Innovation Strategy Leads to a New Business Area
For 70 years, the VELUX Group has been known as the world's leading expert in bringing daylight and fresh air into the private home through the roof. Based on this, the VELUX Group is now entering the market for commercial and public buildings with the launch of VELUX Modular Skylights – a brand new concept shaped to transform the commercial skylight market because of its innovative modularity.
"2012 is a big year for the VELUX Group. We started the year by introducing our new generation of roof windows and are now launching VELUX Modular Skylights. This is a result of a persistent strategic focus on innovation that we believe will give us a competitive edge when the financial crisis is over," says Jørgen Tang-Jensen, CEO of the VELUX Group.
In the last five years, the VELUX Group has increased R&D investments by 50 per cent and now allocates about 50 million euro annually. The two new introductions represent a combined investment so far of 225 million euro.
VELUX Modular Skylights is a new way to think of a commercial skylight system because of its 100% modularity. Today the market is dominated by custom-made products from many different suppliers; this new system is a standard solution, yet flexible to work with, assembled with prefabricated modules that are delivered on site ready to install.
"The arrival of VELUX Modular Skylights means that, for the first time, we have a product specifically targeted at commercial and public buildings. We have great expectations of this strategic expansion of our traditional business and are confident that, in ten years' time, it will grow to become a considerable part of our business," says Jørgen Tang-Jensen.
Many commercial and public buildings, such as schools, hospitals, shopping malls and offices, are suffering from the lack of daylight and fresh air. With buildings accounting for 40% of all EU energy consumption, energy efficiency in buildings is considered one of the most cost-effective measures to achieve great energy savings and to cut CO2 emissions.
"There is a great need to incorporate daylight and fresh air in buildings −and a cry for an easy solution. VELUX Modular Skylights meets this demand, and since the product is equally suitable for both new build and renovation, it is also relevant in times of crisis in the building industry," says Jørgen Tang-Jensen.
VELUX Modular Skylights will be launched on markets where the VELUX brand already has a well-established position – starting in Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Belgium, Holland and Germany in 2012, followed by France in 2013.