New Plymouth-based medical bed manufacturer, Howard Wright, has won the 2010 Australian International Design Award of the Year for its M8 Intensive Care bed.

The Australian International Design Awards is a division of Standards Australia and one of the world's most renowned design assessment programs, recognising product design and innovation excellence. Winners were announced in Sydney on Friday 4 June 2010.

Howard Wright's M8 Intensive Care was recognised for its outstanding design, attention to detail and innovation. The M8 is cleverly designed to reduce patient handling and risk of injury by allowing for a wide range of medical procedures to be performed without the need to transfer the patient from the bed.

 

Another New Zealand company, Simcro, was also one of only nine finalists nominated for the overall Australian International Design Award of the Year.