Practical mechanical engineering and operations support for Australian product-led businesses. 20+ years of hands-on experience, helping you turn physical ideas into manufactured products without the cost of a full-time engineering team.
Most founders we meet have a promising product, real demand and a head full of supplier quotes. What they do not have is a senior engineer in the room asking the right questions before the money goes out the door.
If any of these sound familiar, you are exactly who we built MEPO for.
How Can We Help
01 / Build It Right
Mechanical engineering, CAD, Design for Manufacturing, prototyping, reverse engineering, materials and 3D printing. We pressure test the design before you commit to tooling or a production run.
02 / Make It Efficient
Process optimisation, workflow reviews, bottleneck identification, supplier readiness and production documentation. Less guesswork, more control, fewer expensive surprises.
03 / Scale It Smart
Fractional COO support, operations advisory, manufacturing implementation, project management and supplier coordination. The experienced person in the room, when you need them.
A short, no-pressure call to understand your product, where you are stuck and what you want to achieve.
We dig into the design, manufacturing approach, supplier setup or operations, and identify the practical issues.
Plain-English recommendations you can act on yourself, or with our continued support. No jargon, no fluff.
Services & Pricing
Three tiers. No lock-in. Start where it makes sense for you.
Fixed-fee entry points. Low commitment, high clarity.
Design for Manufacturing Review
Best For
Product founders, e-commerce brands and SMEs with an existing design, prototype, sample or production issue.
Includes
Protect your design from reverse engineering
Best For
Brands manufacturing overseas or preparing to engage an overseas factory.
Includes
Find where time, money or quality is being lost
Best For
SMEs with existing production runs experiencing quality issues, delays, cost blowouts or supplier inconsistency.
Includes
Scoped, time-bound projects. Priced per project.
Concept to manufacturable design
Best For
Founders with a validated idea who need hands-on mechanical engineering and design.
Includes
Reduce cost, improve quality, update for new markets
Best For
Brands with an existing product needing a cost reduction, quality improvement or market update.
Includes
Documented improvement plan and implementation support
Best For
Small to medium manufacturers with inefficient processes, high waste or inconsistent output quality.
Includes
Retained monthly engagements. Reviewed every 90 days.
Fractional COO · 8 hrs/month
Best For
Founder-led businesses that need senior input occasionally but cannot justify a full-time hire.
Includes
Fractional COO · 16 hrs/month
Best For
Businesses in growth phase with active engineering, manufacturing or operations challenges.
Includes
Fractional COO · 32 hrs/month
Best For
Established businesses with complex operations, multiple suppliers or significant production volume.
Includes
We'd been going in circles with our supplier for six months. MEPO came in, identified the actual problem in the first week, and had us back on track within a month.
James R.
Founder, Consumer Products Brand
The DFM review alone saved us from an expensive tooling mistake. Having someone who's actually run a manufacturing operation made all the difference.
Priya M.
Product Director, Homewares Brand
We needed a fractional ops lead who could hit the ground running. MEPO understood our supply chain challenges immediately and brought structure to what had been total chaos.
David M.
CEO, Outdoor Goods Brand
About MEPO
MEPO was built on 20+ years of hands-on experience across mechanical engineering, product design, manufacturing and operations. The team behind MEPO has held senior roles including Head of Operations and General Manager at manufacturing businesses, responsible for production planning, supplier management, quality systems, workforce, and commercial outcomes across complex, high-volume operations, working across New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Australia and with Chinese production facilities.
That background means we understand what actually happens between the design file and the finished product: the supplier conversations that go wrong, the tolerance issues that only appear at scale, the procurement decisions that blow your cost of goods (COGS), and the production floor dynamics that no textbook covers. We've lived it, managed it, and fixed it.
Most of our clients are product founders, e-commerce brands and small to medium manufacturers who need that same level of senior expertise without the cost of a full-time hire. We work inside your problem, not around it. We bring the perspective of someone who has sat in the seat, made the hard calls, and knows what actually gets results on the factory floor.
What we stand for
We tell you what we see. No fluff, no corporate softening.
We work inside your problem, not around it.
Real manufacturing environments. Not advisory from the outside.
We own outcomes, not just deliverables.
"Your product should belong to you, not your factory."
Book a Free Call →Still unsure? Drop us a line at [email protected] and we will tell you honestly whether MEPO is the right fit.
No. We are based in Australia and prioritise Australian clients, but we work with NZ and UK-based brands where the scope is a good fit. Remote-first is our default for most engagements.
Book a free discovery call. In 30 minutes we can usually tell you exactly where you are stuck, what type of engagement makes sense, and whether MEPO is the right fit. No obligation.
Yes. Our expertise is in mechanical engineering, manufacturing and physical product operations. We do not work on software, purely digital products, or electronic hardware that is primarily circuit-board driven.
We work with physical, manufactured products. Primarily consumer goods, homewares, outdoor and sporting equipment, tools and industrial hardware, and general mechanical products. We apply mechanical engineering principles, so the product needs to be a physical object that requires design, manufacturing and materials consideration. We do not work on electronic, medical or compliance-heavy products.
A Design for Manufacturing (DFM) review is a structured assessment of your product design to identify issues that will make it difficult, expensive, or impossible to manufacture at scale. We review your CAD files, drawings or prototype photos, assess materials, tolerances and production/ manufacturing methods, flag supplier risks, and deliver a prioritised written report. It is the fastest way to catch problems before you commit significant tooling or production investment.
Consumer products, homewares, outdoor and sporting goods, industrial equipment, tools and hardware, and similar physical product categories. If it is designed, made and shipped, we can usually help.
We keep our client load intentionally small so we can be genuinely useful rather than stretched thin. Current availability is usually within two to three weeks of an initial call. Contact us to check.
The DFM Review and Production Bottleneck Review are our lowest-commitment entry points. They are fixed-scope, fixed-fee and deliver standalone value with no obligation to continue. For project and retainer work, minimum terms vary by scope.
Book a free 30-minute call. No obligation, no sales pitch. Just an honest conversation about where you are at and whether we can help.
Book a Free Discovery Call → Or email us directly at [email protected]A short message is enough to get started. We will read it, ask a few practical questions, and tell you honestly whether we can help.