25 years of OptiMateIt was 25 years ago that TecMate introduced its first OptiMate battery charger, diagnostics and maintenance tool as a response to the more powerful and compact AGM (absorbed glass mat - a sealed valve regulating lead-acid battery) that were being introduced into the powersport industry in the late 80s, early 90s.
AGM batteries are still lead-acid batteries, but with a difference, the acid is absorbed into mats (i.e. sponges) which effectively made it a 'dry' battery that could be turned upside down – no more acid spillage, the bane of the biker at the time.
Unfortunately, AGM technology also proved to be more difficult to recharge, and, especially, to recover it from a low voltage/sulphated state. Motorcycle OEMs wanted a charger for their riders, of course, mainly to ensure that battery outlasted its warranty, but TecMate took it a few steps further, making those batteries last much longer than intended, some even up to 10 years!
The result? Millions of happy AGM batteries that "have lived longer and performed stronger thanks to OptiMate's unique charging algorithm - one designed for AGM, but that works equally well on any type of lead-acid battery," says CEO and CTO Martin Human.
Then, 10 years ago, TecMate saw the emergence of Lithium starter batteries as a growing trend that could become mainstream rather than (at the time) something a few racers or custom bike builders used to save weight and space.
A range of OptiMate Lithium battery chargers were developed along the same lines as their AGM counterparts, all able to safely recover batteries from a low voltage state and then test to confirm the battery is OK.
OptiMate's Lithium standard range of battery chargers are now recommended globally by Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki and are the 'go to' chargers for a number of global Lithium battery manufacturers.
A reliable, high-performance battery charger, TecMate's stable multistep reselling strategy and its engineering group's design acumen have become the basis of a successful co-branding and OEM programme that continues to gain partners.
OptiMate 3 is the most co-branded battery saving charger, and powersport partners include Honda, Triumph, ES Energy Safe Batteries, Moose Utility Products and Drag Specialties. The OptiMate 1 DUO, the 'no brainer battery maintainer' for any type of battery (lead-acid or Lithium), has gained even more co-brand partners including KTM, Husqvarna and Honda now all using co-branded OptiMate Lithium battery chargers.
Martin Human says: "Part of OptiMate's success is due to this simple fact - no one cares about a battery until it's dead. Then the battery owner needs help, but 99.9% of people are not battery experts.
"OptiMate battery chargers are fully automatic with all the necessary battery intelligence built in - simply connect and OptiMate does the thinking for you. OptiMate has been trusted by the powersports industry since 1994," says Martin.
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