SHARP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS TAKES SKATING OFF THE PAVEMENT AND ONTO THE GRASS AND BMX TRACKS

Sharp Concept’s ability to develop almost any project idea into a highly marketable product may very well have birthed the hottest new skating craze in over ten years.

Skorpion Extreme Quad Skates were designed and developed by Sharp Concepts for Hamilton company, Katipo Sports (NZ) Ltd, and was launched by the Warehouse in February 2004.

According to Katipo Sports' director, Gary Reid, being able to meet a market-required price point was a major design achievement for such a high quality New Zealand made product. He says, "Sharp Concepts purposely engineered both the product design and tooling configurations to make sure we would slot into the market at the right price for New Zealand families. An effort was made to ensure the consumer price did not compromise the high quality structure, physical look and ruggedness of the skates.

The Skorpion design process initially started over three years ago when Gary's father observed that his grandchildren were restricted with where they could skate. After experimenting with several different multi-surface designs, Gary and his dad approached Sharp Concepts with a patented prototype made up of lawn mower wheels, axles and a bolted sandshoe.

Sharp Concepts' immediate response was to explore all the related safety issues, and then examine how they could maximise the prototype's marketing potential and performance. Regular strategy meetings with their clients, a lot of testing and trailing, and time spent evaluating their intended market eventually led to the final design.

Along the way the wheels were made smaller; steering was added, and the original bolted shoe was replaced with adjustable footplates in two sizes with buckles and straps. This was done to help keep costs down for families, and enable the skates to be used with any shaped shoe.

The development of ten dedicated moulds has also enabled Sharp Concepts to manufacture the majority of the Skorpion components in-house, including the tyres, strap buckles and footplates.

Gary Reid is pleased with the result. He says, "When we started out Dad and I had no idea what could and couldn't be done with plastics. We came to Sharp Concepts with a very basic request for a multi-terrain skate and they've helped us fundamentally reform its look and performance. What we've ended up with is a well priced, highly marketable product, which is already recognised for its `wow' factor."

So, if you have a project idea or problem that requires innovation, advanced technical ability, and maybe even some highly complex industrial design input - Sharp Concepts can assure you of a sharp result.

 Prev

Next: Pure~Nature Flow