When Gavin Watson's nine-year-old daughter ran through a closed sliding glass door at a barbecue in Auckland, the glass shattered on impact. She had shards between her legs, under her armpits, and around her throat. She was lucky. The lacerations were serious, but it could have been far worse.
That moment planted a question that would take thirty years to answer. Gavin brought something rare to it: a career spent working with talented people in the top levels of motorsport, demanding innovation and excellence. If anyone could find a better answer than glass, it was him.
Founding Story
A Formula 1 Career. A Problem Worth Solving.
Gavin Watson grew up in Hunterville and trained as a mechanic, a trade that would take him further than most dare to imagine. His father passed away unexpectedly when he was 15 and still at school. His father Roy Watson had taught an apprentice Bruce Wilson and Bruce brought one of the remaining two garages in Hunterville.
That grounding led Gavin into the orbit of Bruce Wilson, widely regarded as one of the greatest mechanics globally of his generation, whose expertise was sought out by Chris Amon, the revered New Zealand driver who raced for both McLaren and Ferrari. It placed Gavin at the centre of some of the most technically demanding and innovative work in motorsport. Bruce was exposed to many other teams including March Engineering for specialised work.
Being close to people who were perfectionists and in Bruce Wilson’s case an innovator, that shaped the way Gavin thinks. So when his daughter's accident asked a hard question about glass and human safety glazing for homes, he was uniquely equipped to answer it.
Thirty years of research and iteration followed — building the manufacturing process from scratch, developing specialist equipment, refining the material layer by layer.
The product that emerged is NexaGlaze™: up to 40x stronger than glass, 93% light transmission, non-brittle on impact, and BEAL-certified to the NZ Building Code (PCC-2038-NZ). It is safety glazing reimagined from the ground up — laminated glass vs composite glazing is no contest when it comes to human safety.
Nexus Optical Technology Headquarters in Taupō
What's Next
This is Just the Beginning
NexaLux™
The vandal proof lights system for correctional and secure facilities, is already in market — a direct extension of the same optical composite technology into a completely different application. Products in development include solar energy harvesting for buildings, enhanced structural glazing, and horticultural light optimisation. The platform is broader than any one product.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some common questions about our company.
Engineered and manufactured in Taupo, New Zealand by Nexus Optical Technologies Ltd. Developed, tested and refined here for more than two decades.
Yes. NexaGlaze™ holds BEAL Product Compliance Certificate PCC-2038-NZ, confirming glazing compliance with the New Zealand Building Code. Renewed annually.
When one of the co-founders' children ran through a closed glass door, it made vivid what the industry had long accepted: glass shatters and causes serious harm. The founding question — how do we keep people safe by changing the way window systems work? — drove everything that followed.
Partner with Advanced Materials Experts
From initial risk assessment to certified product supply, the NexaGlaze™ team provides advanced materials engineering to secure your facility or high risk public space.
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