Gatepost brainwave takes judges' fancy

Patrick Roskam's invention helps farmers hang gates correctly. Picture / Christine Cornege

Schoolboy impresses inventions panel with helpful farming tool

He's only 12, but Patrick Roskam has invented a helpful farming tool which has been given the tick of approval by a panel of business moguls and his idol, entrepreneur Sir William Gallagher.

At the Innovation Den at Fieldays, Patrick and 11 other hopefuls pitched their agricultural inventions to a panel of judges led by Soda chief executive Cheryl Reynolds.

The Matamata Intermediate schoolboy caught the attention of the judges, and Vodafone head of rural marketing Darren Hopper has invited him and his parents to a meeting with the marketing team.

His tool, the Gudgeon Pro 4 in 1, is designed to help farmers and fencing contractors hang gates correctly.

"Before I go on, do you all know what a gudgeon is?" Patrick asked the panel during his pitch.

The metal device is installed into a post that the gate hangs from, enabling it to open and shut.

The Gudgeon Pro 4 in 1's main purpose is as a drill guide. But it also has three spirit levels and two wire placements to ensure accuracy.

It is 1.14m high, the height of a fencing batten.

Patrick came up with the idea when his father became frustrated with trying to hang gates.

At the same time, he needed a project for the school science fair.

"I thought this would be a great chance to solve Dad's problem. The problem is, it takes time to get straight and accurate gudgeon holes, especially for lock-through."

At the end of the pitch and following a hug from his mother Angela in the audience, Patrick was joined on stage by Sir William, whose company Gallagher sells farming products in 130 countries.

He congratulated Patrick on a top presentation.

"You've seen a problem and come up with the solution. Brilliant idea, I can certainly see opportunities for it."

Judge Neal Richardson from NZ Homeloans said people who succeed in innovation and business rarely did so on their first attempt and he imagined Patrick would go on to have more ideas, one of which would become successful.

Afterwards Patrick said it was "awesome" meeting Sir William, who invited him to Gallagher's research and development department during the school holidays.

And he already had lots of other farming and gudgeon-related ideas he planned to put into action.

Other Innovation Den finalists included a fast fence wire tensioning system, an automated weeding system, a portable milk and colostrum dryer, and a safe Kindling Cracker by Ayla Hutchison, 13.

Fieldays runs until tomorrow.

Innovation Den winners

Most viable business: Droidworx for aerial robot carrying live-feed cameras that can monitor farms while the owner is at home.

Best pitch: Patrick Roskam for the Gudgeon Pro 4 in 1, aimed at helping farmers and fencing contractors to hang gates correctly.

Best use of technology: Rodney Sharp for the Kakapo Impactor, a safer post-driving system.