Signify, formerly known as Philips, specialised in manufacturing lighting products announced its intention to implement €150m worth expansions and project development globally next year.
Daily News Egypt interviewed Devan Pillay, president and CEO of Signify Africa, and Inna King, head of Human Resources for the Growth Markets (Africa, Middle East, India, South East Asia, Pacific, Korea, and Japan) at Signify.
The company leaders talked about Signify’s strategy for next year, and its new solutions and products.
How much are the company’s investments and sales?
Pillay: The company always seeks to pump new investments for development. Our investments amounted to €7.5bn and the company developed a strategy to keep pace with the technological revolution through implementing expansions, launching new products, providing its services to business and consumer sectors, and employing the Internet of Things (IoT) to go beyond lighting of houses and turn them into intelligent buildings. The company’s total sales reached about €7bn.
Does the company intend to launch new products next year?
Pillay: We always offer the latest products, systems, and means that help countries switch into intelligence and become more suitable for life, in addition to implementing €150m worth expansions and launch new products at the latest technologies globally next year
The company launched Interact IoT Platform, a secure, scalable IoT platform that collects insights from your connected LED lighting, embedded sensors, and IoT devices over an IoT-ready connected lighting system.
It is a reflection of the company’s strategy to provide data-backed services, and enhance the value of lighting products and systems, making cities smarter, more efficient, and easier to manage at the lowest cost. The platform focuses on different facilities in smart cities, whether administrative, residential, or sportive, and street lighting.
Signify also launched Trulifi. It’s a range of LiFi systems, providing two-way wireless communication that’s reliable, secure, and fast. Our Trulifi systems modulate light waves to transmit data. A USB access key plugged into a laptop or tablet receives data and sends data back to a transceiver. By leveraging lighting infrastructure, Trulifi customers get the best of both worlds: great quality Philips light and a reliable, secure, high-speed wireless connection.
Trulifi is a fixed and integrated system with internet speed of up to 250 Mbps, an ideal solution for connecting devices, say, in industrial facilities, and suitable for use in areas sensitive to radiofrequency (such as hospitals, clinics, power plants, etc.) or areas with poor or no wireless connectivity.
What is your assessment of the investment climate in Egypt?
Pillay: The Egyptian market is very promising and has many opportunities that can encourage investment. Legislative and political stability and security greatly stimulate long-term investments and the participation of the private sector with government agencies in the implementation of national projects, such as the New Administrative Capital (NAC).
Egypt and East Africa account for 40% of Signify’s trade in the continent. The company has increased the volume of its business and investments in the Egyptian market by about 25% during the fiscal year 2019/20 to implement targeted projects in the coming years.
How much are the company’s sales in Egypt, and what are your most prominent projects in the country?
Pillay: The company’s sales in Egypt amounted to €26m and are intended to increase during the next year, according to the strategy that Signify has prepared regarding its sales in Africa and the Egyptian market.
Signify Egypt recently provided its lighting solutions to several projects in the NAC, and participated in projects in the New Alamein city, including providing the new headquarters of the cabinet in the city as well as five major football stadiums nationwide with the latest lighting technologies.
Do you intend to launch new projects in Egypt next year?
Pillay: Of course, we are in talks to implement new projects which will be announced after reaching agreements. We also inked cooperation agreements with two Egyptian companies on several projects, including El Sewedy Electric.
king: Signify has 28,000 employees in 70 countries, and the company has a diversified structure that includes R&D, operation, sales, and marketing departments. About 30-40% of the workforce in Signify are university graduates, as the company provides training programmes to university students.
We focus on social responsibility programmes that benefit the communities where the company operates. For example, in Indonesia, Signify helps individuals develop themselves, and provides them with technical training, and helps them understand how lighting technologies work.
Also, several projects related to lighting using solar energy were implemented in Africa, since many societies in Africa are not connected to electricity networks. It is not only about providing solar-powered lights, but also educating citizens about how they work and how to make them sustainable.
