High quality lighting and control systems engineered from superior materials
Illuminating Innovation
Julie Clark’s Vision for Savage Lighting
In an industry where adaptability and creativity are paramount, Julie Clark, Managing Director of Savage Lighting, has carved a niche for herself as a trailblazer in marine lighting solutions. With over two decades of experience, Julie’s journey reflects her commitment to quality, sustainability, and innovation. Under her leadership, Savage Lighting has not only navigated the challenges of a rapidly evolving market but has also embraced opportunities for growth and collaboration. In this interview, Julie shares her insights on the company’s journey, the importance of customer relationships, and her vision for the future of marine lighting.
Career Journey:
Can you share your career journey and what led you to your current role as Managing Director at Savage Lighting?
After leaving school with minimum qualifications, I had my first daughter very young! I decided to go back to school whilst being a young mum to study accounts, shortly after 2 years I realised being an accountant, was not for me, so I did some further education in business and sales, I worked for various banks, large utility corporations and IT Companies before settling for being self-employed helping small businesses, putting procedures and sales pipelines in place, from initial enquiries to following up on sales, accounts, payroll basically full administration duties, that’s when I got the call from a contact I had done some previous work for asking if I could help a small relatively new company, only a team of 3 people for around 6 months! That was 23 years ago! I was told the office Lady was due to go onto maternity leave in around 4 weeks, so she would help show me the way, however as babies do it decided it would arrive the next day, so it was sink or swim time, luckily, I have always been a good swimmer! I had to navigate around the products, whilst implementing procedures and dealing with customer enquiries, I am sure I drove the production manager in sane with the constant questions, however I soon started to learn the products, build the relationships and double the turnover within the 1st year, then after 6 years I was presented with the opportunity to acquire shares and in 2007 I became a shareholder and MD, after various business partners that some retired, some just not simply work out I became sole owner in 2021 and have never looked back!
Company
Overview:
Savage Lighting has a strong reputation in the marine lighting industry. Can you provide an overview of the company’s history and its core areas of expertise?
Savage Marine are known for their high-quality products, we offer a full turnkey bespoke service, as we engineer everything in house, enabling us to create the product as specified or desired by the clients, we work closely with interior designers, architects, owners teams, installers and the shipyards.
Product Innovation:
Savage Lighting is known for its high-quality, customisable lighting solutions. What drives your innovation, and how do you stay ahead of trends in the marine lighting industry?
With dedicated in house designers, R & D and product engineers, helps us create and introduce new products or service, we constantly look at trend and latest technologies that is new to the market or a substantial and novel iteration of an existing product, we listen to what the client requires and produce in house from initial concept through to the finished products, we are constantly looking to push improvements in components and materials, technical specifications, and other functional characteristics like easy to install, ease of maintenance, technology has advanced so much over the last two decades, we now produce lighting for cleansing the area, that kills bacteria, lighting that works with the Human circadian rhythm, helping our brains be more alert, productive and more, lighting has always been an essential tool to help us see when its dark, it is also now available to help our minds and clean our spaces
products, we offer a refurbishment service, why replace when you can refurb, for example should a client wish to upgrade from old halogen system to LED, and some parts of their existing fittings are still usable, as we design and manufacturer we can offer a full restoration and upgrade service, therefore minimising waste, we also can manufacture to suit existing cutouts, again this then dismisses the need for replacement overheads, we also look at using Recycled ocean waste materials, where we can in our manufacturing materials, we will also have a new facility in 2026 and sustainability, is key to the design and build of the new HQ
Customer Relationships:
How does Savage Lighting ensure that it meets the specific needs of its diverse clientele, especially in such a niche market?
The superyacht world is a worldwide industry, but a very small community, I have always prided myself on offering the upmost level of service to our clients, I listen to what the clients want, deliver a first class service and a first class product, yes we are all human and errors can sometimes happen, but we will always rectify any issue, this has given us the excellent reputation within the industry and repeat work from our clients for the last 20+ years
Technological Integration
How does Savage Lighting leverage the latest technologies in the design and manufacturing of its products?
Lighting has changed so much over the last two decades, when I first started it was a simple halogen bulb which could either be on off or dimmed using mostly a standard pot coil dimmer, the use of LED changed this dramatically, LEDs outperform traditional forms of lighting such as incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. They produce a much brighter light, contain no mercury, making 95% of the bulb recyclable, and have a lifespan of some 50000 hrs, we can now change colour with the push of a button, a voice command, we can integrate into our music, we can control by Wi-Fi apps, we can set scenes, the possibilities are endless, when it comes to product development savage marine ensure their product have the full technical functionality that can integrate with all high end control systems seamlessly.
Strategic Partnerships:
Can you discuss some of the strategic partnerships Savage Lighting has developed and how these collaborations have influenced the company’s growth?
We ever changing technologies it made perfect sense to collaborate with some of the industries leading, as we are a manufacturer we were approached by Crestron to develop a new range of fittings, using the Crestron DMX C, we have a full range that are fully addressable fittings, these fixtures using Crestron DMX, have an built programme for the circadian rhythm, ease of colour change, using them on artwork or fine prices can bring the colours to life, they are easy to install, with no need for individual circuits, all are addressable this also puts the clients incomplete control, so we can change the cluster of fittings at anytime without the need to rewire, simply by changing the app, in addition we have collaborated with VYV technology to create a range of fittings using their UV Free Antimicrobial LED Technology, which kills Viruses, bacteria, fungi and Mold on surfaces, not only does this help control kill viruses including Covid, but also reduces the need for harsh chemicals, therefore makes this more sustainable to the environment, collaborating with both these has opened up a world of opportunities for Savage lighting including, hospitality, residential, healthcare and food preparation industries. In addition, we work with key controls experts like Crest System, MP Technical solutions this enables us to provide a fully experienced team for a complete lighting solution.
Challenges in the Industry:
The lighting industry, especially for marine applications, faces unique challenges. What are the main challenges Savage Lighting encounters, and how are they addressed?
It is without a doubt being a UK manufacturer exporting to The EU has bought some of the biggest challenges with Brexit, however to enable us to trade seamlessly with out clients we opened up a European office in 2021, in addition the crisis of the wars going on has seen a down turn of new builds in the last couples of years, however the refit market is still buoyant for us, with the ability to manufacture and our products adaptable for existing systems, this keeps us ahead in the refit market, there is no doubt more competition in the industry, we have to stay ahead, by innovating, listening and offer an excellent products with excellent service.
Future Growth:
What are your plans for the future of Savage Lighting in terms of expansion, innovation, and market presence?
We have some very exciting expansion plans for Savage, with the recent award of planning permission for a new sustainable Head quarters, hopefully completed by 2026, will enable us to expand our engineering department, a new R & D Technology centre, in house exhibition, and with the diversification into new markets the future seems very bright!
Leadership Philosophy:
What is your leadership philosophy, and how do you guide your team to uphold Savage Lighting’s standards of quality and innovation?
I would always encourage everyone to be self-aware, have respect for each other, vision to see beyond today, collaborate to form the best team, be passionate about what you are doing, have courage and show resilience.
Savage Lighting, established in 2000, specialises in high-quality, custom lighting solutions for the superyacht and marine industry. With an in-house team of precision engineers and cutting-edge LED technology, they deliver bespoke lighting products for both interior and exterior applications, ensuring durability and seamless integration with existing designs. Savage Lighting is recognised for its innovation and craftsmanship in lighting design for luxury yachts and commercial projects worldwide.
www.savagelighting.co.uk
Julie Clark Managing Director
