Based near Treviso in northern Italy, Fabrizio Furlan created Lightech in 1997 with the objective to leverage his family’s extensive manufacturing expertise in motorcycle racing.
Working closely with elite teams in the World Superbike Championship, MotoGP, 125 GP and Moto2 allowed Lightech to very quickly establish itself as a leader in the design and production of high quality, precision Italian made, technologically advanced motorcycle performance parts and accessories.
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| Fabrizio Furlan created Lightech in 1997 |
Today, Lightech has 2,500 sq m, of which 1,400 are dedicated to production, with sophisticated CNC and other machines; a 600 sq m storage area from where it ships worldwide and a well-equipped 50 sq m in-house R&D department where engineers use state-of-the-art computer-assisted design (CAD) and computer-assisted manufacturing (CAM) programmes.
Lightech has a huge product range - with over 7,000 Ergal products (high strength, lightweight 7075 zinc-aluminium alloy), manufactured in seven different colours, and over 400 individual titanium parts and a host of accessories. The company has more than 1,500 authorised dealers in Italy and distributors in 50 countries and employs around 20 people.
"Lightech positions itself in the market as a company that has evolved in terms of products, structure and mentality with a clear future perspective that has adapted to the evolutions of the market itself," explains Sheila Zaccaron, International Export Sales Manager.
"There are always challenges," she says, with recent issues including the impact of online sales and design counterfeiting. "I think most companies which position themselves at the top end of the market and have good reputations for quality production and good designs have been facing the same issues for the past decade.
"But we have managed to deal with such difficulties, though we must always stay vigilant, and no business can ever take its hard-earned position for granted. We all have to earn the right to succeed every year, and that is the best way to deal with challenges."
Lightech uses a qualified traditional sales network, consisting of spare parts dealers, specialised workshops, preparers and dealerships, all with adequate skills for the distribution of a very technical product - "dealers who are able to give their customers the kind of professional technical assistance that is sometimes needed - for us here at Lightech the safety of the rider always comes first.
"We also use carefully selected online sales channels through strong partnerships and collaborations with the best sellers on the web - those who the public trusts and have emerged as the reference sector.
"However, in doing so we have made sure that we are able to keep control of pricing to prevent online becoming a price-led, consignment selling race to the bottom. Managed carefully, online can complement dealer sales, but we don't want it to compromise the excellent job done by the industry's 'brick and mortar' dealerships and the distributors they buy from. Their services to riders are the heartbeat of the industry.
"We have also focused on both the economic and non-economic impacts of the invasion of fake products. In recent years, this has become an issue that can not only damage the image of the company itself, but of the market in general, as these products are not of the required quality and do not and never will comply with the safety rules.
"Lightech has therefore invested heavily in the registration of our trademark, in many countries of the world. This also protects our distributors (and their dealers), and we have carried out precautionary seizures against shops that were not part of the official sales network - shops that offered illegal copies of our product designs.
"The collaboration of the official Lightech dealers and distributors has been fundamental in this and their feedback to us and ability to increase the awareness of the final consumer has been and will remain critical.
"Another important feature of Lightech (except for two products that are made abroad) is the fact that our production is 'Made in Italy' - that has always been a must for us, and we are proud that it is a reference on the world market."
Back in the 1990s, the products that gave Lightech its start and helped build its reputation were hardware items (fasteners). The "screws and bolts are what got us started, but if I had to select one product that more fully represents the Lightech of today, it would have to be the track system rearset - an exclusive TÜV certified product that combines functionality, customisation, design and aesthetic research."`
"The chain adjuster, a very technical product, complex and designed to withstand the high powers of today's super sports bikes, is also important to us and to our distributors and their dealers, but the range now stretches from licence plate holders (with exclusive and approved components), our advanced design lever kits, crankcase and frame guards, right through to fuel caps, accessories such as handlebar balancers and swingarm spools, stands, carbon parts and lots more.
"It has been quite a journey and we continue to grow and innovate. Quality counts for Lightech and all our focus is always on pushing ourselves to being able to design and manufacture ever better, ever more reliable and durable products," concluded Sheila.
www.lightech.it
