Pair float foldable barge on internet

By YOKE HAR LEE

Denis Stewart and his business partner Stephen Snedden have just discovered the power of the internet.

It took more than five years to get any investor in New Zealand to be vaguely interested in their foldable barge, but the internet has brought the world to them.

Through direct marketing to selected industries via the internet and after putting their website on other relevant sites, inquiries have poured in from around the world.

The two men are now in a quandary. There are people out there wanting to be distributors and agents, and there are people wanting to buy their product, but the pair do not know if they should be manufacturing in New Zealand at all.

Myark, a company based in Onehunga, gets its revenue from renting its foldable barge. It used to advertise in On Film magazine but has stopped doing that. Work comes from repeat customers, mainly for the film industry, or from builders towing material for construction in shallow water areas.

The company's barge is a platform which folds in the middle. Once folded, it can be towed by a vehicle to any location, including rivers and lakes.

Michael Harvey, managing director of Set Up Construction, a company which builds film sets, said he rented the barge to build a film set in floodwaters.

"For my application, it was not cheap," he said. "But in the end it worked out really well as it helped save other transport costs. It [the barge] was a lot more convenient than I thought, very easy to manoeuvre. As it was made of aluminium, it was totally robust. I was totally impressed with it."

Mr Stewart has just finished his latest prototype, a 9.6m long barge with an eight-tonne capacity.

The foldable barge had its genesis as a mobile home. Mr Stewart built it in 1991 to go travelling. He needed something which could be towed around and could ferry his car across rivers and lakes. Lake Waikaremoana was his dream destination.

Now, after spending tens of thousands of dollars on product development and patents, and after much heartache from not getting any recognition, Mr Stewart is about to just walk away from New Zealand.

"I guess I was really naive thinking I wanted to provide jobs in manufacturing," he said. "We are just quite fed up. After the new Government took over, we have not heard about what they will do in terms of helping small businesses like ours ...

"We are in the process of putting up our final hand to say we are here. I guess we are also asking is there any reason we should not sell out and move to a more competitive place. We have tried but not succeeded in raising money locally."

Mr Snedden said the company had not tried talking to merchant banks or other financial institutions: "We can go through 100 and will be told the same thing - we have got to go down to a minority stake. We have checked out many avenues but have not used any yet."

Mr Stewart, aged 41, a boilermaker by training, met Mr Snedden, who is 31, while the latter was off work during a shutdown at the Glenbrook steel mill. Mr Snedden was then an apprentice fitter.

"When I met Denis, I was looking to do something of my own. When he showed me what he had, I thought it was too good to let the opportunity go," said Mr Snedden.. The two paired up in 1995.

Mr Stewart lived mostly in his mobile home, his only possessions being his car and his dog Flash.

But he has never given up hope. "We are on the verge of having something big going," he said. "The internet has been the 100 per cent reason we have been noticed."

Mr Stewart said: "In the past we had no way of contacting the world. Some days, we didn't even have money for the stamps."

They have put off responding to the overseas queries because they are still weighing their options.

If they find an investor in New Zealand that would not take the majority share from them, they will consider keeping the manufacturing here.

But Mr Stewart has his doubts about whether New Zealand can provide workmen at a competitive rate for manufacturing for export.

The pair are also exploring other options, such as franchising the barge rental business.

Mr Stewart said he had not tried using any of the business advisory services which offer free help, such as the private-sector-run Business In the Community or the BIZ programme.

"A mentor would probably tell me to do the things I need to do - all of which I know," he said. "I used the Business Development Board in Hamilton but had a bad experience with them."

He had also had bad experiences with patent attorneys. Mr Stewart said he considered a patent as something to license off to get a monopoly position. "It is not a form of protection. To protect yourself, you have got to hunt the offender down."

With seasonal income provided by the barge rental business, the Mr Stewart and Mr Snedden are able to spend time trying to put together their next game plan.

They now know they have a market. What they have yet to figure out is how to get the money to manufacture the product.

One thing which will figure highly when they find the money to manufacture their product is whether New Zealand deserves to have the company.

A website has opened the world to two partners, but they still need the cash for manufacturing.