Aussies jack up a winner

Australian off-road accessory company Bushranger has won a major accolade at the world's largest expo for aftermarket products.

It won the best new exterior accessory product for the X-Jack at the Sema show in Las Vegas, beating automotive products and accessories from around the globe.

The win puts the X-Jack on the world stage in an accessories market that generates $40 billion a year.

Bushranger national sales manager Evan Black said the award recognises the company's commitment to developing a safe, durable and easier-to-use exhaust jack.

"Bushranger applied logic and lateral thinking to a great idea and came up with an even better one that makes it easier for people to lift vehicles," Black said.

"Our engineers incorporated design features such as an additional side-curtain to assist in puncture prevention, a triple-layer reinforced top for more stable lifting and unique triangular feet on the bottom for better grip.

"We also realised that sometimes it is not possible to inflate the jack using the vehicle exhaust as it is not always convenient or safe, so the X-Jack was also designed to be used with a 12-volt compressor."

It features a hard core insert to ensure better durability and greater stability for raising vehicles on unstable surfaces such as sand, mud and gravel. The X-Jack is based on a concept pioneered in Australia in the 1970s but uses high-tech materials.

Additional safety features include an easy-to-use inflation and deflation system that allows the user to remain at a safe distance while the vehicle is being raised or lowered. Bushranger says X-Jack is the first air jack to feature two-way inflation utilising the exhaust or a portable compressor.