Screening out the burglars

Martinborough businessman Nicholas Meatyard was inspired for his latest venture when he walked into a door.
The door in question was at an open home in Australia, where the expat Englishman was helping his younger sister with a spot of house hunting.
In the master bedroom, Mr Meatyard saw a sliding door leading to an outdoor deck complete with swimming pool.
"I literally just opened the door, turned around to talk to my sister as I walked through and walked into the screen," he said. "I hadn't noticed it was there."
From a few paces away, the "Crimsafe" security screen had been so unobtrusive, it looked like tinted glass, and Mr Meatyard was suitably impressed. "I just thought, 'What a great idea'.
"I looked into it and that led me to realise how good it was, and how well it had been tested."
The screen wires are 0.9mm thick and have a "very clever" patented system where they are clamped and screwed into the frame, so they can't be easily kicked out.
"That's what gives it its incredible strength," Mr Meatyard said.
"You can't cut it; you can't kick it in."
It was the product Mr Meatyard, who had a background in security systems, had been looking for.
"You have no problem selling something if you honestly believe it will do what it's supposed to do," he said. "That's what gives it its incredible strength."
In fact, at Mr Meatyard's Petone workshop, he has installed a screen that invites people to "Please put the boot in and sign the visitor's board".
Despite living next to a forestry organisation that hires burly workers with steel-capped boots, the screen has never been kicked in since February last year.
"I did think about putting a $100 note behind it; if I had it would still be there," Mr Meatyard said.
"It's still on the wall and it hasn't been kicked in, and we've had some pretty hefty people come around and have a go."
Another strength of the product is its potential on hot nights.
"You can leave your doors open and leave the security screen locked," Mr Meatyard said.
His company, Peace of Mind, also sells a roll-away insect screen for windows, and screens for shading of a home and an office.
His home town's recent crime troubles, however, were what prompted him to contact the Wairarapa Times-Age.
"I thought with the bits and pieces that have been going on in Martinborough, we can offer a service that protects."