Enhancing Advatek Lighting’s Business Operations with a Hawker Richardson Total Line Solution
Advatek Lighting was founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2012 and quickly established a reputation within the professional lighting industry for its feature-rich, reliable, robust and flexible LED pixel control products.
In 2021, the business consolidated its reputation for innovation and technical leadership with the launch of the PixLite Mk3 range, representing a quantum leap in LED pixel control capability.
Today, 90% of production ships to global markets from Advatek’s Australian production base, with more than 40,000 LED pixel control units exported to nearly 70 countries in the past decade.
Advatek PixLite controllers provide the technology behind many of the world’s most impressive lighting displays, ranging from public art installations to theme parks, nights clubs, and architectural applications. Examples have included Eurovision, the Burning Man Festival, and the giant Dior Carousel of Dreams display on the Saks Fifth Avenue façade.
What factors played a pivotal role in the decision to opt for a total line solution from Hawker Richardson and will your SMT line focus on the production of a specific product, and if so, which one/why?
The project covers the purchase, installation and commissioning of a state-of-the-art SMT line for assembly of specialised Printed Circuit Board Assemblies used in Advatek’s PixLite range of LED pixel control products.
The investment in this equipment from Hawker Richardson follows construction of a temperature-controlled manufacturing environment from beginning to end, Advatek can increase yield and customer satisfaction through improved quality and process control.
As we sought to understand and benchmark requirements to ensure the success of our investment, Advatek management called upon a range of specialists in areas such as manufacturing, ESD control, coatings, and so on. Hawker Richardson proved themselves to be knowledgeable, reliable, and responsive in giving us the advice we needed to ensure the equipment specified would be fit-for-purpose now and into the future. We felt confident that Hawker Richardson would be best positioned to help us integrate the equipment into our business and systems, and provide a high level of ongoing care.
“As a result, everything proceeded almost exactly as planned. We had two or three technicians onsite who handled the laser leveling, installation, calibration, commissioning, assisted us in running some parts through, and trained our staff. The experience and professionalism of the Hawker Richardson team were outstanding, and I rate it very highly.”
Greg Lowe
General Manager
Advatek Lighting
With the assistance of the ‘Made in Victoria – Manufacturing Growth’ grant, did you find yourselves better positioned to compete with other production facilities?
Advatek’s range of pixel control products are proudly Australian-made. Enhancing in-house capability has been in Advatek’s vision for some time, however a step change of this nature requires a level of capital investment that is significant for us as a total amount, and also in comparison with the demand on our resources from other parts of the business as we continue to invest, the support of the Victorian Government has accelerated Advatek’s ability to realise this project, providing the company with more options to remain at the forefront of our field and to continue to expand employment of skilled workers.
What changes in productivity do you anticipate, and how does the grant contribute to facilitating a particular project?
With the assistance of this grant, Advatek will invest almost $1.5m across the entire project, including construction of a temperature-controlled electronics assembly facility and the SMT line acquired through Hawker Richardson. By expanding our in-house capability, we can benefit from enhanced rapid prototyping for new product trials, improved flexibility for small batch manufacturing, and hence greater responsiveness to customer requirements.
The investment is already having a significant impact on our capabilities and activities, creating a wide-reaching impact on the current and future employees of the business as a whole. The SMT line will directly drive the creation of a series of new jobs, act as a catalyst for ongoing jobs creation and ongoing job security, as well as driving a raft of skills development initiatives in existing manufacturing, operations and engineering roles.
The acquisition of two YRM20s – was this a strategic move to achieve specific business objectives?
The investment in state-of-the-art Yamaha equipment represents a step change for Advatek Lighting, addressing the most complex and critical physical component of our products, giving the company greater control over quality and a raft of competitive benefits. As a growing, 100% Australian-owned business, Advatek Lighting has become a global player and the industry leader in pixel control through customer focus, world-leading technology and a recognised, high quality product offering.
The acquisition of two YRM20s was specifically about ensuring that our production environment remains current well into the future and will be able to meet the needs of future product lines as the company continues to grow.
Due to the total line solution, do you anticipate a noticeable increase in product output?
Investment in the total line solutions will significantly enhance Advatek’s competitiveness and productivity by reducing manufacturing lead times and costs, increase quality and reliability, decreasing time-to-market for new projects, lowering minimum manufacturing run volumes and reducing capital tied up in inventory.
By securing our future through increased productivity and competitiveness, this investment will improve job security for our valued employees. Advatek is a ”born global” business, already generating over 90% of revenue from export markets. Being relatively small and nimble, it is vital for the company to continue to reinvest in both R&D and manufacturing capability to remain in a leadership position in this highly competitive global industry.
Could you share your overall experience with Hawker Richardson’s service and support?
This was our first interaction with Hawker Richardson, and whenever you engage a new vendor with a project of this scale, there are naturally some uncertainties. We do try to thoroughly research in advance. With Hawker Richardson, we found that we were assigned a dedicated contact person and we were provided with a detailed timeline outlining each step of the process. This allowed us to know exactly what to expect and when, including shipping lead times for the equipment—a significant risk factor since port arrivals can’t always be guaranteed. We were quite pleased when Hawker Richardson proactively informed us of a slight delay, which they had already accounted for in their plan as a precaution.
As a result, everything proceeded almost exactly as planned. We had two or three technicians onsite who handled the laser leveling, installation, calibration, commissioning, assisted us in running some parts through, and trained our staff. The experience and professionalism of the Hawker Richardson team were outstanding, and I rate it very highly. They guided us through each step carefully, ensuring there were no surprises. Therefore, I would absolutely recommend considering Hawker Richardson as a vendor for significant investments like this.
