Founded 1910, going strong on innovation

By Yoke Har Lee

Masport began life in 1910 when Harold Mason and Reuben Porter started making vacuum pumps and stationary engines.

Today it is staking a claim as a world leader in lawnmowers, for which technology has stagnated in the last 20 to 30 years.

The company saw what Fisher & Paykel had sought to do with its Quantam project to increase profits. Grooming itself along similar lines, Masport revved up its founders' commercial streak to corner the premium end of the mower market.

In a sense, Masport mowers are really competing with the next stereo, fridge or other consumer item.

Meanwhile, Masport earns 60 per cent of its revenues overseas. Its big push in the export area is for the products of its foundry capability as well as for its lawnmowers and heating products.

The consumer products are sold in more than 30 markets, mainly Australia, Asia and Europe.

Masport, based in Mt Wellington, Auckland, has a chequered history. It started with a focus on serving the local market, then developed exports in the 1950s. Its life was soured by the collapse of its owners, Maine Investments, but Masport is back on track to do things the Kiwi way - innovating by clever use of basic technology.

Not everything has to be high-tech and Masport is proof that basic thinking and plain common sense can take a company a long way - even beat the world.

Its Genius model of lawnmower is a big boy's toy - and dream. It does all the things a gardener wants when he mows the lawn - cuts the grass, spreads out the cuttings to give a finished look, or mulches the grass. A chipper chute will dispatch twigs on demand.

In concept, it is multi-purpose like the Fisher & Paykel DishDrawer - a two-drawer dishwasher that acts as a cupboard simultaneously or separately.

The managing director of Masport, John Lawson, said the company took the Genius machine to a garden show in Cologne in September and drew world attention.

The mower was the brainchild of a few engineers at Masport attuned to gardeners' requirements. It was designed on a computer, then built as a prototype and tested to ensure it worked in all conditions - wet grass, dry grass, long grass, short grass.

The Genius has a handle that can be adjusted to suit the user's height and a chute which leaves the lawn looking neat after mowing. Its quick-cut blade improves cutting time by 15 per cent. The plastic catcher that Masport designed redefined how catchers were made and used.

Mr Lawson said: "The ergonomic handle is reasonably unique. The smart chute is truly unique. It took us quite a while to get it right."

Masport seeks to apply innovation across the whole range of its products. Two years of development and a strategic investment resulted in a gas-fuelled, ceramic log heater that looks like a real log fire when in operation.

More than 50 wood-fire and 50 gas-fire models make its home-heating range the largest in Australasia.

What has worked for Masport is its "keep things simple" philosophy. The company has developed a corporate strategy with clear and simple guidelines, focusing on innovation, manufacturing, distribution and world marketing.

Manufacturing manager Murray Sutton likes to think it is a highly flexible manufacturing structure that allows Masport to juggle its wide product range - from 98 rotary mowers to 12 gas barbecue stoves.

"We have one of the most sophisticated manufacturing systems in the country. Everything is done just in time."

Because of its agility, Masport also managed to pip other foundries in securing a vehicle parts contract from BTR Australia, which supplies Holden and Ford.

Foundry manager Wolf Schmahl said: "We pride ourselves that, being a small company, we can turn around ideas very quickly and we can respond to customers very quickly. We can manufacture prototype tooling very quickly."