Matrix Fitness under Ken Lucas to debut new products at IHRSA

Matrix Fitness Systems President Ken Lucas says he thinks his new company — scheduled to unveil 13 strength machines and five cardiovascular machines at Club Industry in Chicago Nov. 15-17 — will have one thing over other other commercial equipment companies: It will make money and not go bankrupt. Why? Because he doesn’t hide the fact that all manufacturing will be done offshore through Taiwan-based Johnson Health Tech Co. Ltd. (also parent of Vision and Horizon fitness companies) — a first for a commercial equipment company, he said. “We will source our manufacturing wherever it makes sense,” Lucas, former national sales manager at Cybex, told SNEWS. “We know we can give our customers more for their money.” Matrix equipment, he said, will also have a very different look than other equipment because of the industrial design firm hired to design it. And three pieces of the cardiovascular line (recumbent bike, upright bike, and elliptical) will have the option of coming with built-in control boxes for cardio-entertainment systems, such as Cardio Theater. The web site, www.matrix-fitness.com, should be completed by the week before the show. 1-800-MXFITNESS. More pieces to come at the IHRSA show in March.