BCBusiness

SEPTEMBER 2017 BCBUSINESS 33 SOURCE: BC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND ABACUS DATA I n one of a series of commercials by Lincoln Motor Co., actor Matthew McConaughey drives a sedan through city highways at night, looking contemplative. He delivers a script over music in his slow Texas drawl: "Some- times you got to go back, to actually move forward..." The ads, which also fea- ture McConaughey staring down a longhorn bull, have been credited for a spike in Lincoln sales and parodied by Jim Carrey on Saturday Night Live. The ambience may go over the top, but it's undeniable. That atmosphere—at least inside the car—is created by a Nelson-based automotive parts manufacturer, Pacic Insight Electronics Corp., whose product lines include light-emitting diode ( LED) sys- tems for interior and exterior applications. If you watch the commercials carefully, you'll notice a technolo•y that Lincoln calls Embrace Lighting. "[McConaughey] gets in the vehicle, and the lights go on, then they work from front to back," says Pacic Insight COO Ian Scott. "It kind of wraps around you. Everything lights up to your liking, and you can change that as you go." Other functions of the sys- tem include welcome lamps, which light up the interior foot areas as the driver steps into the vehicle, and light- ing in the door panels and around cup holders. The lighting system incorporates Pacic Insight's other prod- uct lines: electronic modules that control features such as heated seats, steering lock, gauges and instrumenta- tion; and wiring harnesses, electronic cables connecting the various components. Besides Lincoln par- ent Ford Motor Co., Pacic Insight sells to Portland- based Daimler Trucks North America LLC and to auto parts suppliers such as BorgWarner Inc. of Michigan and Shanghai-based Yanfeng Automotive Interior Systems Co. Ltd. About 75 per cent of the company's products go to U.S. clients and 15 per cent to customers outside North America, Scott says. From the unlikely location of Nelson, far from the well-established cluster of auto plants and parts makers in southwest- ern Ontario, Pacic Insight proves that small B.C. busi- nesses can compete globally. Director and CEO Stuart Ross founded the company in Prince George in 1984 and moved it to Nelson in 1987. Pacic Insight entered the international arena that decade by selling something new—daytime running light control modules—to General Motors' aftermarket division and heavy-truck makers. The company's Nelson facil- ity, a few minutes outside town in a valley near an arm of Kootenay Lake, now employs about 200 people, and another 20 work at a Burnaby corporate o¥ce. Pacic Insight also has a factory in Fresnillo, Mexico, and an o¥ce in Detroit. For the 2016 scal year, the Toronto Stock Exchange– listed company posted some $127 million in sales and a net prot of $9.8 million. Both were records, and revenue surged 54 per cent year-over- year. But Scott notes that this haul is tiny compared to rms like Grupo Antolin- Irausa S.A., a Spanish maker of parts for automotive inte- riors, which reported sales of €5.2 billion (about $7.5 billion) in scal 2016. A key accomplishment last year for Pacic Insight was the development and prototyping of advanced lighting systems for an important new customer: U.S. electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. The ability to ser- vice conventional and elec- tric vehicles positions the company well for the future, Scott says. Ambient lighting will become even more of a focus with the advent of self-driving cars. Envisioned as an o¥ce or entertainment centre on wheels, autono- mous vehicles will deliver a personalized experience, with sophisticated lighting as a selling feature. Pacic Insight's design philosophy sounds like a catchphrase from a Lincoln commercial: evolution rather than revolution. This is how to take on the big players, according to Scott. "Some companies might have billion-dollar research departments that are looking at white space 10 or 15 years out. We tend to come up with innovative ideas that are extensions of our product lines today," he says, explain- ing that clients like that approach because they can get the new products into their vehicles within a few years. "We service the heck out of our customer, and we very rarely lose a customer. It's that old adage where you don't have to be way ahead of your competitors, as long as you're constantly ahead of them." Nelson-based Pacific Insight Electronics produces parts for automakers including Ford and Tesla. How does this export success story compete with bigger rivals? Interior Lighting Tour ism Clean ener g y t echnolog y Heal t h ser v ices In t er na t ional t r ade Telecommunica t ions Looking ahead five to 10 years, BC Chamber of Commerce members rank international trade No. 4 in importance to the provincial economy 52% 48% 43% 33% 32% 36% 37% 36% 45% 42% 11% 12% 20% 21% 25% 1% 2% 1% 1% 1% A lit tle more No change A lit tle less A lot less 1% A lot more impor tant

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