Redefining global fire protection through innovative technologies.

About Us

FST Innovation is a company engaged in the design and improvement of fire safety products for global markets.

Shae Mete – Founder

FST Innovation offers a range of services to the fire protection industry. We Design, Innovate and Consult on products and processes. We improve existing products, processes, and systems. We are not a manufacture, but we do help manufacturers make better products.

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Our history began in 2010 when we established a facility for the development of innovative products and solutions that would help redefine the fire protection industry practices of the 21st century.

In 2014-2017 FSTi invented and patented the ’Connectable’ Fire Sprinkler called the SmartConnect™.

Subsequently a number of additional patents were lodged and granted with further patents pending.

In 2018, the company appointed a skilled board and management team to expand its business and consulting capabilities worldwide.

In 2020, FSTi was awarded a significant and highly competitive AusIndustry Government grant from the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy Resources based on the high standards of novelty, innovation and global applicability of its solutions.

The FSTi charter is to be the world’s leading independent ’Design, Commercialisation and Consulting Firm’ serving the international fire protection sector. 

Our Founder, Mr Shae Mete

Shae’s life work has been on improving Fire Protection practices for the benefit of people and their communities.

Our founder Shae Mete is our Engineering Director. He has been involved with the Fire Protection Association of Australia as the Subject Matter Expert in Fire Protection for many years.

He sits on the Australian Standards committee for Sprinkler Systems – AS2118 and the committee for Fire Hydrant Standards AS2419.

At the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition of Australia, he is a current and founding committee member.

At RMIT University he previously provided technical training on Fire Protection for the industry.

He was a key contributor to Australia’s National Construction Code in developing two highly innovative sprinkler systems that have now been adopted. The mandating of these sprinkler systems was one of the largest and most significant changes to the fire protection legislation in Australia.


Our Capabilities

FST Innovation has in place a team with experience in Fire Protection, Design Engineering, Digital Communications, International Trade and Business Partnerships.

Our team has over 100 years of Fire Protection industry experience. We have a deep understanding of industry practices, industry trends, and compliance.

Our management team is highly experienced with significant strategic and consultative expertise for Licencing, Commercialisation, Patent Management, Trade, and JVs.

We have extensive technical competencies in Wireless Digital Communications Technologies.

Our team include management professionals who have worked for leading international companies and with global expertise in international markets and trade environments.

We are focussed, passionate and committed to improving the safety of people and infrastructure.

Who We Work With

FSTi works with manufacturers, government, and businesses on fire protection innovations that save lives and property.

We are a think-tank company.  We develop smart Fire Protection ideas and solutions via our own inhouse teams, and in co-operative joint projects with other organisations involved with Fire Protection.

We work with regulatory bodies, research institutions, governments and fire authorities, to improve standards to building codes.

We work with manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers by providing them with innovative designs so they can make better products for customers.

We work with the insurance industry and the leading certification authorities to design better products for the fire protection sector.

We support and advise property owners, architects, property developers and builders with clever ideas, solutions, and products.


Our Solutions & Products

The solutions, products and process innovations that we develop are novel. The FSTi Connectable Fire Sprinkler is one such innovation.

The FSTi SmartConnect™ is a unique anti-flood fire sprinkler designed to address the problem of water discharge and accidental water damage. It solves a real problem during and after installation and for the life of the sprinkler.

The SmartConnectFire Sprinkler is connectable and comes with a number of tools.

The DrainConnect™ tool pictured above is for safe pipe draining and to mitigate black water mess and contamination.

The FloodStopper™ is a tool for authorised personnel in case of accidental activation of a fire sprinkler.

And there is a SmartTester™

The SmartTester™ is an instrument to test a sprinkler system and ensure its fully operational. It is used to test the in-situ performance of a Fire Sprinkler system, by providing an immediate result to confirm that the sprinkler system is able to perform as intended.

The SmartConnect™ Sprinkler is the perfect solution for installers who are keen to offer their customers a better solution at the same cost as standard fire sprinklers.

For older buildings and retrofits, the SmartConnect™ represents a large commercial opportunity for installers. There are many millions of aging fire sprinklers installed worldwide that could be replaced with the SmartConnect as building owners strive to refurbish and modernise their properties and increase revenue.

The SmartConnect™ Sprinkler is designed for greater efficiency and is well suited to modern Worksafe principles. 


Our Team

A highly decorated and passionate team providing real world benefits.

David de Campo
Executive Chairman

As Executive Chairman, David’s focus is business growth, corporate governance, and international corporate procedures and practices. He has a strong background in Mergers and Acquisitions, and has participated on the Board of more than twenty private and public companies in Australia and for international markets.

David previously had an extensive career as a senior general manager at Telstra Corporation, Hewlett-Packard (HP), and Lucent /Alcatel. He was educated at Melbourne University and holds an Electrical Engineering Degree and a Master of Business Administration.

Shae Mete
Chief Engineer and Inventor

Shae is well known as an expert in fire safety systems. His experience includes installation, design, consulting, and teaching of fire protection. Shae’s technical expertise is in product design, prototyping, innovation, flow engineering, and 3D CAD.

He has worked closely with the Fire Protection Association of Australia, Australian Standards, the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition of Australia, the Australian National Construction Code Committee, and RMIT University.

Shae’s family are Italian and he comes from an artistic background. He graduated in classical music at the Victorian College of the Arts.

Nowaki McQueen-Tokita
Chief Financial Officer

Nowaki is Managing Partner of McQueen Group, a leading diversified financial and accounting services firm.

The McQueen Group has been advising businesses and individuals for over 20 years, and leads a team of specialists able to provide both broad and deep financial advice. He has been with the firm for 13 years and sits on a number of boards.

He was educated at Scotch College and subsequently studied Law before joining the McQueen Group. He is a passionate supporter of North Melbourne Football Club and the Yakult Swallows in Japanese baseball.

Blair Healy
Chief Commercial Officer

Blair Healy has been a CEO and Board Director of high-tech companies since 2000. His career includes senior executive roles with Fujitsu, Nortel Networks, and Innovonics. He is a founding board director of Flaim Systems, the Firefighter VR learning company spun-out of Deakin University’s Intelligent Systems Research Group. www.flaimsystems.com

Blair has significant international work experience in Korea, Singapore, UK, and Germany. He is a Graduate of the Royal Military College Duntroon and served as an army officer in technical and command positions, and has a BE (Hons Elec) from the University of NSW.

Christopher Neil
Chief Executive, Asia/China

Christopher is a senior businessman based in Beijing for over 20 years and involved in international trade and investment. He has strong relationships with central and local governments, state-owned enterprises, and multinational corporations. He sits on a number of boards and has extensive experience working with international companies doing business in China.

Christopher is an international trade professional and a guest speaker at many key events such as the Global Service Outsourcing Summit (GSOS) held in Qingdao, China hosted by the Ministry of Commerce.  He has a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from Curtin University and undertook Mandarin Chinese studies at the Beijing Language and Culture University.

David Heron
Regional Director, Americas

David is based in the USA and has an extensive background in leading the bottom-line growth for international fire protection companies working with leading distributors, manufacturers and testing companies.

He has broad management expertise and is highly skilled in the analysis of marketing conditions and implementing strategic and tactical solutions that drive the achievement of market share, sales, service, and profitability.

David has been evaluated by the Brooklyn College, City University of New York, as having attained the equivalent of a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in recognition of his expertise in management, customer service, relationship management, and general operations management.

Frank Cooper
Chief Strategy Officer

Frank has worked with multinational computer and communications companies and lived in Europe, Canada, New York, Australia and NZ. He is a shareholder of Flaim Systems, the Firefighter VR learning company spun-out of Deakin University’s Intelligent Systems Research Group.

Frank is involved with a number of innovative companies bringing new products and services to market. He is a significant investor in companies in IoT technologies, fire safety, digital security, digital media marketing, medical, and SaaS software.

Frank is a Canadian, his daughter lives in New York, and his brother is a space scientist at JPL/NASA in Los Angeles. Frank has a BSc, and a BHlthSc in Comp Medicine.

Saw Guo Yi
Project Engineer

Saw grew up in Malaysia in a culturally diverse environment and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Indonesian. He was raised in a family with a strong engineering background that owns a machining company in Malaysia.

Through education, Saw has acquired extensive exposure into additive manufacturing including Selective Laser Sintering(SLM), Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), and Stereolithography (SLA).

Saw’s practical experience has given him knowledge in re-designing for advanced manufacturing, raw material sourcing and Computer Aided Design (CAD). Saw has a Bachelor of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics gained at RMIT University in Melbourne.

Contact

We welcome your inquiries for further information and to discuss opportunities to work together.

Our Philosophy

At FSTi, Life Safety is our mantra!  We are dedicated to elevating innovative products in Fire Protection to a position of greater awareness and acceptance globally. We desire to position Fire Protection front and centre to all residential and commercial environments, focusing on Life Safety as the primary objective.

FST Innovation Ltd

Australia/NZ
David De Campo
Chairman
david.decampo@fst-i.com

Asia/China
Christopher Neil
Chief Executive
beijing@fst-i.com

Americas
David Heron
Regional Director
david.heron@fst-i.com

Europe/ME
Frank Cooper
Chief Strategy Officer
frank.cooper@fst-i.com


The Australian Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy Resources and awarded FSTi an $600,000 Ausindustry Grant towards the development of innovative fire safety solutions.

We are proud members of the Fire Protection Association Australia, Australia’s peak industry body for fire protection.

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