May 24th-30th is Australian Made week, an initiative launched by Australian Made to celebrate, promote and create awareness of Australian Made products and produce.

As well as creating awareness of some truly great Australian goods, Australian Made Week is also drawing attention to the national, economic benefits of 'buying Australian'.

Shoppers are being urged to say 'g'day' to one extra locally made or grown product per week to help boost the country's economy over the next 12 months.

Recent research from Roy Morgan suggests that an additional $10 spent on Australian Made products per household, would add an extra $5 billion to the economy each year and could also create up to 11,000 new jobs.

Australian Made Chief Executive, Ben Lazzaro, said the purpose of Australian Made Week is to celebrate and support local makers and growers.

"It's an opportunity to focus on the benefits of buying local and highlight that when you buy Australian Made, you have a direct economic impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Australians throughout the supply chain," he said.

"Even making a small change in your weekly shopping can create a huge difference for local businesses."

Rotacaster/OMNIA are proudly supporting Australian Made Week; designing and manufacturing, exclusively Australian products for more than 10 years.

Everything from the life-changing Omni-Sense white cane tip, to the unique Plant Glider to our ground-breaking conveyor transfer systems, (not to mention the omni-wheels which drive all of these great innovations) have been designed and manufactured rom our facility in Beresfield, just outside Newcastle, NSW.

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Rotacaster Managing Director, Peter McKinnon speaks of why 'Australian Made' is an important part of the company's make-up,

"We have a huge sense of pride in what we do at Rotacaster. We love to make stuff! More than that, we love to invent stuff! By designing and making things locally we maintain certain level of ownership on IP for some very unique products.

In broader terms, the uncertainty of supply chains in the last 12 months shows that we are able to compete globally, even in places like China. Australia has always been an innovative country, and advanced manufacturing is enabling us to compete internationally.

Bearing the Australian Made logo on our products is not only giving domestic customers piece-of-mind, but customers from overseas too. Exporting and bringing in revenues from overseas is always going to be good for the Australian economy."

Rotacaster increasingly endeavours to source from domestic suppliers, not only to keep things 'local', but also to make production lead times more agile. Maintaining these practices also helps to reduce carbon footprints created from overseas importing.

By keeping all these things top-of-mind when new product developments arise, Rotcaster are able to, quite literally, keep the Australian Made wheels turning.

For enquiries about any of our products please contact tim@rotacaster.com.au

(Vision impaired social media influencer, Molly Burke give the lo-down on her Omni-Sense cane tip)

The Omni-Sense has been Stateside and creating quite a stir amongst the vision impaired communities across the country, particularly with some prominent US social media vloggers and influencers. 

The Omni-Sense has made it onto Molly Burke's (660K followers on Tik Tok) hit list and has even been tested out in skateparks by Sam Seavey who hosts The Blind Life YouTube channel. 

The great news is it has been getting a big 'thumbs-ups' from both Molly and Sam who have been impressed with the sensory feedback the omni-sense provides. Sam and Molly have now switched to Omni-Sense from their traditional ball and marshmallow tips for daily use.

As Sam from The Blind Life States,

Sam first reviewed the Omni-Sense in March, and has since tested it our rollerblading and skateboarding in his local skatepark, enthusiastically reporting that,

"It worked really well. The Omni-Sense allowed me to feel the ramp transitions before I got to them, so I could prepare."

In his latest video, Sam reviews a range of cane tips currently available on the market, ranging from traditional ball and marshamallow tips to non-conventional products such as Omni-Sense. In this video Sam states,

"... since reviewing [the Omni-Sense], this has become my daily driver... this is the one I have been using everyday... It's great for contstant contact... and because it has these wheels, it roles over obstacles beautifully."

Molly Burke has a huge following on social media and has posted a number of videos demostrating the Omni-Sense's benefits, affirming;

"I really liked the auditory feedback it [Omni-Sense] provided, which was a lot more than the traditional marshmallow tip on the end of my cane that I was used to using. I also find it rolls a lot smoother over the cracks in the pavement, so it [the cane] doesn't get stuck and stab me in the stomach at all - it's pretty great!" 

Incidentally, two of her posts abouth the Omni-Sense have grossed the highest number of views of all her videos on Tik Tok - 1.6M and 1.2M views!

We're really excited to see how well the Omni-Sense is being recieved by these independent users and ecstatic that it is having such a positive effect on people's lives. 

Roll-on the Omni-Sense! 

Omnia's Omni-Sense has been undergoing trials with a number of vision impairment organisations in the USA after news of the white cane tip spread following its launch in October 2020.

Sarah has retinopathy prematurity and glaucoma and has been trialling the Omni-Sense since late January 2021.

"It's my new favourite thing", Sarah states enthusiastically citing the new white cane tip as giving her a lot more freedom and preventing her white cane from getting stuck in small dips in the ground which often results in the other end of the cane digging into her hip - an often frustrating and painful experience.

"I don't trip, I don't get hit in the hip and I can just keep walking without having to readjust", explains Sarah.

Sarah uses a constant contact technique when using a white cane and says there was a little bit of a learning curve when switching to the Omni-Sense, and took a couple of tries to get used to it, but says when you do 'it is just wonderful'.

"It is just wonderful. There's so much more feedback, there's so much more, in at least my opinion, freedom you can get from this particular cane tip."

Sarah also states that the sounds the cane tip makes when moving across different surfaces is awesome and provides excellent auditory feedback. She also loves the fact that by using the 'stopper', it doesn't fall over when resting it up against a wall when not in use - this is one of her favourite features.

Sarah see's opportunities for the Omni-Sense for people who use support canes, wheelchairs and walkers too, as there is less work to do in terms of the cane getting stuck in holes or dips in the ground.

To find out more about the Omni-Sense or to purchase click here.