Hoselink is the Brookvale family business that has been changing the way Australians garden since 1997. It began with one man, Tim Kierath, and a simple idea for a hose fitting that wouldn't leak or burst. More than 25 years on, it's a full family operation, still based and backed right here in Australia, and now loved by gardeners both locally and in the USA.
It started with a leaky hose
Like many great Australian businesses, Hoselink began with an everyday frustration. Fed up with unreliable, leaky hose fittings that constantly burst off and left him soaked, Tim had a lightbulb moment and decided to solve the problem once and for all.
I was constantly looking for everyday problems that frustrated people and could be solved with a better product. Garden hose fittings were a perfect example. I believed there had to be a better way, and that simple idea became the beginning of Hoselink. — Tim Kierath, Founder
Tim teamed up with an industrial engineer to develop an Australian-made hose fitting that would never leak or burst off the hose. By 1998 he had perfected and patented the design. What set it apart was a genuinely original idea: a durable nylon connector with a bayonet-style fitting, an o-ring to o-ring seal and a split ring that clamps the hose in place, for a 100% watertight connection that could withstand exceptionally high water pressure.
The “go broke” years
Success was anything but immediate. Tim secured distribution through major retailers in Australia and the United States, and smaller operations in the UK and France. On paper, it looked like Hoselink had made it. The reality was very different.
The biggest problem was that people simply didn't understand what Hoselink did or why it was different. In the US, products were returned in such numbers they filled an entire warehouse. In Australia, many customers hadn't assembled the fittings correctly, assumed they were faulty, and sent them back. What followed were ten very difficult years of losing money and borrowing more just to keep going, the years Tim now calls the “go broke” years.
Every morning I'd wake up knowing we'd lost even more money than the day before. But deep down, I never stopped believing in the product. I knew that if we could just show people how it worked, everything would change. — Tim Kierath, Founder
The 30-second miracle
The breakthrough came in 2009. After returning to Australia and relaunching as a direct-to-consumer website, Tim appeared on the Kerri-Anne Kennerley Show with his daughter Sally and demonstrated the Hoselink system live on air. The response was extraordinary. The phones started ringing almost immediately, and they haven't really stopped since.
It taught Tim one of the most valuable lessons in business, and it still guides how Hoselink talks to its customers today.
A great product isn't enough. People first have to understand why it's different and how it solves their problem. — Tim Kierath, Founder
A family business, led by the next generation
As sales built, the family came in behind Tim. Sons Ben and James joined, both IT engineers who could build the online side of the business, followed by daughter Sally, an accountant who brought the financial discipline every growing business needs. Together they had the ideal mix of engineering, technology, finance and customer focus, and that's when Hoselink evolved from a small family business into the company it is today.
Today the next generation leads. Sally is Managing Director alongside her brother James, while Tim still comes into Hoselink HQ. For the founder, handing the business to his children is the part he's proudest of.
From the day my children joined the business, I knew they would eventually lead it. Today, seeing them lead Hoselink is one of my greatest sources of pride. — Tim Kierath, Founder
That family feeling extends to the team, too. Hoselink's longest-standing employee, Michelle, has been with the business for more than 16 years. She started in customer service taking calls off the back of the Kerri-Anne Kennerley commercial, and today heads up Product and Procurement, one of many long-serving faces at Hoselink.
Bringing it home: the Australian-made Evolve
Hoselink became best known for two things: its no-burst fittings and its retractable hose reels. The newest chapter brings both stories together. For years, Tim and James had talked about bringing manufacturing of their key products back to Australia, and over a lunch in November 2019, James pitched the idea that would become the Evolve.
The brief was ambitious: a retractable hose reel fully owned by Hoselink, designed from the ground up on 15 years of product knowledge and customer feedback, and aiming to be not just the most innovative reel in Australia, but the world. The big one: it would be built right here in Australia. On 17 September 2024, after a huge whole-of-business effort, the Australian-designed-and-built Evolve Retractable Hose Reel launched.
The Evolve locks at any length, rewinds with a gentle tug and never leaks. Just as importantly, it's designed to be repaired, not replaced, with serviceable construction and replaceable parts so it can keep working for decades and help cut unnecessary waste.
If you're weighing one up, our Evolve vs Classic comparison breaks down the differences, or browse the retractable reel range.
More than hoses
From that first patented connector, the range has grown to cover the whole garden: hoses and retractable reels, a complete watering system, quality gardening tools and solar lighting for outdoor entertaining. Most recently, Hoselink added food-safe metal garden beds, built for durability with flexible configurations that reshape to suit any space.
You can explore the new metal raised garden beds and the full watering range, all backed by the same standards that started it all.
Through every stage, three values have guided the business since the first connector came off the line: Quality, Customers and Staff. Hoselink remains a 100% Australian family-owned and operated business, and those principles still underpin everything it does.
Our commitment to our Hoselink family is unwavering and underpins all that we do. — Tim Kierath, Founder
From our family to yours
From a single idea in a Brookvale home to a business that ships to gardens across the Beaches and around the world, Hoselink has stayed true to its roots. The names on the door are the same, the values haven't changed, and the mission is simple: to connect each of us with our family and friends, our home and garden, and with nature.
Read more about Hoselink and the Kierath family, or get inspired and shop the full range. Here's to the next chapter.
