The market for builder's levels in the UK is highly competitive and is dominated by a certain yellow German brand that, in my research, always seems to be the tool that is aspired to or actually bought by the hundreds of bricklayers I have interviewed. The virtues that this make of level seems to have is the its high level of accuracy and longevity. I have seen many bricklayers abusing their other tools, but these levels are mostly cleaned and put away lovingly at the end of a day's work on site.

Now it seems to me that with all the modern manufacturing technology available that there is no reason why other makers cannot make levels that meet or surpass the levels of accuracy of this brand. And the truth is that other manufacturers do exactly that. Not only are the levels of accuracy matched, but other highly developed features are added and the products very competitively priced - and yet the German brand supremacy continues. Sometimes the habits of a lifetime are hard to break!

In my view, a highly competitive market in tools suits everyone, users and producers alike. It is a spur to makers to develop unique and highly developed tools with their own niche markets, but also ensures that end users have a wide range of products to choose from, at the best prices too.

So I can only look favourably on a new range of levels from AMI in Australia now being marketed throughout Britain by AMI UK.

Some users who know and admire Australian made tools know that the Australian makers seem to conform to type when making tools. They are mostly tough, well-designed and highly practical products. When examining the AMI level sent to me for evaluation, my first impression was exactly that - tough and practical - and extremely well made.

There is no outwardly fancy stuff on this contractor's level. The body, made of aerospace grade, structural alloy, is painted a high-vis yellow colour. It has two anti-slip rubber end caps, three vials, one in the middle and two at each end. Two plastic lined holes allow the level to be hung up from a spike when needed.

The middle vial appears larger than the other, because, rather cleverly, the vial is self-magnifying. A feature that definitely appealed to me with my not quite 20/20 vision!

The end vials are well recessed to help prevent any build-up of mortar in use.

What is also impressive is the even and very flat milling of the levelling surfaces. Just deep enough milling not to gather too much gunk, but not so deep as to make for difficult cleaning.

For first-time purchasers the outward appearance of the AMI level may be "so-far so-much like a lot of other levels on the market", but the toughness in this level is more than skin deep. It is when one examines the inside of the level that its true virtues and toughness can be appreciated. These really do set it apart from other levels in the toughness stakes. It will be up to stockists and dealers to be very informed about the product in order to answer questions about its unique toughness.

Apparently German bricklayers don't drop their levels, and can perhaps get away with having a less tough product. But in the real world, as we all know, a building site can be a tough working environment. AMI build their levels to be able to cope with knocks and drops and guarantee an accuracy of 0.0050 mm/cm for the 10 year guaranteed lifetime of the tool - so certainly they are up there with the best of the competition.

I was very fortunate to be given a worm's-eye view of the internals of the AMI level, and it is these features that make the AMI level the tough beast that it is.

The centre vial seatings are an obvious weak point in an alloy extrusion because a hole has to be cut to accommodate them, altering the integral strength of the section. In the AMI level, the vial is held in a plastic cradle that effectively fills the void in the level from top to bottom. An 11- point resin locking system is then injected to hold the vial in place so it would be almost impossible to dislodge it even if it were dropped from a height.

Before the vial is effectively locked in place, they are electronically adjusted to perfect accuracy, and then checked 24 hours later to see that the accuracy has been maintained.

Perhaps not so important here with our weak Northern Hemisphere sunshine, the plastic vials on the AMI level are highly resistant to UV light and so will not cloud over or become brittle with exposure to sunlight.

AMI UK has done its marketing homework, and the range of AMI levels being imported is wide. As well as the standard range of nine sizes of popular Contractor's levels there are a number of other products.

Firstly there is the Straight Edge, a structural grade alloy section that can be used for light screeding applications.

The so-called Bullfloat is designed to be tough enough for concrete flooring applications. It has a telescopic handle and a very competitive price so no builder has an excuse for not having one.

Another old staple is the magnetic Scaffolder's Level. Designed to fit into the back pocket of an overall and with powerful rare earth magnets that will make all the coins in the pocket stick together!

A more lightly built Tiler's Level has the same levels of accuracy and durability as the rest of the AMI range, but has proved to be a tiler's favourite worldwide because it can be easily cleaned.

Finally, the AMI Heavy Duty Level is made from an even stronger alloy profile and is designed to withstand even "Australian Rules" Bricklaying.

AMI is a unique Australian company in many ways as it is still an independent family-owned business. But one thing about it sticks in my mind. Apparently product return rates are less than five per thousand. This is the sort of statistic that would make potential dealers happy to consider stocking the products. Combine this with competitive pricing and a comprehensive range of products and the argument may seem compelling.