NZ trampoline wins top US award

A clever Kiwi take on the traditional trampoline has been voted top children's product by 100,000 American families.

Springfree Trampoline is the brainchild of Christchurch engineering associate professor Keith Alexander, who came up with the idea in 1988 after his wife said "no" to a metal-framed and sprung trampoline because of safety fears.

Winning the "Children's Product of the Year" category, the trampoline topped the list in the largest United States consumer product survey, the Product of the Year Awards, The Dominion Post reported.

The competition champions product innovation in fast-moving consumer goods categories.

The springless trampoline innovation has been commercially available since 2003, but only went into the US in 2007 and sales and marketing manager Josh Hill said it had taken some time to gain traction.

Global sales of 150,000 trampolines were forecast for this year.

Mr Hill said the US was a safety-conscious market and insurance companies specifically excluded trampolines from policies but were making amendments to allow the Springfree model.

New Zealand companies manufactured the fibreglass and plastic components which comprised 70 per cent of the final product, ultimately assembled in China.

- NZPA