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Ingenious Terragrip Has Many Uses

HENRY Ford reputedly once said there was not a hole anywhere that his Model T car could not get out of - a saies pitch that no doubt helped the ubiquitous "Tin Lizzie" to fame and fortune. Off-road vehicle users worldwide have since found that Murphy's Law applies regularly when their vehicle gets into a hole. No matter what length of chain or tow rope is carried, the nearest tree or anchor point is tantalisingly centimetres further away. Ruawai farmer Bruce Stokes found a multipurpose solution - while taking a bath. For the 37-year-old sheep and cattle farmer, times

were not particularly happy on that September day in 1985. The full impact of the Labour Government rural policy was beginning to be felt in the north and to make matters worse it was cold and raining. As he lay in the bath, Bruce Stokes began to daydream about possible diversification exercises that would get hirt^ out of the rut and so the Terragrip rescue anchor was conceived. Bruce considered existing means he'd used to extract his Land-Rover from impossible situations over the few years he had been on his 271 hectare property. Most were only partially successful and they were inevitably too heavy and cumbersome.

Lighter products just didn't do the job. The best seemed to be a system used by the Post Office to brace telephone poles, but each time Bruce had used it to rescue the Land-Rover he had to spend time restraightening all the components. From this starting point Bruce analysed the weaknesses of this and other systems and thought of ways to overcome them. By the time he got out of the bath he'd visualised a device that looked a lot like an vipside down anchor, that could be screwed down into the soil by hand. Wife Raewyn encouraged Bruce with his ideas and over the next two days the

original prototypes of the Terragrip were developed. "By the time we had two or three variations and tried them out on the LandRover, I realised we were onto a good thing," Bruce says. Bruce's family has a strong background in agricultural engineering. His father and uncle were involved with development of the SAM range of agricultural machines for a Waikato firm and relatives in F.ngland had also been involved in this field. According to Bruce Stokes the project really got off the ground with the involvement of his business partner Graeme Lockery. "He's the one who has taken a farmer's invention and turned it into a marketable commodity worldwide." Graeme Lockery had nearly 30 years with a giant New Zealand rnanufacturer before starting his own international marketing consultancy. It wasn't long after the initial approach by Bruce Stokes that Graeme Lockery was spending so much time on the Terragrip project that it became logical that he take up a financial interest in the marketing company set up to promote the new invention. The Terragrip has since been patented in 32 countries and major agricultural

in a robust carry-bag. Market research carried out by Bruce Stokes and Graeme Lockery has shown the Terragrip has no equal throughout the world and, because of this, has unlimited potential. "Our first thought was that the Terragrip was simply a device that would find ready use in the four-

wheel-drive field. We now find the four-wheel-drive market will only represent a small part of the overall saies," they said. In fact Terragrips can be used for many purposes - some without a vehicle in sight. Used with a hand winch they are ideal for pulling cows or horses out of bogs, cliff face rescues and

machinery rnanufacturer Bisley Industries Ltd granted the New Zealand rights to make and sell the product. Three visits have been made to Australia to research the market and to promote and demonstrate the Terragrip. On one occasion a highly ranked Australian Navy official was present and his favourable impressions led to an official trial by the Navy. The feature that impressed the Navy most was the Terragrip's performance in sand. "The Australians gave the Terragrip a really tough trial," Bruce says. "They tried it out on soft, moving sand dunes, and rock hard soil. On both counts it performed extremely well." The key to the Terragrip is its use of both screw-auger ("tie-down") and plough anchor elements, giving three anchoring points. The standard configuration will allow vehicle recovery in all medium and Firm soil types, with optional sand plates and auger extension desirable for handling soft sand and really swampy conditions. The Terragrip comes in two sizes - the 1 ,500 for up to 1.5 tonnes and the 3,000 for three tonnes. Both are modular in construction, portable and come packed

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WAIBUL19870609.2.52.4

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 2, 9 June 1987, Page 2 (Supplement)

Word count
Tapeke kupu
786

Ingenious Terragrip Has Many Uses Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 2, 9 June 1987, Page 2 (Supplement)

Ingenious Terragrip Has Many Uses Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 2, 9 June 1987, Page 2 (Supplement)

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