“I can vividly recall the early days of my career,” Adam says. “I was employed in the passenger car industry, working for Robert Bosch. It was an intense environment with a strong focus on cost efficiency. However, in the commercial vehicle industry, the approach is more solution-orientated.”
During that time, Adam discovered that his involvement in the commercial vehicle industry only accounted for about 10 per cent of his workload. This allowed him to realise that the transport industry would be a better fit for his interests.
Consequently, Adam made the decision to join Knorr-Bremse in 2002, where one of his first projects was to develop a fully integrated Anti-lock Braking System. After that, as an Application Engineer, he saw the first right-hand drive ESP vehicle be produced in Australia.
“My biggest achievement back then was the introduction of ESP or stability systems for trucks into Australia, so doing the transition from the US,” he says. “I was working together with Robert Smedley, and we were responsible for doing all the application engineering for the introduction of ESP for the locally produced vehicles which included Kenworth, Mack and IVECO.”
Adam also collaborated with BPW in promoting the adoption of stability systems in trailers. During this time, he dedicated years to travelling across the country to different fleets to showcase the numerous benefits of trailer stability.
“I feel fortunate that I had significant flexibility in designing the cabling systems, considering the unique characteristics of Australian vehicles compared to those elsewhere,” he says. “We had the freedom to completely revamp the harnessing to suit our B-doubles and various multi combinations, a design that I believe continues to be implemented to this day.”
After Adam left Knorr-Bremse in 2009 to expand his expertise beyond the technical realm, he joined Eaton where he took on the role of sales and services. Here, he launched the Ultrashift product into the market and closely collaborated with the engineering department.
Afterwards, he moved to WABCO, where he assumed the position of General Manager. However, after a year, he made the decision to relocate to China.
“I held the responsibility of overseeing WABCO’s three business units – trailers, aftermarket and off-highway,” he says. “This role spanned over six years. Subsequently, I joined Consolidated Metco, where I was entrusted with managing the Asian market in relation to hubs and e-hubs for electric vehicles.”
After spending eight years in China, Adam returned to Australia with a vision to jointly establish Pacific Telematics alongside Air Brake Corporation.
“Drawing on my 20 years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry, I applied my knowledge to the telematics space,” he says. “As a result, our solutions are now standard in some of Australia’s largest fleets, including Qube, Kalari and Wesfarmers.”
Now, Adam is proud to be part of the Air Brake Corporation where he is able to indulge in what he enjoys most – learning from the market and developing innovate solutions.
“The transport market in Australia is exceptionally unique and complex,” he says. “It is filled with remarkable individuals and, quite honestly, it is the best industry to be part of. The transport industry is truly remarkable, and it serves as a reminder that without trucks, Australia stops.”
