True innovation
It’s a fractured world we’re living in. Post-truth. Alternative facts. Every statement or position feels less and less likely to be embraced scientifically and investigated logically – rather, it’s more akin to sticking one’s head above the parapet with the expectation it’ll be knocked off. So when, midway through the demonstration of Partington’s destructive testing protocols by CEO Jason Steinwedel, I stopped to ask, ‘Have I got this right? These wheels will not – cannot – come out of true?’
‘Yes, that’s correct,’ he replies.
I found myself conflicted. Could this be accurate? Was I sitting in the office of a Geelong company – and a brand whose genesis and growth I had followed just a stone’s throw from where I lived – witnessing what was, for want of a better phrase, the reinvention of the wheel?
This is the start, but let’s jump back to the beginning.
What’s in a name?
Everything, in this instance. Partington Wheels – or, more accurately, Partington.CC – draws its name from its founder, Jon Partington, who has the good fortune of being both a gifted engineer and the owner of a surname that lends itself to seamless branding for this cutting-edge company.
My earliest memories
