Small firm ready to take on world

By Yoke Har Lee

Father-and-son team Warwick and Tim Lightbourne are about to take a piece of Kiwi alchemy to the world - something they have held off doing while their company gets its basics right in the New Zealand market.

Warwick used to make small batches of Percutane - a patented anti-inflammatory cream - with his wife, Kathy, using a microwave and a beater.

Their cream has built a strong following from the likes of international rugby stars Michael Jones and Eroni Clarke, who offered to endorse it.

Without any advertising but plenty of word-of-mouth recommendations, Percutane has sold more than 20,000 units since 1982, when it first became available.

Warwick Lightbourne said Percutane relies on the transdermal action found in a marine extract mixed with other ingredients with anti-inflammatory properties.

Over the years, Percutane has been used by leading sports figures including Kenyan marathoner Douglas Waakahuri and New Zealand triathlete Erin Christie.

The Lightbournes launched Clinical Technology (NZ) Ltd (Clintech) last year to take to the world products developed by Warwick's clinic at the Cornwall Sports Injury Centre in Greenlane.

Fifteen different products are under development and will be phased in.

Besides Percutane, the company has developed the first New Zealand-designed thermal body support.

It is also going to introduce a neck support pillow developed with special material.

The products were developed for people coming for treatment at the clinic.

Going global might sound a bit scary for a small company such as Clintech, but Warwick Lightbourne has laid an extensive foundation.

His son, who has just completed his marketing degree at Otago University, is preparing to market the company's products.

Warwick Lightbourne is a trained naturopath who has also trained to do deep-tissue massaging.

In the 1980s, he became increasingly concerned about chemicals used to make drugs for the sports market, so he experimented with some natural ingredients.

He would do a little batch at a time, and develop its composition.

"When I thought I had the formula right, I would do tests with some patients of different mixtures of the non-chemical-based solution," he said.

"For years my wife and I would mix it every fortnight. Now we have a contract manufacturer make the product under strict conditions."

They previously had put off marketing the product globally because of their limited resources and their desire to make sure that Percutane was accepted locally.

Tim Lightbourne promoted the product by such groundwork as going to sports events to hand out samples.

"We don't have a lot of money to throw into advertising," he said. "We know once people have used it, they will come back."

The company has four local distributors and is about to appoint a distributor in Britain and the United States.

Clintech has also started selling Percutane on the internet, mainly to the US. The company's website gets about 500 hits a week, with average sales of 100 to 250 units.

Father and son have no qualms about saying their products are better than their rivals'.

One of the services Warwick has used to sharpen the company's business skills is BizInfo.

Through the Government outlet, which helps small businesses to build management know-how, Clintech was put in touch with Gosling Chapman, one of the contractors.

Tim Lightbourne said the financial spreadsheet given to them helped with cashflow and budget management.

Another service which Clintech used was the New Zealand Trade Development Board, for market intelligence.

Said Warwick Lightbourne: "We are now talking with them with the possibility of going on a natural products expo.

"We use Trade NZ when we want to know about the Pacific market.

"They do the market intelligence for us and are definitely very professional about it. I think we paid just under $500 for the service.

"Tim was able to sit down very quickly with a distribution company and work out a structure. They are also helping us with contacts in the US."

While the company had in the past concentrated on sporting events and specialist areas, it is ready to market through pharmacies.

If the product does take off in a big way globally, Warwick Lightbourne said, he would like to keep manufacturing here to control the quality.

"At this stage we have a rapport with the manufacturer, which makes the product under strict conditions. My feeling is this is important. We really want to export from here."

He is realistic about recouping investments the company has made.

"I don't expect we will make a profit for another 12 months. We are putting our resources into export markets, into advertising and promotion."

Percutane already has clients in countries such as South Africa, Australia and Yugoslavia and has been used at sports institutes in Sweden and Italy.