AdamLights pushed to take over the world by Enterprise Estonia
Lighting solutions produced in Märjamaa are giving joy this winter season to the residents of Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, London, Tokyo, Dubai and many other metropolises around the world. According to Ivar Roosileht, the chief executive officer of AdamLights, the help of Enterprise Estonia played a significant role in materialising the company’s plans to conquer the world.
‘Enterprise Estonia came to our lives in quite a natural way, without any big surprises,’ Roosileht recalls. ‘For a company with large goals and rapid development it’s important to understand that, in order to keep growing, it is worth looking at what support to state has to offer.’ The company, which deals mainly with Christmas lighting, works throughout the year but the so-called payday appears only once – after the bigger end-of-year holiday season. ‘We invest a lot of resources over a longer period and our cash flow is not steady. Using loans to promote rapid growth is therefore not a realistic prospect.’
AdamLights lighting in MGM Macau | Photo: AdamLights
In 2016, the management of AdamLights made a risky decision to take part in the world’s largest Christmas trade fair in Frankfurt. Hundreds of companies take part in one of the most exclusive trade events but usually only the ten top participants are able to present a convincing product offer, as the participation costs can exceed 100,000 euros. ‘We had previously come into contact with Enterprise Estonia through smaller training events,’ Roosileht explained, ‘but we decided to directly ask for financial support in order to take part in the Christmas trade fair, which thankfully they granted. Thanks to a successful trade fair project, we have become one of the leading producers of Christmas lighting solutions, as the contacts we gained from Frankfurt and the trust of clients have paved the way to other markets.’
AdamLights lighting in Canary Wharf in London | Photo: AdamLights
Today, AdamLights competes on equal ground with other top producers of the world for procurements, because the company has gained attention and people are willing to trust them. This gives further momentum to innovation and product development. ‘For a long time, the product and sales were more important to us than developing the organisation and our competence,’ Roosileht says. ‘A year ago, we joined the development programme of Enterprise Estonia, which helps us smooth our processes and come out with unique products and services. For example, in the niche of controllable Christmas lights we are definitely number one in the world,’ Roosileht says, not hiding his contentment. They gain a great advantage through smart process management, which was boosted a few years back by a digital audit carried out with the support of Enterprise Estonia. ‘It gave us inspiration on how to move forward and how to digitise and automate our manufacturing processes.’
Christmas decoration in London | Photo: AdamLights
Support from the state is vital to a company with a strong focus on export. This often evolves into a deeper cooperation that helps to make Estonia more widely visible as well. AdamLights is thus taking part next year in Expo Dubai, where the company has the honour of putting up a lighting installation in the centre of the Estonia Pavilion. ‘“Our solution will be one of the calling cards of Estonia Pavilion, which will be captured on thousands of photos taken there,’ says Roosileht. ‘Such an advertisement is beneficial both to Estonia and our company because it helps cultivate and develop relationships with potential clients and regular visitors,’ he concludes.
The publication of this article is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).