Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • July 16, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Sean Teehan steehan@HartfordBusiness.com S teeped in history, Legrand has been looking to the future lately. The power, light and data products maker was founded more than 100 years ago in Limoges, France, and has its North and Central American headquarters in West Hart- ford. Increasingly, the company is work- ing to expand its footprint in the grow- ing internet of things (IoT) marketplace. "When I first started, it wasn't even part of our vocabulary," said Manny Linhares, who joined Legrand about five years ago and currently works as the company's director of strategy and IoT. "With each year that I've been here it started becoming a larger and larger and larger part of our DNA." IoT refers to the ever-growing net- work of internet-connected devices that people use in their everyday lives. A home fitted with IoT appliances, for example, may have curtains con- nected to sensors that open and close depending on how bright it is, and a lighting system that gets brighter as natural light fades. In 2016, Legrand launched its U.S. IoT program dubbed Elliot, Linhares said. Since then its North and Central American operation has been forging bonds with IoT partners, including Marriott International, Samsung and French auto manufacturer Renault. Legrand produces the infrastruc- ture IoT sensors and appliances plug into, largely inside homes and office buildings, allowing them to communi- cate with each other. Linhares said the company is aiming to dedicate a significant amount of its North American staff resources to IoT. About 650 employees currently work out of its West Hartford headquarters. Legrand manufactures electronic products the typical consumer may over- look, like electrical wiring devices for per- sonal and commercial uses. Its products range from light switches to electrical systems used in stadium scoreboards. But, with the rise of smart technology, Linhares said, what's in demand is elec- tronic infrastructure that allows many different devices to plug in and connect. For example, last year Legrand announced its radio frequency light- controlled systems could connect with Amazon's Alexa allowing users to shut off or dim lights via voice control. "There's two main areas of true promise. The first one is interoper- ability, and that's being able to have many devices ... communicate and work together," Linhares said. "The second part of that true promise is that eventual move toward artificial intelligence, and machine learning." IoT partnerships One of the major projects Legrand is working on right now is helping cre- ate smart hotel rooms with Marriott and Samsung. The three companies announced an IoT Guestroom Lab partnership in November that aims to integrate products like voice-activated controls and intuitive-lighting into guest expe- riences. The goal of the new smart rooms, the companies said, is to provide guests with a more personalized experience. A virtual assistant can set alarms, put in a request for additional housekeeping and start the shower at a desired temperature. As part of the partnership, Le- grand is providing the system that allows for the dif- ferent monitors, sensors and other devices to operate in the same room, Linhares said. Last year, Legrand also partnered with French car manu- facturer Renault to develop a frame- work to bring the "connected home" concept into cars, Linhares said. The goal is to receive information and perform operations in the home through a car's dashboard screen, he said. Legrand isn't the only Connecticut company focusing on IoT. Hubbell Inc., a Shelton-based elec- tronics manufacturer last year acquired iDevices, an Avon company that makes connected devices for the home. Comcast and Samtech also estab- lished a joint IoT venture called ma- chineQ, which is focused on building a business-to-business IoT platform. Going forward, Linhares said, Le- grand will continue pursuing part- nerships and innovation in the IoT market. However, they will only go for ideas that serve a true purpose. "To be clear, being able to turn on and off a light switch with an app is not that vision of true promise of IoT," Linhares said. "You shouldn't be adding technol- ogy and connectivity just because." BY THE NUMBERS 14B In 2014, there were just under 14 billion connected devices in the world. 50B By 2020 there are likely to be 50 billion connected devices worldwide. $350M The amount of revenue Legrand made in 2015 from connected devices. 4%-5% The percentage of annual sales that are derived from Legrand's R&D operations. Source: Legrand Smart Investments Legrand bets on internet of things for future growth Manny Linhares, Director of Strategy and IoT, Legrand Legrand makes outlets and other products that allow people to plug in their internet-connected devices. The company is investing heavily to expand its footprint in the growing internet of things marketplace. Legrand employs 650 people at its W. Hartford North/Central American headquarters. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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