right place, right time, right way
The greatest challenge for Jennifer Joy and John Donnelly, the driving force behind Wrightway Products, was getting the world to see the value of putting a foot pedal on a wheelie bin.
“We were laughed at for years at trade shows, as John and I stood there opening and closing bins lids with our feet,” says Jennifer.
“But we are now recognised as being forward-thinking and innovative. Our ‘baby’ Lid Lifta® is still seen as the most effective and reliable foot pedal bin-lid opening device available.”
Jennifer and John’s Lid Lifta® baby was born after observing staff both handle food, and open and close bins by hand. They realised that a foot pedal on a wheelie bin would reduce cross contamination of pathogens.
The idea developed further when Woolworths suggested the pedal should be constructed in stainless steel. “Franklins Supermarkets were the first to introduce the Lid Lifta® foot pedal bin, and after a trial went national, 10 to 15 Lid Lifta® bins were in every store,” says Jennifer.
As well as manufacturing Lid Lifta® bins, Wrightway also manufactures the uniquely designed wrightway2MT® (right way to empty) bin tipper. “We noticed how often young people put themselves at risk of injury when picking up heavy wheelie bins and manually lifting them above their heads, to empty them into industrial skips,” says Jennifer.
The Lismore-based business has grown from four staff to 14 since it launched more than 20 years ago, in 1996. They’ve learnt how to deal with the complexities associated with in-house manufacturing of complicated hydraulic electrical machinery.
They’ve also endured and survived Lismore floods. “We need to work with the reality that it does occasionally flood here and we need to take steps to ensure minimum disruption of operations,” says Jennifer.
While Lismore is a flood area, it’s also the right place for Wrightway Products, Jennifer says.

“It is the people, the relaxed lifestyle, the manner in which our business is accepted and respected by the local community, combined with the fact that we both hate traffic jams and city existence, which keeps us happy here in Lismore, the heart of the Northern Rivers.”

Share this story
Read more stories
beauty and the bottle
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/husk-distillers-tweed-001.jpg 1280 853 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/husk-distillers-tweed-001.jpgHusk Distillers
The Husk Distillers story starts in the tropical paradise of the Caribbean. Paul and his wife Mandaley Perkins were on holiday in 2009 and discovered…
Dance call for Kyogle
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Ascent-Dance_group-dancers.jpg 1473 828 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Ascent-Dance_group-dancers.jpgAscent Dance
Starting a dance school just five weeks before the onset of a pandemic might have dampened the spirits of some new business owners, but Haylee Holliday took it as a sign that Ascent Dance Studio had to succeed.
A planet of business diversity
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tropical-Fruit-World_Aymon-Gow-Main-Gate.jpg 2016 1512 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tropical-Fruit-World_Aymon-Gow-Main-Gate.jpgTropical Fruit World
It’s been almost 50 years since Robert and Valorie Brinsmead bought the 200-acre farm in Murwillumbah.
Keeping it real in the Tweed
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpg 1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpgTweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.
crowd pleasing innovation creates a buzz
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/flow-hive-featured001.jpg 1210 864 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/flow-hive-featured001.jpgBeeInventive
It’s difficult to know where to start with the remarkable story of BeeInventive. Perhaps in the humble shed in Byron Shire bushland…
From trauma to business transformation
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Our-Cow.jpg 1620 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Our-Cow.jpgOur Cow
For Casino-based meat providers Our Cow, the last three years have seen remarkable, game-changing growth.
when opportunity knocks…
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/horizon-motorhomes-ballina-002.jpeg 1600 1067 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/horizon-motorhomes-ballina-002.jpegHorizon Motorhomes
When a campervan arrived on Clayton Kearney’s used car yard in 1995, and sold in seconds flat, he realised there was a gap in the market…
partners with industry, partners with community
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SCU-Enterprise-Lab-launch-copy.jpg 2000 1048 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SCU-Enterprise-Lab-launch-copy.jpgSouthern Cross University
Celebrating a silver anniversary is a significant milestone, 25 years of developing your relationship, exploring and accepting your strengths…
A community cornerstone bouncing forward
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Coraki-Post-Office.jpeg 2048 1260 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Coraki-Post-Office.jpegCoraki Post Office
For all that has been thrown at the small town of Coraki in recent times, the owners of the town’s post office are rolling with the punches.
Delivering top service, come hospital or high water
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/McLeans-Frieght-Service_Leisa.jpg 870 652 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/McLeans-Frieght-Service_Leisa.jpgMcLeans Freight Service
When Leisa Blok’s father, Laurie McLean, began running urgent nighttime blood deliveries from Lismore airport in 1992, he mightn’t have expected the one-man gig to expand into a 50-vehicle courier fleet, delivering across the entire northern NSW region.
From cobblestones to all-terrain cranes
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wicks-Parker.webp 1200 900 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Wicks-Parker.webpWicks and Parker
Fast approaching 100 years old, the Wicks family business has helped build motorways and carry out emergency bushfire repairs, but it once hammered out steel bands for horse-drawn carriage wheels.
Talking together for 50 years
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Jumbunna.jpg 1440 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Jumbunna.jpgJumbunna Community Preschool and Early Intervention Centre
The early childhood sector has played a vital role in supporting communities and families in the Northern Rivers amid the onslaught of challenges in the last three years.
Hovering across the wave of success
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FliteImage.jpg 1139 749 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FliteImage.jpgFliteboard
It was meant to be an extended break for David Trewern and his family. A chance to rest and reset in Byron Bay after decades of building and selling fast-growing digital marketing agencies. But as he looked out over Belongil beach in 2014, an idea struck him.
cooperative success, sweet for 150 years
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/sunshine-sugar-richmond-valley-nsw-002.jpg 1000 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/sunshine-sugar-richmond-valley-nsw-002.jpgSunshine Sugar
The Northern Rivers is home to generations of cane farming families who have not only built the sugar industry, but also saved the local…
a natural business adventure
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mount-Warning-Tours-01.jpg 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Mount-Warning-Tours-01.jpgMount Warning Tours
Despite only existing for four years, Mount Warning Tours’ short life has been eventful: from purchasing the ex-Murray River ferry Spirit of Wollumbin…
riding the wave of success
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/glass-lab-tweed-heads-002.jpg 1000 661 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/glass-lab-tweed-heads-002.jpgThe Glass Lab
Adam Wessel may have worked in surfboard factories since the age of 16, but it was a stint in the luxury yachting industry that sowed the…
love, peace and artisan cheese
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/nimbin-valley-dairy-003.jpg 666 500 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/nimbin-valley-dairy-003.jpgNimbin Valley Dairy
Not every goat in Australia has its own nutritionist and its own vet. But the goats at Nimbin Valley Dairy definitely do. Bill, the nutritionist…
not just a business, a community partner
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/stone-and-wood-001.jpg 960 761 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/stone-and-wood-001.jpgStone & Wood
“That’s like asking parents to name which of their children they prefer,” says Jamie Cook, Stone & Wood co-founder. He has been asked which of the…
A walk on the wild side
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Fix-Vision-Walks.jpg 1245 933 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Fix-Vision-Walks.jpgVision Walks Eco Tours
Wendy Bithell has built her multi-award-winning eco-tourism business, Vision Walks – Eco Tours, by combining her two areas of expertise: ecology and technology. Her Byron hinterland adventures are as diverse as nature walks with night vision goggles, Indigenous bush tucker tours, and three-day women’s indulgence escapes.
spirit of the rainforest
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cape-byron-distellery-002.jpg 960 540 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cape-byron-distellery-002.jpgCape Byron Distillery
Let’s forget the beaches for a moment, as the true lifeblood of the Northern Rivers landscape is surely its rainforests, some of the most botanically…





















