Return of the MinMin
The micro lure market grew quickly in the mid 90's. Small lures had always been popular with trout anglers, and the rising interest in lure fishing for saltwater bream gave them added impetus. We'd abandoned that market segment in 1992 because of financial constraints and took the decision in 1996 to resurrect our MinMin, only this time it was a complete makeover of our old urethane model (which had since been unethically copied using our original moulds).

Using accumulated knowhow of injection moulding and continuing a modular manufacturing philosophy, we tooled up for two micro lure bodies and two bib styles to go with them. This was the single biggest tooling investment in the company's history. The project started in 1996 and the first product hit the shelves in 1997. In the first half of the year we launched four new lures; 50mm MinMin in deep and shallow running versions; 40mm MicroMin in deep and shallow running versions. The revamped MinMin was a more finely contoured lure than the 1990 model and pushed the limits of what could be achieved in miniaturisation of a plug style lure whilst still retaining good performance characteristics.

Another design coup was the loose wire tow point which didn't require a split ring to keep it captive. This reduced the hardware burden on our deep diving MinMins and ensured excellent action.

MinMin and MicroMin were an instant success and boosted sales.

A spanner in the works?
Maybe you wouldn't guess that a major restructure of the electricity industry in NSW would have an impact on a small Aussie lure manufacturer. It did because Rob has a job with an electricity company, and was relocated in 1997. This left Frank to run the manufacturing operations in Inverell while the book keeping and design functions went to Port Macquarie with Rob. This was a fateful development because, in time, the whole business will be moved to Port Macquarie.

Continuous improvement
Quality is a core value of our business. It embodies not only lure performance in the water where it counts most, but aesthetics, durability and brand prestige. Our focus at the turn of the century has been to cement our position as an innovative manufacturer and lay firm foundations for global business.

In 1999 we invested R&D into improving the durability of our lure bibs. All manufacturers of lures with transparent bibs experience occasional problems with breakages — some much more than others. We were no exception, but could not accept even a small failure rate as tolerable.

Working closely with our toolmakers, moulding experts, and resin suppliers, we developed new super-tough bib technology. This involved not only the blending of a new plastic alloy, but a modified moulding process.

So important was this development that we protected it with a new trademark — enduroShok™. We're confident that enduroShok toughness is unequaled, having torture tested our own product and many local and imported rivals. None of them could go the distance with enduroShok. Our latest lure, the Spoonbill, and our enduroShok bib technology were launched simultaneously in January 2000.