| 3 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FTN Motion Powering up with electric mopeds T Virginia Wright FTN Motion is well on the way with its first production run of its stylish electric mopeds. Below, some early concept drawings. If you require tube, pipe bending, or rolling, then come and talk to us, we are prepared to go that extra mile to help provide a solution for you. With applications for a variety of industries, we have mastered the skill of bending square, rectangular, and round tube and pipe. 07 846 0268 or 027 237 2828 6 Peregrine Place, Frankton, Hamilton | www.htb.co.nz Luke Sinclair and Kendall Bristow have been best mates for close to 20 years and they’re still only in their early 30’s. Since they went to the same school in Pukekohe, just south of Auckland, they’ve flatted together, studied engineering together at Waikato University and more recently started what looks like being a highly successful business together. Their first foray into raising capital had a target of $500,000 with a cap of $700,000 which they reached with apparent ease. They’re now well on their way with their first production run of 100 electric mopeds which they expect to get out through the first quarter of 2022. Like all good stories it started several years “We wanted to design something familiar enough that people recognize it as a motorbike, but it’s fresh and new and stands out, so that was the balance we were trying to achieve.” ago when Kendall started looking into converting a petrol moped to electric. It was around the same time as they reached the end of their engineering degrees and they both took time out, 100 days out in fact, to walk the length of New Zealand on the Te Araroa. “I think that was the real catalyst,” says Luke. “You think more clearly when you’re out walking, and it opened the world up to us a bit in terms of wanting to put our engineering skills into something environmental.” They both went into 9 to 5 jobs as engineers to gain some skills then over a couple of weekends did their own moped conversion. “We made this electric moped out of an old BMX frame and glad-wrapped some batteries to it. Got the thing going with a bit of spot welding and straightaway it was just so much fun! “There were a few just starting to emerge around that time but everything looked a bit ugly, or weird – there was a very uncool factor about electrics,” says Luke with a laugh. Luke and Kendall ride motorbikes as well but felt that the electric technology was perfect for low-speed (they go up to 50km’s an hour), short trips around town. They chipped away at the concept with regular meetings and five or six renditions of the design until peer review (via their mates) confirmed that they’d got rid of the ugly factor. “We wanted to design something familiar enough that people recognize it as a motorbike, but it’s fresh and new and stands out, so that was the balance we were trying to achieve, and it seems to have really connected, so far anyway. We’ve got a huge waiting list and it’s still growing.” T to page 4
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