Lucidity Australia President, Mathew Jenkins, has been involved with the company’s presence in Australia since its introduction to the local market in 1999.
It was Mathew who essentially built the business from the ground up, and since its acquisition by Lucidity, he and the company’s team formed it into the giant it’s known as today.
Prior to its arrival in Australia, Lucidity, with headquarters based in Taiwan and other subsidiaries in the United States and Europe, was an initial supplier of various manufacturing materials to Mathew’s own company, Phaser Industries.
“I was a customer of Lucidity’s,” he says. “I started Phaser Industries on my own in 1999 and I ran the business locally in Shepparton, Victoria, until Lucidity acquired it.”
When Mathew set out on his own to serve the Australian market, he says Lucidity’s operations in Australia were limited at the time.
“Lucidity was in Australia with a sales representative selling lighting,” he says. “They didn’t have a sales office here or anything like that. It was direct Taiwanese supply.”
Gradually, Phaser’s manufacturing with Lucidity-supplied materials grew into a longstanding professional relationship, while the latter’s presence began to expand. As Mathew recalls, Lucidity eventually sought to learn his kitting technique – an assembly of wiring and lighting products which created a solution for plug-and-play installations.
“Phaser was also manufacturing a range of LED marker lamps in-house which were the first trailer marker lamps with integrated connectors,” he says.
To properly integrate the kitting skillset into its service offerings and strengthen its influence in the Australian market, Lucidity acquired Phaser in 2013.
“It was a win-win,” Mathew says. “They got to learn about our methods, adopting them globally, and I was able to co-design and manufacture items together and bridge the gaps between lighting and wiring manufacturers. I was creating integrated trailer systems by taking responsibility for the entire electrical architecture and design.”
Now, 2024 commemorates 25 years of the operations of Phaser (and what became Lucidity Australia) in Australia – the company’s very own silver jubilee – which acts as both a symbol of great pride for Mathew, and a symbol of the company’s metamorphosis.
For Lucidity Australia, this last quarter-century has been one of intense expansion. The company has defined itself as a fierce competitor and innovator, ushering a period of rapid growth which has enabled it to make an influential mark on both domestic and international markets.
“Being able to compete with global competitors in this market is quite a feather in the cap,” Mathew says. “Watching our customers enjoy the service that comes with the product has also been a key highlight. For us, it’s not just about the sale or that we meet budgets. It’s about making sure that our customers are serviced, that they feel like they’re part of the family and that they get what they need in order to keep their products moving.”
The company’s multifaceted competition and technological innovation has propelled it to the top of the industry. Lucidity Australia has branched out massively and expanded its repertoire to include a broader range of fitting types for a multitude of transport vehicles in addition to standard trailers, like certain agricultural vehicles and particular models.
From lighting and wiring, its servicing extends to battery-charging equipment, switchgear and trailer controls. These services are designed to be extremely versatile and adaptable, with the ability for the products be fitted onto a range of simple to complex vehicles and equipment.
“Lucidity Australia has an inherent understanding of fitment, given we’ve had so much exposure to our customers for so long,” Mathew says. “We get very heavily involved in the way things are fitted on trailers and the possible obstacles there may be. We then come back and come up with a plan as far as how to design a trailer kit or even a light so that it’s fitted faster, more efficiently and is easier to service.
“Having that all-round capability is really what’s been fundamental to our customer base.”
As Mathew reflects on the 25th anniversary since he went out on his own and what has arisen since, the fact that he can still say his products are Australian made is a massive privilege.
“Australian manufacturing is something we’re really proud of,” he says. “All of our cabling, injection and electronic products are manufactured here, and we want to keep building products here.”
Lucidity Australia’s immense progress is a testament to its persevering nature. Mathew says the last year has been a challenging one across the spectrum of the industry, with the skills shortage becoming “profound” since COVID-19. But for Lucidity Australia, it only has its eye on further growth through domestic expansion.
The business has spent nearly $700,000 on new equipment this year to keep its Truganina, Victoria, facility in state-of-the-art condition, laying the foundations for a degree of automated manufacturing in the future as well.
Around this, Lucidity Australia is continuously working on bringing new innovations to the market. As Mathew reveals, a new jack-knife sensing product is currently in development. In its application, the visual indicator will alert drivers when a drawbar gets too close to the lead trailer.
“The concept is that it will prevent drawbar damage when taking too tight of a turn radius with road train vehicles,” he says. “Drawbar damage is quite expensive to repair and the period of time when the product is down is significant.”
Through driver notification, Mathew hopes this alert system will prevent collisions.
It comes off the back of many safety-orientated products released by Lucidity Australia over the past 25 years, such as the EBS Status Lamp, visual reversing sensor kits and the successful Dangerous Goods (DG) Overfill Probe electrical system.
As part of Lucidity Australia’s status as a domestic manufacturer, the company is also well-integrated in the country’s transport sector through varied involvement with industry associations, trailer builders and end users.
“We get a lot of intel on problems that need solving and compatibility issues in transport,” Mathew says. “We’re very much aware that this is where we fit commercially. Being able to solve voltage issues or dissimilarities is one of the things that we’ve been extremely good at.
“We’ve been awarded significant business because we can make trailers work on any voltage.”
The past 25 years have seen Lucidity Australia undergo major developments, and the company’s presence in the country has transformed a once-limited entity into a leading product manufacturer for many vehicles in the transport industry.
“It’s a proud moment for sure, and one I like to share through our employees,” Mathew says. “We’ve got almost 50 employees in Australia now, and we like to ensure that we share those proceeds annually to help our local families grow.”
As the head of Lucidity Australia, Mathew anticipates that the business’ momentum will lead it to bigger and brighter heights, ensuring that its future in the market is far from dim.
