Wattz has launched in the Australian market with the goal of providing top quality machinery lighting without price or installation headaches
Every farmer has wished for more hours in the day.
While the likes of time travel or cloning yourself to achieve this remain fanciful ideas, there is a new product that has hit Australia which is set to provide more usable hours in a farmer’s day.
This is thanks to Wattz, which will be supplying easy-to-install LED lights for tractors and other machinery that significantly increase the standard brightness by up to 400 per cent – and therefore the ability to work early in the morning or late into the night without hassle.
While Wattz is a newly formed company created by farmer André Meyer, it has the backing of experienced European manufacturer Crawer, whose products are the core of Wattz’s range.
These ‘plug and play’ lights provide a powerful alternative to factory-fitted lights without changing the overall look of the machine itself.
First light
Like so many new products, the creation of Wattz stemmed from a networking opportunity and one person identifying a gap in the market.
Meyer has a strong agricultural background, having grown up on a farm and being drawn back to the industry after initially studying aircraft engineering.
He spent a year in Germany working on a potato harvest season and this is where he not only met the Dutch founder of Crawer lights but also saw their benefits in the field.
Meyer made the shift from farm manager to company founder because he saw an opportunity – not just for himself, but for farmers across Australia.
Owning a farm was never in the cards for him, but building something that helps other farmers succeed?
That’s what Meyer believes Wattz is all about and why he is excited to bring the lights to Australian farmers.
Ease of application
If the crux of Wattz’s business model could be summed up in one word, it would be simplicity.
While the desire to increase a farm machine’s standard lighting is not unique in itself, Meyer believes the manner in which Wattz’s lights achieve this will be a standout for Australian farmers.
“To change the factory lighting, people mostly put a light bar on, or a set of spotlights that you have to Tek screw on, or make some sort of bracket which means you have to cut into the existing wiring,” he says.
“With ours, the whole point is to make your tractor look as close to the original as possible.
“It works off the same brackets, same wiring harness, everything. You just unplug your old one and plug the new one in – same bracket, but just a much, much better light output.”
Wattz’s development team is made up of farmers, including Meyer who is taking a hands-on approach to product development, meaning the products have been designed with real-world agricultural needs in mind.
This is further backed up by a handy tool on Wattz’s website – the 3D Configurator – where farmers can input their machine model to be given a guide as to which product might best be suited for their needs.
Primarily aimed at tractors and harvesters, Wattz can also supply lights for other machines such as sprayers and implements.
“If you buy a light for whatever model you have, it is made for that model and it fits perfectly in the brackets that are already there,” Meyer says.
“You can get some universal work lights elsewhere, but we do the actual headlights in the bonnet.”
Wattz creates specific solutions that are designed to fit as universally as possible on to machines, and will also supply brackets or plugs if any small amendments are made to fit with a farmer’s individual product.
As part of market research before its official launch, Wattz offered some lights to Australian farmers to test and provide feedback.
“One thing that came back, especially with some bigger companies where they might have one mechanic who is really busy during the season, is that they want something simple,” Meyer says.
“You don’t want a backpacker or worker wiring into the electrics of the tractor because it could mess up the ISOBUS and the GPS.
“You can have some spare work lights on the shelf, and anyone can just install them because all it needs is to unplug the old one and plug the new one in – you don’t need someone specific to do it.”
Quality focus
Simplicity is a major part of what Meyer believes sets Wattz apart, but it is far from its only selling point.
Durability is another area in which Wattz has ensured its product range excels, particularly in harsh Australian farming environments.
Sprayer lights are specially covered to resist chemicals involved during the spraying process, Meyer says.
All chips in Wattz’s lights are CISPR Class 4 or higher, which eliminates the potential for radio interference.
The lights have also been developed to meet the criteria which farmers want with any upgrade to their valuable machinery: financial savings without compromising on quality.
Meyer has previously been the farm manager on properties in South Australia and says he had one quote from a dealer of over $6,000 to upgrade a tractor’s standard halogen lights to LED during
this time.
“Wattz can do it with much better lights for half the price,” he says.
“It is a big price difference and you’re not sacrificing quality; in fact it’s on the contrary.
“The light output is a massive difference and if you’re doing long hours, you’re not so strained trying to see the whole time and it also makes a big difference safety-wise as well.
“You also maintain your original factory look, because it’s not a big round spotlight you put on the roof – it’s just replacing the old ones with the new ones.”
Next steps
Wattz only officially launched in Australia earlier this month but already comes with a wide product range for all machinery models, in addition to other lights which farmers will require during day-to-day operations.
“We also do a bunch of universal work lights for your implements, and we have a whole range of light bars and spotlights and the high bay UFO lights as well for your shearing shed or workshop,” Meyer says.
“We try to be a one stop shop where whatever you need for lighting, you can get it at one place.”
Meyer believes farmers who are out in the paddock actively completing the daily work are the demographic who will find Wattz’s range of lights the most advantageous.
“I think it’s the farmers that sit on the tractor themselves that are going to benefit mostly,” he says.
“If you have a big fleet and you’re not on it yourself, then probably you’re just looking at the numbers, but if you’re on the machine yourself then you know the frustrations.
“It’s not just for people working the night shift, it might just be getting an hour in early in the morning or hour later at night.”
Wattz’s full product range, along with services such as its 3D Configurator, can be viewed online at www.wattz.com.au