18) The Ball Throwing Machine
When we were on the plane coming to Australia Jonny had read in one of those in flight magazines that there were organisations that were willing to help new inventions and help them get into the market. While we had been waiting for our goods to arrive Jonny had found out who they were and had got in touch with them. They had seemed friendly and willing to help but had told us that there was not much they could do until the machine arrived in Australia and that he should contact them as soon as it did. The machine was amongst our crates and boxes that had been delivered so Jonny got busy reassembling the machine and getting it ready to do presentations to the organisation. We made an appointment to demonstrate the machine to them and went through to Newcastle to do so.
They were all very impressed with the machine and thought it was a great idea. They gave us lots of advice on patents, business plans and demonstrations that we really did not need. We had done all those things in South Africa. What we really needed was to be put in touch with people who had the money and the knowledge to put the machine into production and into the market. It rather felt as if they wanted us to reinvent the wheel.
We realised that we would have to show the machine to people in the Australian cricket so we made appointments with coaches of various clubs and we got pretty much the same reaction everywhere. They thought that the machine was great, they felt it would be an asset to cricket coaches but they did not have the money to help us get into production. And unfortunately did not know of anyone with that kind of money either.
Jonny was not one hundred percent happy with the wheels that he had on the machine. Although they worked well and most bowlers could not face the machine at full speed he was sure that with a different rubber compound on them he would get a bit more speed out of it. Thus making it more suitable for tennis as well. With a lot of searching he managed to find a company in Sydney who agreed to do the work. The owner of the firm was a very patient and kind man. The rubber on the first set of wheels that he did broke off and did some damage to our downstairs laundry. When we told the owner of the company he offered to redo the job at his expense. He tried it a few times but the rubber kept breaking off and it was eventually realised that the method of affixing the rubber to the hubs that are one the machine was a completely different method, a method that his company did not use. We did find one company that used the proper method and they made one set of wheels for us but they also failed and they would not do another set. Jonny also tried to use a product other than the rubber but that did not work either. So Jonny had to accept that he would not be able to get the extra speed that he would have liked.
We have done quite a lot of demonstrations with the machine, we have entered it in competitions and it was in an exhibition of new inventions but as I said before although people are very impressed with it no one was prepared to invest any money in it so it sits in our back shed until something turns up. We know that if it had not been for that machine we would not have been able to come to Australia so we are very grateful for it and know that it has been worth it in the long run. When we came to Australia in 1998 to visit Jonathan and Siân we brought the machine with us and were told to get a business visa because of it. That visa covered both of us, was valid for five years, was multi entry, and cheaper than a tourist visa. When we were ready to come and live here that visa was still valid and we were allowed to come into the country on it and then to apply for an Aged Parent Visa and our permanent residence. People who come to this country on tourist visas and apply for Aged Parent Visas have to leave the country to await the granting of their visa but for some wonderful reason that did not apply to people on Business Visas. We were allowed to stay here. We did not have permission to work but we could carry on business. Once we could see that the Bowling machine would not be a short-term proposition we had to set about looking for another business to go into. But that’s all another story.
They were all very impressed with the machine and thought it was a great idea. They gave us lots of advice on patents, business plans and demonstrations that we really did not need. We had done all those things in South Africa. What we really needed was to be put in touch with people who had the money and the knowledge to put the machine into production and into the market. It rather felt as if they wanted us to reinvent the wheel.
We realised that we would have to show the machine to people in the Australian cricket so we made appointments with coaches of various clubs and we got pretty much the same reaction everywhere. They thought that the machine was great, they felt it would be an asset to cricket coaches but they did not have the money to help us get into production. And unfortunately did not know of anyone with that kind of money either.
Jonny was not one hundred percent happy with the wheels that he had on the machine. Although they worked well and most bowlers could not face the machine at full speed he was sure that with a different rubber compound on them he would get a bit more speed out of it. Thus making it more suitable for tennis as well. With a lot of searching he managed to find a company in Sydney who agreed to do the work. The owner of the firm was a very patient and kind man. The rubber on the first set of wheels that he did broke off and did some damage to our downstairs laundry. When we told the owner of the company he offered to redo the job at his expense. He tried it a few times but the rubber kept breaking off and it was eventually realised that the method of affixing the rubber to the hubs that are one the machine was a completely different method, a method that his company did not use. We did find one company that used the proper method and they made one set of wheels for us but they also failed and they would not do another set. Jonny also tried to use a product other than the rubber but that did not work either. So Jonny had to accept that he would not be able to get the extra speed that he would have liked.
We have done quite a lot of demonstrations with the machine, we have entered it in competitions and it was in an exhibition of new inventions but as I said before although people are very impressed with it no one was prepared to invest any money in it so it sits in our back shed until something turns up. We know that if it had not been for that machine we would not have been able to come to Australia so we are very grateful for it and know that it has been worth it in the long run. When we came to Australia in 1998 to visit Jonathan and Siân we brought the machine with us and were told to get a business visa because of it. That visa covered both of us, was valid for five years, was multi entry, and cheaper than a tourist visa. When we were ready to come and live here that visa was still valid and we were allowed to come into the country on it and then to apply for an Aged Parent Visa and our permanent residence. People who come to this country on tourist visas and apply for Aged Parent Visas have to leave the country to await the granting of their visa but for some wonderful reason that did not apply to people on Business Visas. We were allowed to stay here. We did not have permission to work but we could carry on business. Once we could see that the Bowling machine would not be a short-term proposition we had to set about looking for another business to go into. But that’s all another story.
posted by MC @ 3:19 PM
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