A rainy Saturday on a construction site, where plastic safety caps kept breaking and blowing away, led Anthony Burr to invent a durable steel alternative. His company, Safety Pickets, Inc., is now shipping the patented cap through Bunnings Warehouse stores across Australia and is preparing for a US launch. The product, made from high-strength low-alloy steel, is designed to prevent injuries from exposed sharp steel posts and eliminate the waste associated with single-use plastic caps.
Burr, a former concreter, experienced the recurring problem of plastic caps cracking in the sun and snapping off in the wind. The breaking point came when he had to leave a rainy job site to buy more caps just to ensure safety over the weekend. “That’s when the idea came to me, and I thought, I’m going to explore this and see if we can create a solution,” he said. Despite initial skepticism from manufacturers, Burr persisted, eventually finding a partner to build a prototype. The design underwent significant revisions, evolving from a bulky welded version to a lightweight cap that presses directly onto the picket, requiring no extra labor on site.
The company has secured patents in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the United States. The product's validation and growing safety expectations in construction, civil, agricultural, and municipal sectors led to a distribution agreement with Bunnings Warehouse, Australia's largest hardware retailer. The steel cap is now available in all Australian states, and the company is eyeing the US market, with early conversations underway with contacts in Florida's road and infrastructure sector.
Burr emphasizes that the product's origin story—born from genuine frustration on a real job site—resonates with buyers and partners. “A tool built out of genuine, repeated frustration on a real jobsite, rather than a corporate research exercise, is what he believes will resonate with US buyers,” the release notes. For more details on the cap's construction and applications, visit the Safety Pickets product page.
