The story of Signify started in 1891, when Philips was founded in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company has been at the forefront of lighting innovation ever since it launched its first product – an incandescent lamp – and is now one of the world’s largest multinational organisations. Notable examples of its innovations include commercial gas-filled incandescent lamps and low-voltage fluorescent tubes, as well as more recent developments including the first LED retrofit lamp (launched in 2008) and Philips Hue, the first smart, colour-changing LED lighting system controlled via smartphone (introduced in 2012).
In 2016, Philips decided to establish its lighting division into a new company. Initially known as Philips Lighting, the company was renamed Signify in May 2018, although it continues to produce lighting products under the original brand.
“Although we’re now under a new brand, we are backed by 134 years of success and experience in creating lighting products,” says Elina Niemi, commercial leader for marine at Signify. “We bring that experience to all of our projects with our customers in the passenger shipping industry.”
Now that it is operating as a separate company, Signify is able to more easily adapt its product portfolio to customers’ individual needs.
“This is one of the biggest benefits we provide for our customers,” says Niemi. “We could only supply products before, but now we work with customers to create tailored solutions that will fully meet their needs. We design and test new products together, offering them our full support throughout the project.”
Signify supplied 32 kilometres of its LEDFlex solutions for Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas
Signify also draws on Philips Lighting’s history of sustainable developments, which extend back over 50 years to 1973 when the oil crisis pushed its lighting division to increase its focus on making its operations and products more energy efficient.
“Since the mid-1990s, we’ve developed 4-to-5 Sustainability programmes with an expanding scope in operations, products, brand, people, supply chain and strategy,” explains Niemi. “In 2003, we launched the Green Switch programme to drive the transition to more sustainable lighting, which helped with the global phase-out of incandescent light bulbs that was called for on 7 December 2006.”
Signify has continued this legacy. The Brighter Lives, Better World programme, launched in 2016 has already seen the company move to using 100 per cent renewable electricity and producing zero landfill waste at its manufacturing sites. This drive for sustainability has also been reflected in Signify’s products, with the first Philips ultra-efficient LED A-class bulbs in 2021 helping it to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 240 million tonnes.
“In 2024, we introduced an ambitious net-zero target to reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, without the use of carbon credits,” says Niemi. “We’re focused on continuing to lead the industry in developing increasingly efficient lighting technologies. A sizeable proportion of the global lighting stock is still conventional, meaning there is a significant opportunity for rapid progress. A global switch to energy-efficient LED would reduce global GHG emissions by one per cent, equivalent to half the total emissions caused by the aviation industry.”
Signify is using LED lights in a growing number of passenger shipping projects, with a recent example being Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas. Signify provided 6,000 Fortimo LED 2-foot strips and 32 kilometres of its LEDFlex solutions for installation onboard the world’s largest cruise ship. The lights were installed in Icon of the Seas’ staterooms while they were being constructed at the Piikkiö cabin factory in Finland.
“Signify provided lights equivalent to the length of 97 Eiffel Towers stacked on top of each other,” says Niemi. “It was a great collaboration with our partners to make sure an extensive project came to life.”
The company is also developing new and innovative lighting technology for the passenger shipping industry. Signify is offering its BioUp technology for crew cabins, which could help to deliver significant health and wellbeing benefits.
“At Signify, we view lighting as a solution to creating healthy spaces while promoting wellbeing,” explains Niemi. “BioUp is a spectrally tuneable technology allowing for minute adjustments to certain wavelengths in the LED light spectrum. This recreates the effect of natural light, helping to regulate our internal body clock and aid concentration during the day while enhancing sleep quality at night. You might not see the impact of light colour or intensity, but you will certainly notice it in the way you feel and perform.”
Niemi is confident that, as a leading lighting provider, Signify can deliver the right solution for its passenger shipping customers. “Our years of experience and wide range of successful products allows us to provide our customers with full support throughout their shipbuilding projects,” she concludes.
Cabin modules for cruise ships
Piikkio Works, a subsidiary of Meyer Turku, is a global manufacturer of carefully designed custom-made cabin modules for cruise vessels.
The first cabin module factory was founded in Piikkiö, near Turku in western Finland, in 1982. During more than 40 years in business, Piikkio Works has delivered over 150,000 cabins and bathroom units to small and large customers around the world. It constantly develops new products as part of its daily operation to achieve its aim of creating new and innovative solutions.
“Our strength within our field comes from industrial serial production, both at the company’s panel production facility in Vilnius, Lithuania, and at our assembly factory in Piikkiö,” says Severi Kuure, purchaser at Piikkio Works. “Our expertise, experience and continuous cooperation with our clients ensure successful results.”
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