Aviation exporter speaks of success
Having representatives in export destinations has proved invaluable; 10 years of negotiation with British Airways finally came to a deal in 2004, the year Thomas Electronics put a representative on the ground in the United Kingdom. Hutchinson advises other companies planning to export to get local representation. “Having reps based in local time zone is critical. If you don’t have that, you’re just wasting your time. For Australian companies to try to do it from here without any feet on the ground you’re never going to succeed.”
Thomas Electronics’ five representatives service Canada, the USA, Central and South America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and North Asia. Each new contract in turn advertised the Thomas name. “The more reference sites we had, the more comfortable other major airlines felt about using us,” Hutchinson says.
Two other major challenges plagued the company’s plans for export. “The tyranny of distance, the perception that Australia is just miles from anywhere,” Hutchinson says. “Our other major challenge was the credibility factor. We’re this very small company dealing in an industry where most of the suppliers are multibillion-dollar companies, and we were turning over $2 million a year. We were minute.”
For major airlines that hadn’t seen their work, Hutchinson understood the risk factor was high. So Thomas Electronics exhibits at every major trade show and talks to airlines it hasn’t yet reached. Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines were Hutchinson’s first overseas customers, and it was their “can-do” attitude that first broke Thomas Electronics into the overseas avionic market: “They decided to give us a go and they’re still very good customers now.”
Airborne accolades
“The period from 2000 through to 2007 was very exciting. The export part of our business was growing almost exponentially,” says Hutchinson. Success breeds success, and the small Australian company now have 50 international customers. Now competing with the major players in the avionics export market, it is easy to lose sight of its status as an SME in Australia. But for the director, “every new customer that we win is a triumph”.
The nomination as an Export Hero is the latest in a string of awards for the Australian business, and he sees the value of such awards in the opportunity to celebrate with staff and reward their hard work: “As a small business it certainly enhances our profile, and that’s something that we’re always trying to do.”
The risks of exporting are not lost on the successful director. “It is very difficult to protect yourself against the volatility of the Australian dollar. Over the last year we have been severely impacted by the increase in the value of the Aussie dollar and I can tell you, from an exporter’s perspective, it’s horrible when the Aussie dollar is strong.”
But Global Financial Crises or economic boom, nothing will stop the ambitious company. Hutchinson says Thomas Electronics has plans to grow its business to an annual turnover of $60 million in the next five years. “We’ve invested significantly in the expansion of our engineering team, which gives us more capability. We’re looking forward to taking bigger subcontracting roles in defence projects working with primes [major defence contractors]. Certainly in the specialist area we’ve got more technical horsepower than anyone else in Australia.” Thomas Electronics will also move from its current headquarters in Milperra to a larger, purpose built facility nearby.
Of his plans for the future, Hutchinson is adamant that good product and ambitious marketing will continue to place Thomas Electronics as a leader in the Australian avionics sector, both here and for export purposes. “We’re setting ourselves up as a centre of excellence for display technology. We certainly see the export market to be a significant part of our business as we move forward.”
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