Couple test a weighty invention

Apr 2 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

THE trial run of an airport baggage weighing machine, which it is hoped will create hundreds of jobs in the North East, gets underway at Bristol Airport tomorrow.

Tyneside husband and wife entrepreneurs Ged and Carole Stewart are driving down today with the prototype of the machine they plan to manufacture here in the region.

The bagweighahead machine will undergo a month-long trial at Bristol International Airport on Thursday with a view to ironing out any difficulties. “We are looking forward to gauging customer reaction and we want to ensure the processes are right,” said the Cullercoats couple.

The Bristol debut marks a further milestone in a journey which began five years ago and has seen the coffee shop owners pump £50,000 of their own money into the venture.

The machine is to be sited inside airport terminals which would allow travellers to check if their baggage met weight allowances.

The Stewarts have secured the support of a German airport baggage company bagport GmbH.

Its managing director Sven Stohn said: “We encouraged them to develop a prototype and the reaction among the airport operators when they saw what they had created was very positive.”