John Baldini was a Tasmanian bee keeper suffering a strain injury to his back. Faced with the prospect of having to give up his beloved bee keeping, John invented a floating axle for his trolley, which could greatly reduce effort required to operate it. His back injury subsequently improved and John was able to continue with his business. He had a school teacher friend, Craig Storay, who was so impressed with the OH&S benefits of this invention that he offered to find investors and commercialise it. They were joined by engineer, Peter Schnackenberg, who refined the axle mechanism. Craig found companies in Australia, USA and Japan which were very impressed with the strain reduction and productivity benefits of John’s invention and were subsequently licensed to manufacture trolleys / hand trucks incorporating the Baldini™ Floating Axle under the Easitilt® trade mark.

2. School teacher turns businessman

Not satisfied with the quality of products initially produced by the Australian licensee, Craig Storay decided to set up a manufacturing business himself called Austec Innovations P/L. It then became the exclusive Australian licensee of the Baldini™ Floating Axle. Craig decided to develop a niche market by manufacturing trolleys to an exceptionally high quality standard, with greater load capacity than competing products. He developed user friendly frame designs and accessory products, such as TROLLEY PAL™ trolley pallets, and the DRUM HANDLE™ tool to further improve work place safety and productivity. All products quickly became sought after in a market inundated with cheap, low quality trolleys which were not suited to our industrial conditions.

3. OH&S Award

In 2002 these products were entered in a competition run by the Queensland Government. The competition being for innovations which improved work place safety and productivity. Austec Innovations received a manufacturer’s award of Special Commendation for its Easitilt® Trolleys fitted with the Baldini™ Floating Axle.

4. Business Restructured

In 2005 the business was restructured as Austec Engineering, which has now carefully selected and licensed Australian dealers, with high standards of business ethics, to ensure our products are honestly represented to customers and their level of service and integrity exceeds customer expectations. In a world where we have found spin doctors, scammers and dubious practices all too common; integrity is the cornerstone upon which all our dealings are based. From integrity grows trust and from trust grows business.

5. Our Factory

All fabrication work has been carried out by highly skilled tradesmen, in our associated Thai factory since 1997. Assembly and final quality checks are completed in Australia before sale. We use a zero fault quality management system to ensure our customers get the highest quality products at world competitive prices. We are very pleased to say, also, that all the factory workers enjoy modern working conditions.

6. Business Opportunity

Today, the patented Baldini™ Floating Axle remains the most user- friendly of all pivoting axles used on trolleys world-wide and Austec™ Easitilt® Trolleys are manufactured to an unbreakable quality standard which is backed by our four year guarantee.

More dealers with integrity are now required to continue the growth of our business. Enquiries from reputable businesses or persons interested in starting a new business with great lifestyle benefits are most welcome. International enquiries are also welcome as products can be shipped direct from our associate Thai factory.