CEO C and Innovator In – Andrew A Wigney

Science Sci and electronics runs in Andrew Wigney veins and has been a common denominator throughout his entire life. In his 30’s he graduated to the corporate world and found himself in operations and general management for a data cabling business in Adelaide. Wigney saw first- hand the frustration of trying to run new cable in ceilings and walls where visibility was limited. It’s here he came up with his solution. “I noticed the cablers often had problems pulling in cables in solid ceilings and wall cavities, because they could not see what was there,” he said. Cutting unnecessary holes often caused issues and he says the clincher came when his team was installing cable in a Darwin hotel and drilled through a highpressure water main. “The whole floor was suddenly converted into a water feature! The technology available the time wasn’t up to the job of seeing into awkward spaces and it was dangerous for us to be putting our heads into these small places. We often used to joke that we wished we could attach a camera to a ferret and put them into the ceiling for a better look.”

He was inspired by this thought but his solution would take five years to materialise, because Ni- Cad battery technology would not give way to lightweight lithium battery technology until after 2010. That’s when Wigney began prototyping his compact, lightweight, wireless rechargeable inspection camera known as the Cable Ferret.

But it wasn’t until early 2014 that his Cable Ferret wig cam, described as a world-first, went on sale through selected electrical wholesalers in New Zealand and Australia. However, the US market was considered the ultimate reach. After attracting financial backing the company is now on its way of achieving its goal of selling internationally to countries that now include Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States.

The third generation of the inspection camera, the FERRET has now been developed and is being sold and introduced as the FERRET to the US.

Wigney has also created technology for a rechargeable AA/AAA battery that last up to five times longer than standard batteries.