Don't go topless

Why leave your machinery out to rust in the rain? Now you can protect them with a range of weatherproof covers and tarpaulins produced by an enterprising couple of brothers.

It seemed like such a simple idea. But as the saying goes, that's how the best discoveries are made.

Luke and Joel Pfitzner had been running their own outdoor construction business back in 2018 when the lightbulb moment occurred.

As qualified carpenters, the pair focused on complete backyard renovations, including decks, pergolas, landscaping, retaining walls, concreting, and the like.

But they had been getting frustrated at the damage caused to their mini-excavator because it was at the mercy of the elements.

"It was constantly getting wet and dirty out in the weather overnight and when it was parked up," Luke said.

"We were sick of seeing it deteriorate and mum was sick of us using her towels to dry the seat down every morning.

"With nothing available, we used a king-size mattress bag to slip over our machine each night; however this was more of a pain.

"We needed something custom-fit which was easy to slip on and slip off. We went through a couple of designs before a few more people noticed them and also wanted one."

And thus was born the first DiggerLid product: a cover specially made for a 1.7 tonne machine.

By April 2020, the brothers decided to finish up in construction, sell the truck and machines, and put more time, money and focus into the new company.