Washable keyboards venture grows

MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times

OUT WITH THE OLD: Wairere Nurseries' Sol Taplin replaces his conventional keyboard with a washable option.

Relevant offers

Wairere Nurseries has spent $20,000 on launching a new company specialising in washable roll-up keyboards.

While visiting trade shows in China looking for pots and gardening tools to sell in the Gordonton nursery near Hamilton, Harry Jansen and Sol Taplin stumbled across the USB keyboards and placed an initial order for them instead.

Dentists had been really taken by the idea of keyboads that could be washed. One Waikato practice had ordered 12.

Mr Taplin said a washable keyboard was something they had talked about being a good idea last year, but before going to the trade shows in China they were not aware of their existence. The keyboards are more hygienic because they can be plunged underwater and tolerate extreme temperatures between -40C and up to 80C.

Since placing the first order of 3000 keyboards they have been overwhelmed by the response and confident that they will sell 9000 within the first year. The first shipment arrives in July.

They said moving into selling technology products from plants was a dramatic change, but had positive feedback so far.

It is a completely different direction for Mr Jansen and Lloyd Houghton, who have transformed Wairere Nurseries from its modest start as an honesty box on the side of road where people could buy plants into a successful garden centre and mail order business.

- © Fairfax NZ News