, and had participated in the capital raising on Snowball Effect.
Balex, established in 2013, was about $700,000 short of its target, and failed to attract a cornerstone investor willing to put in another $2m to $5m.
‘‘Essentially, they needed more time and money, and there was a particularly bad summer last summer,’’ Given said.
‘‘It’s a lot harder to scale a hardware company as a start-up.’’
Gait International had become involved with the company’s manufacturing and supply chain before it failed, but Given said ultimately they just believed it was a good product.
Balex’s Automatic Boat Loader was basically a conveyor belt for boats which used a hydraulic system to move boats on and off trailers, powered by a remote.
Given said its major benefit was safety and speed, eliminating the need to get onto boat ramps.
Its trailers retailed for $6199, whereas a trailer with a good electric winch could cost about $3000, and manual winch trailers a couple of hundred dollars.
Given admitted this meant it was not the ‘‘everyman’s product’’, but people, particularly in New Zealand, were quite willing to adopt new technology.
He and Oak had made a significant financial commitment
Essentially, they needed more time and money, and there was a particularly bad summer last summer.
to the business, and would not be seeking any additional support at this stage.
The major markets for boating were in the United States and Australia, but the company wanted to focus locally first.
It had secured a major distributor in Europe and was hoping to secure new dealers here in the next month, as well as sending seven demonstration units around the country.
‘‘Beyond that, to be honest, I haven’t really had any time to think about it.’’