Velocit-e straightens out edges for United States expansion

By ADAM GIFFORD

Carter Holt Harvey e-commerce consultancy Velocit-e has a new name, Straightedge, a new business focus on building industry software, and could soon have new owners.

Chief executive Darren Wallbank said the name change was necessary because the company wanted to expand into North America, where the Velocit-e name was encumbered by brand protection and trademark issues.

Wallbank said the company would look for external funding over the next couple of months.

"Carter Holt Harvey won't have a majority shareholding by the end of the exercise," Wallbank said.

"It's not about the money. Carter Holt Harvey could put the money in tomorrow, but we are part of its new ventures programme which is about commercialising the good ideas in the firm.

Straightedge will market and support three software products.

Biz-e Builder, which it designed itself, runs on kiosks in hardware stores. Working with store staff, customers can design their fences, decks and other outdoor structures and immediately get a set of plans and bill of materials.

The software includes the local building regulations which need to be complied with, including wind tolerance levels, earthquake zone strengthening and, for the Canadian version, specifications on the weight of snow a deck needs to support.

"There is global interest in Biz-e Builder because people have built a lot of stores and are now asking how they increase productivity in them," Wallbank said.

Biz-e Builder was already in use at Hardwarehouse stores in Pakuranga, Manukau and North Shore, and it was going into an Australian hardware chain.

Velocit-e/Straightedge distributes a similar product for bathroom and kitchen design. Virtual World is installed in some Plumbing World stores.

Its third product is the British-designed Tadpole, a database management tool which is used to improve sawmill efficiency and profits by putting all Machines on a common control and reporting system.

It is already used in seven Carter Holt Harvey mills and Straightedge believed it could do well in the United States.

Staff member Martin Carlyle is setting up a North American office in Minneapolis, close to the head offices of many of the major building supplies chains.

Velocit-e