Lifting lives
Christchurch-based HT Systems has a clear ambition: to make life safer, easier, and more independent for wheelchair users and those who care for them.
The story began around 20 years ago, when Burwood Hospital approached the University of Canterbury with a problem. Caregivers were being injured moving people, and there had to be a better way. Christchurch inventor and academic Keith Alexander – best known for the Springfree Trampoline – took up the challenge.
What followed was years of research into a deceptively simple question: how can someone be moved from a wheelchair safely, comfortably, and with minimal physical effort?
That research eventually became HT Systems’ Kera Sit2Sit, a clever transfer device that allows one person to move someone from a wheelchair without motors or batteries. Its patented mechanism follows an ergonomic motion, reducing the physical effort required and opening up greater independence for couples, families, and caregivers.
For CTO Alex O’Keefe, the mission is also personal. His younger sister is a wheelchair user, giving him firsthand experience of the challenges families face when transferring a loved one. The impact of finding a better solution can be profound.
Customers have told HT Systems the technology has allowed couples to remain together at home rather than face residential care, while others have gained freedom from rigid caregiver schedules. One mother told Alex her body finally had “a chance to heal” after years of lifting her son.
That same customer-led approach has driven HT Systems’ next chapter. When one client asked how they could take their transfer equipment on holiday, the team developed the portable Kera Travel, which can be packed for flights, road trips, and even cruises.
From its Christchurch beginnings, HT Systems has now expanded into Australia, the UK, and the US, with products reaching customers as far afield as Belgium and Azerbaijan.
Yet the goal remains refreshingly human: listen to what people need, then engineer a solution that gives them greater freedom.
As Alex puts it, “We’re just listening and turning people’s ideas into actions.”