There's always a bonus driving to the Netherlands to visit international LED lighting specialist, Bever Innovations, partly because of the stunning scenery associated with the Dutch coast, and partly because of the cutting-edge bridge and tunnel technology that confronts you along the way.
For much of the last fifty kilometer drive, from the French port of Calais to the Dutch town Zierikzee, motorists are treated to a memorable experience of either being taken high above the sea waterways between the vast islands spanning the Netherlands most southernly parts, or conversely, along futuristic tunelled highways, of up to 10km in one particular place. And always at the end of a bridge or tunnel, there’s an incredible view.
The ‘LED’s Connect’ headline above, comes from a requirement identified by the development team at Bever Innovations, for fuel retailers to bring together all the new digital applications made possible through the internet, under one control platform.
Due to the fact that unlike most retail businesses, the service station environments have multiple on-site devices which now need linking up, this is so key for fuel service stations in order to maximise their efficiency. Remote management of such devices is where it starts. but there is no end to where this will all end up.
I asked Erwin Dingemanse, Director and owner of Bever Innovations, at the centre of this new connective strategy, how it all came about, reminding myself of course that Bever is primarily a leading international provider of LED lighting solutions.
He told me “The retail fuel industry has been our world for 30 years and whilst our focus naturally has been on lighting, the retail fuel station space generally has always been our workplace”.
“When we talk about linking up multiple applications on the forecourt, our new product, the ‘IC Smart’, not only does this with our applications, it works across all Smart enabled devices and gives operators of such products complete control of them all, from one dashboard”.
“It’s important to mention, that this idea has not just come about as we’ve been working on this specific concept for ten years, starting off with one light being connected to another, and from there the idea grew. What’s happened more recently is the proliferation of new forecourt applications, which have accelerated the need for a solution such as ours.
As an example, EV chargers have come under the spotlight recently with new laws across Europe requiring forecourts to now clearly display prices for customers arriving on their forecourts, as they are required to do with other fuels. The new IC Smart unit can connect to a new EV price sign unit and centralise the data alongside existing control applications”.
In practical terms the IC Smart can link to canopy lighting, price signs, car washes, fuel dispensers, EV chargers and shop POS applications, just to name a few examples.
Adding to this Erwin said “If any of the illuminated brand logo signs linked through the IC Smart malfunction, it will trigger an alarm, informing an operator that they need to take action. This feature, just on its own, could produce substantial savings for fuel retailers in the long run”
The new Bever offices and workspace are state of the art, having been built only five years ago from designs capturing every possible energy saving device under the sun and putting them into practice, Erwin personally oversaw the build alongside his co-directors, to deliver a workplace which any employee would be proud of.
When I first visited, just before the Covid outbreak, I likened the office layout to one which Google may have designed today, or indeed any modern high-tech company, and highlighted the several rest areas which feature throughout for the workers to take time out.
In the staff canteen, shared at various times of the day by all Bever employees, Erwin outlined in greater detail the practicalities of the IC Smart, over lunch. He explained.
“When we say connecting all devices on a forecourt, we really do mean all devices. For example, we can link the under-canopy lighting to the contour LED tubing, the lighting in the shop, the car wash information screen and even the vending machines”, and third-party products i.e. those we do not manufacture, can also be part of the same network, in the same cloud, simply by us inserting a tiny device between connections”.
It’s ironic that Bever coming from a background in connectivity, rather than lighting, has in some ways returned to its roots and done a full circle with the development of the IC Smart. In the early days, back in the nineties, it was about finding ways to send price information down powerline modems from the shop, to the price signs of fuel stations. It was only when markets moved in the direction of LED price signs that lighting came on the agenda and the rest as they say is history.
New legislation has also been a factor in the direction Bever Innovations has taken over the years, especially when it concerns energy saving. “A topical point at this time” Erwin pointed out, as he informed me about new light pollution European legislation coming into force soon, which will affect fuel retailers right across the continent.
“New laws will make it illegal for operators to run LED signs at 100% brightness” he said. “From a certain time, depending where you are and when it gets dark, operators will be required to have dimming devices fitted to not only protect the environment and save energy, it is also because of local wildlife like bats for example which suffer generally from excessive light pollution. We have been working for many years, manufacturing the technology to address these issues”.
So, what about the other parts of the business, I asked Erwin. Having worked with so many of the major oil companies and retailers globally, which of their other products are flying off the shelves, so to speak.
He responded “Of the three core areas of activity we represent, lighting, signage and smart technology, I would say that together with the IC Smart, it is our LED Screens which are getting the most noticeable increase in the number of enquiries they achieve.
Our InMo dynamic LED screen primarily displays up-to-date fuel and EV prices and puts out a variety of marketing messages. It can easily be built into a fuel station's price board, but it can also be used as a stand-alone screen for shop offers, both in text and image format and have a direct link to POS system for real-time pricing.
My favourite example of a client maximising the potential of our LED signs is UNO-X, a leading fuel retailer and stand-alone car wash operator in Norway. It has our screens on most of their Carwash and refuel sites, which in their words, help to take the stress away from customers navigating their many retail operations”, which generally, is exactly what they are designed for”
“Developing and producing intelligent LED lighting solutions is our core business and all the products we market today have been developed under this umbrella objective. We are continuously setting new standards, which results in ground-breaking innovation, whilst also mproves our competitive positioning. Focusing on a quick and easy assembly, minimal maintenance, and a very favourable Total Cost of Ownership this adds incredible value”.
To me the above paragraph seems to sum everything up we’d been discussing over the past two hours, but please reference the Bever Innovations website for additional information https://mobility.beverinnovations.com/ were you can also discover details concerning; Area illumination, EV-integration, the Bever Dashboard and Smart bridges.
On my way back to the UK, I pondered my day’s work in the Netherlands and decided that surely everybody wants the advances in technology, but to get it you have to first understand it!
Look out for our UNO-X feature, coming soon.
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