Osram's Deputy Managing Director David Schofield sees Voltimum as a prime marketing tool for the company:
You might think that someone who plays football, water skiis, rides a modern sports hyperbike and is a family man to boot might not have the time to be taking a very active role in running a major and highly innovative lighting company but Osram’s David Schofield is doing just that!
Global lighting company Osram is one of the seven founder member companies of Voltimum and is a Partner across all the European countries that Voltimum operates in. Voltimum UK & Ireland editor James Hunt visited Deputy Managing Director David Schofield of Osram in the UK to find out more about David, the company and Voltimum’s role in its plans.
David Schofield might never have been in the position of Deputy Managing Director of Osram in the UK were it not for an advert in his local paper. Then aged 19 and just out of the RAF and just about to join a fruit & veg company as a salesman, he saw the ad for a trainee salesman at Osram, at that time headquartered in Wembley. His original aim had been to become an accountant but one thing led to another and David applied for the job and joined Osram in 1977. Initially selling to local independent retail lighting shops, where he dealt with (among other things) the ‘Magnificent Seven’ display packs of coloured Osram GLS lamps used as order starters, David quickly progressed in the company.
David Schofield Osram's Deputy Managing Director
In 1979 he was promoted to the position of Product Manager dealing with all incandescent lamps except GLS. He then had a spell as Southern Area Sales Manager before returning to a marketing project role for 18 months in 1982. This involved putting the ‘Speedpack’ range of fixtures on to the market and was a ‘tremendous success’. In 1984, David became Southern Regional Manager and in 1986 was promoted to National Sales Manager based at Wembley. This was a time when Osram had 10 local depots and David’s first job was to rationalise by closing all of these except Wembley and St. Helens. This procedure must have Osram’s David Scholfield. caught the collective management eyes in Munich because his first visit there was that same year. Dr. Bopst, was the top man then as now and David Schofield was one of those who worked closely with him on the Wotan/GEC/Osram merger at that time. David became Deputy Managing Director in 1999.
In this position, David has a dual role, as both deputy to Osram UK Managing Director Sigmar Proebstl who still has an office in Munich and as UK Sales Director. He is, in effect, the ‘operational’ UK MD. Osram is a major global lamp manufacturer with almost 90% of turnover coming from outside Germany. With this in mind I wondered just how important the UK market is for the company.
David Schofield: “Munich thinks in terms of markets and regions rather than countries. Europe is one such region and it is the most important not only because it is large and growing but more importantly because it is stable. Also, Europe is keener to adopt new technologies and design innovation than other regions.” “Osram is very keen on promoting new technologies and sees this as one of the main ways of improving business in the future. As far as the UK is concerned, it is the second largest market for lighting in Europe but is also the least profitable, largely because there are three really major players all competing for the same market – GE, Philips Lighting and ourselves.”
James Hunt: “How do you see this situation being improved?”
DS: “The promotion of new technology products is one way of closing the gap. We are doing this in a big way already and are, in fact, ahead of our targets. However, the UK is relatively slow to take up new technologies compared with the rest of Europe.”
JH: “Is the UK operation profitable and in which sectors?”
DS: “Yes, it is. Osram is the UK market leader in what we call the ‘trade area’. This is the commercial and industrial sectors – precisely the sectors that Voltimum is addressing. Osram has five operations in the UK. These are Osram Trade Division, Osram OEM Division, Osram Retail Division, Osram Photo-optic and Osram Automotive divisions. Of these, Osram is UK market leader with its Trade Division and we are also market leader in Automotive products and photo-optics. We are number two as far our OEM Division is concerned but a distant number three in retail though we are addressing this.”
JH: “How are you addressing this?”
DS: “Well, with all the sectors we operate in, spreading the word – communication is the essential thing. We need to communicate the clear benefits to architects, specifiers, OEMs and installers – and wholesalers – of using modern technology products. We already do this in many ways, PR, advertising, mail shots, direct sales, training and so on but it costs a lot of money, as does putting a salesman on the road. These are all important routes to decision makers but not, in my opinion, good enough. This is where Voltimum will be such an important asset to us – a major tool in this respect.”
JH: “How do you see Voltimum helping Osram with its marketing of new technology products?”
DS: “It will help simply by being what it aims to be – the central point of reference for electrical installers and specifiers across the UK and Europe but more than that, I would like to see Voltimum being used by both installers and specifiers as the technical reference point too. We have, at Osram, one of the lighting industry’s best technical teams but they are very busy and Voltimum can help them get the message across, not just in news and product terms but in terms of standards, technologies and so on.”
JH: “Did you personally have a decision-making role in OSRAM becoming a Voltimum founder member?”
DS: “No, that all came from Munich, but we’re looking forward to the role it will play in helping to get our message across.”
JH: “All the big lighting companies have been investing in the development of LEDs. Many of these products will not, initially, be Voltimum type products but they may well be one day. How is this development going for Osram?”
DS: “Yes, it’s a big issue for us, as for the other companies. Our Regensburg factory was set up three years ago in our initiative with Infineon and we’re making headway but it’s early days yet. In fact, some of our wholesalers already want to stock them and reckon they can sell them but it’s a little difficult to make a decision on the stock profile at this stage.”
JH: “But would you expect LEDs to be in the Osram catalogue on Voltimum?”
DS: ”I would expect there to be some LED products in the catalogue, yes. If not the first catalogue then soon after. This is exactly why we think that Voltimum will become such an important tool for installers and specifiers, as well as wholesalers in the future – it will help inform them of all the very latest developments such as LEDs. Again, it’s a question of getting full knowledge about the advantages of these products into the hands of what I call the ‘deciding population’. Voltimum will be key to this.”
JH: “What do you see as being Osram’s drive over the next five years or so?”
DS: “As I’ve said previously, innovation and technological development are the way to go. Specifically, halogen, HQI and low energy lamps allied to the latest electronic control gear (ECG) including DALI and LEDs will be some of the routes that Osram will be pursuing. We estimate that ECG, in particular, will be worth 30 to 50% of all new lighting installations in the total UK market. Remember that a new Directive, 2002/55/EC, has been introduced. This outlaws conventional ballasts.
JH: “David, thanks very much for your time.”
David Schofield is 44, is married with two young daughters and is into football, water skiing and also biking with his Honda Fireblade sports motorcycle.
About Osram:
Osram, founded 82 years ago, is one of the largest lamp manufacturers in the world. As the company puts is, 'light from Osram shines in more than 140 countries'. With sales outside Germany accounting for 89 % of total turnover and a sales presence on every continent, the company is a true global player. In the 2001 fiscal year, Osram 's 34,878 employees produced sales of Euro 4.5 billion. Three quarters of this amount came from just two Divisions - General Lighting and Automotive Lighting.
Osram headquarters are in Munich and the company manufactures from 54 factories in 18 countries. In the UK, Osram is headquartered in Langley, Berkshire and comprises five divisions. The Osram Trade Division distributes to around 2,500 electrical wholesalers in the UK, working together with wholesalers and distributors in the UK to supply a comprehensive range of innovative lamps and electronic control gear.
The Osram OEM Division deals with the original equipment manufacturer while the Osram Retail Division deals solely with retail lighting products. Finally, there are the Osram Photo-optic and Osram Automotive divisions. Innovation and electronics are the ‘driving forces’: Innovation, particularly in the electronic sector, will be the greatest driving force of Osram’s future business.
Taking Osram globally, currently, almost 30% of the company’s sales come from electronic products such as opto-electronic semiconductors, the most notable of which are LEDs, ECG systems and lamps that are operated electronically. By 2005 this proportion will, it is estimated, have risen to over 50%. The highest sales are achieved by the General Lighting sector. Halogen lamps, compact fluorescent lamps and metal halide lamps are all showing healthy growth rates. As already stated, Osram is thought to be the world's number one supplier of automotive lamps. Its sales of photo-optic lamps are also showing dynamic growth. Following the integration of Motorola Lighting in the USA, Osram now claims to be the world market leader in ECG. The fast-growing subsidiary Osram Opto Semiconductors, which offers semiconductor-based lighting products (LEDs), is of major strategic importance to Osram. The Precision Materials & Components Division, which manufactures and sells semi-finished products for lamps and also components for companies in other branches of industry, benefits from the know-how acquired in dealing with special materials and techniques.
Contact: David Schofield
Deputy Managing Director
Osram Ltd.,
Osram House, Waterside Drive,
Langley, Berkshire SL3 6EZ
Tel: +00 44 (0)1753 484210
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.osram.co.uk