Two years ago, Wendy and Joe Wecker were about to import a device to keep children safe from farmyard vehicles and equipment.
The farm couple from Sedley, Sask., who have three young children, had seen the Kinderfinder in Europe and thought it would sell well in Canada.
The receiver, which is placed in farm vehicles, picks up signals from electronic bracelets or tags worn by children, alerting drivers to their presence.
However, a deal to bring the device to North America fell through, leaving the Weckers with a decision: drop the idea or develop their own product.
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Recently, the Where Abouts was acknowledged at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show as one of two gold award winners in the show’s innovation recognition program.
The Weckers and two other couples, Geoff and Kristine Vallance of rural Regina and Travis and Corinne Wiens of Milestone, Sask., formed PrairieTech Enterprises to manufacture and market their version of the safety device.
Wendy Wecker said there were just too many obstacles for their European deal to work, including problems with frequencies.
“Some units we had were failing,” she said of the made-in-China units. “A large percentage of them were faulty.”
Price was also an issue. A receiver and one bracelet cost $1,000, and Wecker said the European partner wasn’t willing to compromise.
The three Canadian partners decided to improve the concept and manufacture their devices in Canada.
The receivers now operate on batteries or a 12-volt system and accept signals from 30 metres away. They also contain an auxiliary relay to allow further applications, such as a speaker or a warning light to provide extra safety.
“There is now a battery indicator light,” said Travis Wiens, so parents know when the wristbands need new batteries.
The Where Abouts came together quickly after a Toronto-based radio frequency identification company developed a prototype last fall.
Wiens said the system has been tweaked over the last several months.
“By the end of (this) week, we should have a small production run,” he said.
The Toronto company will continue to provide the electronics, and the casings will be made in Saskatoon.
“There is a bit of a premium to be paid for that,” Wecker said, but the device now costs $500 and she is more comfortable that the workmanship won’t fail.
“It’s more affordable and realistic and additional bracelets are only $100.”
PrairieTech has already received orders from individuals, and a trucking company that enters a lot of farmyards has ordered the receivers for its vehicles. Allwristbands work with all receivers.
