The Netherlands, one of the most demanding markets in the world in the field of professional lighting, continues to consolidate itself as the leading vehicle of the Spanish public and technical lighting industry. The awarding of the Rotterdam-Maasvlakte II port lighting project, promoted by the Dutch ministries of finance and development, reaffirms both the capacity of SETGA as a manufacturing brand and the ability of the entire Galician and Spanish industrial components chain to compete in the high technology and advanced LED electronics sector.
Since the beginning of October, SETGA has manufactured several hundred Essenze LED luminaires and HL projectors, all with high luminous flux systems with yields of up to 157 Lm/w, as well as the towersand columns that will cover 230,000 m2 of the port surface in thisfirst phase, including the unique lighting of the facades of the customs building with HL projectors. The entire Rotterdam-Maasvlakte II infrastructure is said to be the greatest achievement ofDutch engineering in the 21st century, in its arduous battle against theNorth Sea, also representing a great technological challenge for any lighting firm due to the hostile environment, high salinity of the area, and the potential hurricane winds. The Setga LED technology based on anodised aluminum, anti-vibration systems, and opto-electronic IP67 LED modules, as well as IP68 argon gas pressurised seals in areas particularly exposed to the sea, have therefore reached the highest score in the minimisation section of total long-term property costs, thanks to their almost inexistent maintenance costs.
A key aspect of the successful trajectory of Galician LED lighting in the Netherlands during the last three years was this initial inclusioin on the starting grid of the port of Rotterdam, the first major government infrastructure project with LED lighting manufactured by a Spanish company. Specifically, thanks to previous milestones such as theaward of the 4 most iconic LED lighting supply contestsin recent years: Amsterdam Red Carpet, Amsterdam XXI Century, Bergen and Arnhem station, as well as the growing presence of “Made in Galicia” luminaries in the main Dutch cities, including Amsterdam and its metropolitan area, The Hague, Almere, Groningen, and Nijmegen. In just nine months, SETGA LED luminaires have gone from being installed in 32 municipalities to covering most of the Netherlands, gaining the trust of 62 Dutch municipalities as a preferred supplier. This consolidates a 630% annual growth in exports to the central European market in November 2016.
The confidence of the different Spanish governments in the “Made in Spain” technology represented a determining factor in the award.
Setga’s extensive experience as a supplier of exterior and technical lighting in different port and maritime infrastructures was a determining factor to prove their experience in projects of this type. In this way, the positive feedback accumulated over 25 years helped to secure the entry of Spanish LED technology into the largest port in Europe.
Positioning the value chain in Spain meanta key element of competitivity in the port of Rotterdam.
The consolidation of a “Just in Time” system capable of manufacturing LED luminaires in record times represented an essential competitive advantage that allowed Setga to meet the demanding delivery times of the project, providing greater agility to the strategic infrastructure partner in charge of the installation, the prestigious Dutch company Sifgroup, which must complete installation of the first phase in 2016.
In order to replicate the efficiency, speed and reliability of existing supply chains in sectors such as the automotive industry on a small scale, around mechanical assembly lines and electronic integration located in Pontevedra, an extensive industrial core has been built over decades connecting the whole of Galicia: aluminium extruders and injectors, transformers of steel and other metals, manufacturers of glass and electronic components, among other notable industries.
Not only does this make the creation of 97% of added value in Spain a possibility, along with the three shifts worked by SETGA’s Pontevedra factory, but the continuity of the social payback policy, initiated following the first tender that was won in Amsterdam, whose requirements boosted the hiring of long-term unemployed and disabled people in SETGA’s Pontevedra factory at that time, who now represent 12% ofn the workforce involved in the final integration.