A story that started at home

Our story began when our Chairman, Alan Royce, was consulting to engineering businesses in Adelaide's northern suburbs—just as the automotive, defence, and mining sectors were winding down. Around this time, Alan and his wife moved his elderly mother-in-law into their own home after a health scare and a home invasion. The challenges of caring for her sparked a deeper conversation: how could we better support safe, dignified care at home?

On a visit to Germany with Craig Williams, owner of a local sheet metal business, Alan shared his experience with Frank Wagner of the Fraunhofer Institute. Frank reinforced that ageing populations are a global issue—labour intensive and underserved by practical solutions. The seed was planted.

Back in Australia, Alan and Craig began researching mobility equipment on the market. They discovered that nearly all products were imported, and many fell short of real-world needs. Collaborating with Anglicare’s home care team in Salisbury, led by Heather Watts, they spent time observing and listening to carers about daily challenges—especially with lifting, showering, and dressing clients safely.

Alan brought the concept to Brenton Matters, an engineering expert, who quickly recognised the opportunity to develop practical solutions for home-based care and invested in the project. Together with Craig, they explored assistive technologies and patient transfer systems in the US—none of which included integrated showering or bathing solutions.

Brenton and his sons Scott and Jake designed an early version of the Behn shower chair, developed to work in conjunction with a transfer bed. It laid the foundation for a fully integrated assistive tech solution—engineered for safer, simpler, single-carer transfers.

A working prototype of the Behn system was presented to professional and informal carers at Behn HQ. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive—care teams noted improved client safety and comfort, and the ability to complete transfers with just one carer. Compared to conventional slings and hoists, the Behn system represented a step-change in achieving a better standard of care at home.  

By September 2017, the integrated shower chair and bed system was finalised and reviewed again by a panel of carers. Their feedback helped guide further enhancements, particularly around incontinence support and safe use for clients with cognitive decline or memory loss.

The multi-talented David Brown joined the team, bringing further technical expertise to help refine the system’s mechanics and usability. With no commercial revenue, both Brenton and Alan continued contributing their time unpaid—driven by a shared commitment to solve real challenges for carers and clients alike.

The South Australian Government provided a $165,000 grant to support continued development and early-stage testing—recognising the system’s potential to support safer, more independent care at home.

In 2024, the Behn Client Transfer System was added to the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), confirming that it meets the relevant medical device regulations. This important step opened the path to national adoption and commercial readiness. More on the ARTG here.

Later that year, the project received a $150,000 grant from the Commonwealth ARIIA program, helping to accelerate development and prepare the system for market readiness and broader commercial rollout.

With over $1.4 million in private investment and support from the R&D tax incentive, Behn has completed its first pre-production run. Successful in-house trials have been conducted with leading residential care providers, and the system is now entering full commercial release—bringing safer, smarter, single-carer transfers to homes and facilities across Australia.