Modern Electricity and Lighting done right

From management to every single employee, one should strive to be at one’s best and develop new skills daily. Stephen Ciantar, Managing Director of Hydrolectric firmly believes in this mentality, which has proved to be vital to Hydrolectric’s enviable portfolio of products and services.

Historically speaking, the company was established in September 1987, as the exclusive agents for Marbo wiring accessories. Shortly after, in 1988, the company became an agent for Gewiss SpA. “I was initially employed by the company between 1994 and 1999 as Technical Manager. It was my first experience as a Manager, and I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed especially since I had no other technical person to report to and support me. I had to solve all my own problems and go on a very inclined learning curve. The training I received from our suppliers was crucial to my technical development and understanding of this sector.”

At the time, the company’s main priority was to build a portfolio of products that would allow it to diversify into power, control and, later, building and industrial automation. “Together with Commercial Manager Martin Sansone we introduced many technical and lighting products. This positioned us to bid for bigger projects against the more established companies on the market.” In 1999 Stephen had left to pursue a career in the export market occupying various positions… until 2010, when he reappeared on the Hydrolectric scene.

New brands were added to their portfolio to complement existing brands such as Gewiss, Arcluce architectural lighting, and T&J wiring accessories; “premium brands that Hydrolectric has been proudly representing for many years now,” he added. Stephen continued building Hydrolectric’s enviable portfolio, adding even bigger and more prestigious brands such as Phoenix Contact, Socomec critical power, Terasaki Electrical, LAMP lighting, Aurora Lighting and NormaLux emergency lighting, among many others.” Hydrolectric till today continues to consolidate its rapports with its supplying partners, and keeps building upon its product portfolio wealth, “which is well and truly where our strength lies.”

In the meantime, Stephen continued, they also set up the services side of the business by putting together a competent technical team and focused on areas such as the panel building of power boards and motor control centres, and control panels. This was followed by the solutions side which encompasses intelligent lighting (Prolojik Ltd), building management systems (Loytec Electronics GmbH), centralised emergency lighting (Normagrup), home automation (Gewiss SpA) and complex energy monitoring and management solutions (Socomec). “All these changes have solidly consolidated the company’s leading market positioning by offering both products and solutions.”

LET’S TALK MARKETING…
Since Hydrolectric operates in an extremely competitive environment, we asked Stephen about his perception on their market penetration strategies over these past years.

“Yes, operating in such a densely competitive sector brings about many challenges. There are very few markets that I know of that have so many brands competing for the same clients in such a small geographical area. As a company, we have tackled this by ensuring that we always compete on quality; not compromising on the quality of materials, fixtures and fittings; focusing on brands that are specialised and market leaders in their specific fields, and by ensuring that our staff is well-versed in all matters pertaining to our brands and to our customers’ needs. This is all backed up by a very competent technical team that we have built and trained over the years as well as by a dedication to customer service that is second to none in our field.

I believe that this combination enables us to offer the best value in terms of brands, reliability, longevity, technical support and service, and customer satisfaction and support. The challenge is to get this message across to our customers,” he smilingly said.

we always compete on quality; not compromising on the quality of materials, fixtures and fittings; focusing on brands that are specialised and market leaders in their specific fields, and by ensuring that our staff is well-versed in all matters

Stephen added that the “bottom line is that we can offer our clients a selection from stock of off-the-shelf quality products with very competitive prices as well as solutions which are tailor-made for any given application.

Over recent years we have supplied some very big projects with bespoke solutions.” The company name, Hydrolectric, was chosen by the previous owners. At the time the company sold plumbing products. Stephen explains that the company’s evolution has steered it towards becoming more focused on the Electrical side of the business.

the company’s evolution has steered it towards becoming more focused on the Electrical side of the business

INTERNATIONAL BRANDS
Hydrolectric had developed a very good relationship with one of the most prestigious Italian manufacturers in the field: GEWISS SpA. “With Gewiss we can claim to be their 6th oldest active export client; a relationship that has been growing for over 33 years and is still going strong. We can say that this relationship actually began almost when Hydrolectric itself was set up,” he explained. “Gewiss provide a wide choice of products that meets the demand of every installation in both the residential and commercial sector, at both national and international level,” he added. “This year will be another year of growth for Gewiss, even though this is a difficult period. This is in line with the launch of the company’s new products and strategy. We feel that with these new product lines there is a significant potential for yet further growth in Malta,” commented Stephen.

He explained that Gewiss was born with the specific aim of developing electrical products as wanted by the installers; a perception reaped through their constant, concentrated listening to their direct point of view. This philosophy has been part of Gewiss for decades; since their booming years. The company has continuously embedded Italian flair and design into their equipment, from wiring devices to lighting. Now the focus has turned to smart homes.

“Today the challenge is to offer completeness in terms of functionality but operated through a simple user interface. When it comes to smart homes the future will be focused on sustainability and integration,” he exclaimed.

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE HOME MARKET
Identifying its customers’ needs and how these are expected to evolve is obviously one of Hydrolectrics core objectives. The shrinking average footprint of local households caused by the rising population density has given rise to the need for specialist elements such as those which GEWISS caters for; particularly so since a Geiwiss installation must add value – and a unique differentiating factor – to each development and developed unit which it embellishes and enhances.

Stephen explained that “The way people live in their homes nowadays has evolved world-wide, and especially so in the last year of the COVID pandemic. We are all now spending more hours at home, working or simply relaxing. With the ever-growing presence of information technology in our daily routine, companies like GEWISS are taking the opportunity of promoting solutions for a connected house.

“Today developers have two choices for their buildings, and these are basically: cabled or wireless. The first is obviously more stable and complete, but it is more intended for newly developed units. The second is flexible since there are no physical connections between devices but is more suitable for renovations and retrofitting to add functions,” he said, and continued to explain that a good, cabled infrastructure is a solid investment option for both developers and owners, “especially when the installation is pre-empted and integrated in the building process”.

the challenge is to offer completeness in terms of functionality but operated through a simple user interface

Hydrolectric has always focused upon improving the quality of the products and solutions offered, and to meet and anticipate the needs of a market that is moving more towards a fully integrated building. Over the years the company has successfully supplied Power and Lighting products to many big projects and has also implemented a number of solutions, such as Intelligent lighting, Energy Monitoring, Home & Building Automation, and Emergency Lighting Systems across the islands, always taking full advantage of the various technologies available from its reputable mix of suppliers.

a good, cabled infrastructure is a solid investment option for both developers and owners, “especially when the installation is pre-empted and integrated in the building process

CONCLUSION
Stephen is quick to point out that “at Hydrolectric we have a team of qualified engineers who can help our clients implement bespoke solutions which are highly cost-effective and which match specific requirements.” So how are the solutions implemented? “We always work side by side with the installer. The physical installation of our hardware is very straight forward, which any competent tradesman can effortlessly implement. And our technical team can provide all the drawings and documentation required for all projects and installations. Finally, we can also assist in the project finalisation by programming and tweaking the system to the customers’ wanted parameters,” explained Stephen.

“As Hydrolectric,” emphasised Stephen, “we have always prided ourselves in delivering solutions to exacting standards. The electrical, lighting or building automation installation is one of the most important considerations in any building and ideally this must last for the lifetime of the building. It is our policy to keep the end client well informed on every aspect of the solution provided,” he said.

we have a team of qualified engineers who can help our clients implement bespoke solutions which are highly cost-effective and which match specific requirements

“Our company has been on the market for 34 years and has built a solid reputation of offering the most cost-effective quality products backed up with technical support and service. Our team is always eager to help you choose the right products for you. “

Stephen Ciantar wrapped up our time with him with these concluding words: “As a company we have never shied away from difficult projects many of which our direct competitors did not have the will, the resources or the expertise to execute. This is what has truly driven our growth and increased our team’s skill set. Also, the greater the difficulty of a project the greater the chance of success. This is especially true on the solutions side of the business on big projects, that either combine Power, Control, Switching, Monitoring, and Energy Management in one solution. Or, when it comes to giving a complete solution for commercial lighting integrated with intelligent lighting solutions.”