OVIA
OVIA SHEDS LIGHT ON PHASE 2 OF ITS DEVELOPMENT Exactly a year since its official launch, the Ovia brand goes from strength to strength, with revolutionary new testing equipment and a raft of new products.
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hen Ovia was launched as an independent lighting organisation a year ago, the company’s aim was to fill a gap for a broad spectrum of entry level lighting products that are highly competitively priced, that offer a range of unique features and benefits, and are quick and easy to install to help contractors save time and money on any given project. The products were developed to cover a wide range of applications – domestic, amenity, commercial, industrial, utility, floodlighting and emergency lighting. A year later, and despite the major challenges to businesses and personal lives that coronavirus has thrown up, not only has Ovia managed to keep on track with its ambitious plans, it has continued to supply its full range of products to the market throughout the pandemic, and is now ready to take the wraps off the next phase of its development. Ovia has made some very significant investments in the last few months. These include the purchase of cutting-edge testing equipment and a revolutionary photometry testing scheme, the appointment of a former BSI testing expert and the addition of a raft of new products to its growing lighting and lighting controls ranges. Ovia has purchased its own Goniophotometer device and signed up to the revolutionary Gonio photometry luminaire testing scheme which has been created by the LIA, together with its partner Acal BFi, to enable lighting manufacturers to offer efficient third party certified luminaire performance testing. By bringing the light test facility in house, the ground-breaking testing scheme will radically speed up the testing process for Ovia’s lighting products and will also offer reassurance when it comes to validating photometric measurements such as lumens per watt and related performance claims. The appointment of former BSI electrical testing engineer, Michael Dunn,
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to the role of senior testing engineer for the Scolmore Group of companies, is evidence of the importance the company places on the whole area of testing and compliance. He brings a wealth of experience garnered during an impressive career, which includes working within electrical installation and maintenance with a number of contracting firms in the early years, and latterly as electrical and lighting testing engineer for British Standards Institution. At Scolmore he is working alongside the technical team, providing vital product testing services across the whole group – Scolmore, ESP, Ovia and Unicrimp. He has overall responsibility for managing the testing requirements for effective delivery of compliant products and for ensuring that industry best practice is being adopted. Phase 2 of Ovia’s product development programme aims to build on the success of the first phase and sees the launch of a raft of new lighting solutions that will further enhance the offer for the professional electrical contractor. A critical part of the development process has been the continued engagement with contractors who are using the products, as well as the wholesalers selling them, to ensure these new products meet their needs. Ease of installation and cost-effective lighting solutions remain key elements to the development programme. There are new products as well as improvements and enhancements to existing lines; all designed to ensure a solution is available to suit all types of application and any size of project. A new range of battens has been added to the premium Inceptor collection. Inceptor B-Lite is a range of 4ft, 5ft and 6ft linear batten multi-current LED lights, which are a direct replacement for conventional battens and boast many features. A multi-current driver allows the installer to set the lumens in line with the particular location, whilst base to diffuser clips
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and push-fit terminal blocks all make for easy installation and speed of termination of the conductors. The popular Inceptor EVO range of bulkheads has also been expanded. Among the additions is the Deco Excel – an extra-large bulkhead in a 20W version. It has a tri colour CCT switch integrated onto the LED board, making it easy to switch from 3000k, 4000k and 6000k. Mike Collins, Ovia sales director, comments: “It has been an extremely challenging but rewarding 12 months as we continue to grow the Ovia lighting range and raise the profile of the brand among an even wider contractor, specifier and wholesaler audience. “We are particularly excited with our investment in the new luminaire testing equipment. A significant amount of time and expense is invested in the critical testing element of new product development. What the LIA Gonio Photometry Scheme does is give us total control and puts both the product development and final evaluation process literally in our hands. This means a much faster turnaround in getting products tested and out into the marketplace.” Ovia, oviauk.com
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21/10/2020 10:19
