Childproof lids

Who would have guessed that those childproof (and often adult proof) lids were invented in New Zealand? Italian expat Claudio Petronelli settled in Wanganui with his young wife, in 1970 they had their first baby, a son.

One day he read of an unfortunate Hawkes Bay family whose child had died after drinking poison from a bottle. He determined that the same would not happen to him and, as an engineer, set about designing a child proof bottle cap.

With partner Gavin Park they perfected a design which they patented then set about manufacturing the caps. They also licenced the they design to an American company which produced millions of caps.
The patent has now long run out but their company continues to design, patent and manufacture a variety of systems from garden and kitchen tools to water valves.