Tech Services
Hands up if you’ve ever used Lumin PDF?
If you’ve ever annotated a PDF, signed a contract digitally, or submitted an assignment online, chances are you’ve used Lumin – even if you didn’t realise it. With around 125 million users worldwide, Lumin is a global success story that started in Ōtautahi Christchurch, and still proudly calls the city home.
Local roots, global impact
In 2014, while studying Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury and working on the post-earthquake rebuild with Downer, Max Ferguson noticed something inefficient: construction sites were drowning in paper.
So he did something about it.
Ferguson wrote the original source code for Lumin PDF in just three weeks. The product was a lightweight, browser-based tool that let anyone annotate, redact, or restructure documents in the cloud. What began as a simple tool to improve document workflows quickly gained global traction.
Lumin’s user base includes everyone from students and small businesses to global enterprises. Some of the world’s most recognisable brands – including Netflix, Uber, and Airbnb – use Lumin to manage documents securely and efficiently.
Closer to home, real estate giants like Bayleys and property tech leaders like Renti have integrated Lumin into their workflows.
“Whether it's sending out contracts, generating agreements, or collecting signatures, we help make those processes seamless,” says Ferguson.