Interview with Jack Martin, Smartech
Jack Martin is very well known within the industry, having previously worked for established brands such as Helvar and Philips Dynalite throughout his career, and he has recently set up his own company Smartech.
If you would prefer to watch the video interview, click here.
So firstly, Jack, what was your inspiration for setting up your own business?
I had worked for a number of manufacturers all over the UK and the Middle East, a lot of them had said, why don’t you start your own company and become our system partner, and one of them kept pushing me. I woke up one morning, and I thought, if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it. I knew I had the knowledge, the experience, and I thought, let’s put that to good use as an independent. I think lighting controls have been missing that; there isn’t an agnostic solution out there, which is what Smartech is aiming to be.
You seem to have quite a unique position within the smart building supply chain, almost as a solutions provider. Do you want to explain a bit more about where you see yourself fitting within that supply chain?
Probably at the bottom, because lighting controls are usually at the end of a project or the least thought of; however, it’s probably the most integral part, in my opinion. But I also see Smartech fitting in different parts of the supply chain, we can help consultants, specifiers, and designers with the design and philosophy of lighting control because although lighting control has been around for many years, I still don’t think consultants grasp exactly what it can do or what someone with a bit of knowledge can help them achieve, so I see us adding value there. However, I also see us adding value at the end of that chain to help with the install and carry out the commissioning. So, at the front and the end of the project is where we are trying to position ourselves.
That seems like it will add real value within quite a complex ecosystem.
Ok, it time for a quickfire round now. Would you be able to name 3 qualities that you look for in a company you would partner with?
A company that is smart, has smart technology, is innovative, and someone that has refreshing ideas.
What is the thing that you enjoy most about the industry or your role? What’s the thing that makes you get up in the morning?
I used to think about this a lot, I felt like I was so far down the road of lighting controls, and I wondered if there was any way out or whether I could diversify at all, but I started to settle with it. I realised that this is what I’m good at, and I love lighting controls. I’m one of these people that go into a building and look up at the ceiling and see what the lighting controls are; I genuinely love lighting controls.
Great, that’s an interesting thought process, but clearly, you know where your strengths and skills are best suited.
We have a couple of more broad-based questions for you now about the market in general…
So firstly, what do you think the future of lighting controls looks like?
It is changing; it’s no longer just going to be a wired system…there are solutions out there for lighting controls, and everyone has been installing them for God knows how long, but now we are in a digital age, or we are certainly getting thrust even further and quicker into a digital age than we ever imagined, so I think the lighting will become more digital. It will help the building become smarter.
So just linking into that, it’s a difficult one to answer but in your opinion, is a wired or wireless solution best within a building? I’m guessing that has a lot to do with the requirements and whether it is a retrofit or new build?
I don’t sit on any camp, I can see the benefit of both, and that is what Smartech aims to do; we don’t shoehorn a solution into a building. We take each project on its own merits, and if wireless lends itself to the application, then we’ll use it. I can quickly tell whether wired or wireless will be best for a building. In many cases, it will be a hybrid solution anyway; there will be areas of a building that we can’t get wires to, so wireless is perfect and equally, if you’re in a big metal box of a building, then wireless is not going to suit that application. So, hybrid will be the way forward.
How do you see smart buildings and IoT being interlinked now and in the future?
Well, it is already happening; most systems are connected to the internet. So, we are at the early stages of making lighting truly digital. Buildings have to be smarter and more efficient, whether that’s a newer building or more so an older building, the biggest asset in a building is the lights controlled by a controls system, so what system is controlling the building? It looks like it could be the lighting controls system. Lighting Controls are integral in every building; it’s no longer a luxury; it’s now necessary.
And I guess that interconnectivity with all of the different devices, systems etc., within a building makes it truly smart.
We’ve all got smart systems, whether that’s a lighting controls system controlling the lighting or a building management system controlling the heating and ventilation. Still, I think to make the building smart; we need to think smarter. We don’t need to have siloed systems. In any meeting spaces, open plan office space etc., there are invariably two different sensors within the ceiling one is for the lighting, and one is for the building management system. We’re at a stage now where we can put one sensor in the ceiling, and it will control everything, including space management and security.
We have traditionally seen that the market is very hardware-centric, so do you think that the market is ready to embrace more software solutions?
Yes, whether they like it or not. Within the lighting industry, we had seen the evolution of LEDs; when they came in, it was a huge focus and change within the industry, and there was a big shift in energy efficiency. The only way I can see the industry improving now is through controls; how can we make that lighting smarter? How can we make that lighting more user-friendly? You can only do that through controls, in my opinion.
It has been fascinating to hear your thoughts and opinions about the industry, so thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions.
