Luuk makes it in Tilburg

Luuk is the very first Impactmaker of the quarter. A recognition from the municipality of Tilburg and Citymarketing Tilburg (Make it in Tilburg) in which a Tilburg entrepreneur who makes an impact, inside and outside the city limits, is praised. Impactmaker van het Kwartaal is the successor of Bedrijf van de Month.

In addition to making an impact, the former Philips top executive mainly wants to carry out his mission: accessible communication for everyone. Because that is the cradle of a good society, according to Luuk Pals. He found the solution in a product that makes the internet connection faster, more reliable and more sustainable. With a European patent on his invention, Luuk and his company Innovience International are now also working outside the Netherlands. USA and Latin America are already interested. And Tilburg is an excellent starting point for his worldwide dominance.

Large operators, builders, installers... etc. They are all already customers of Innovience International. They all have something that today's market needs: a good and reliable internet connection. "Everything comes to a standstill when there is no longer a connection or a bad connection. It is actually strange that we have fibre-optic connections outside, but there are still faltering connections inside (e.g. wifi). That could be different, Luuk thought. He worked for Philips on the advance of @home (now Ziggo) and also founded his own company, which he later sold to Getronics. In addition, Luuk was at the cradle of van connected planet, where Philips equipment could be linked to a backend system via the Internet.

FIBREGLASS FOR EVERYONE!

All these experiences and developments brought him to his product, OptoXS™. "The enormous growth in the use of data, as well as the installation of fiber optics, created a need for a better internal network. Luuk's predictive outlook was evidenced by the enormous demand for connectivity that is being boosted by the manufacturers of various devices, such as the app for smartphones, tablets, laptops and smart TVs. An example is Netflix and Spotify, these streaming services require a reliable broadband connection. "You don't have a fibre-optic connection, so why shouldn't you have an optical network inside? Fibre optics are very sensitive, you as a consumer can't do that yourself. POF (Polymer Optical Fiber) has the same properties as glass fibre, but does not have the disadvantages. If you're a little handy, you can do it yourself. From a central point you can lay this on the 230V power cables, it has no influence on each other. It also works without a connector, you cut the POF cable, you click the OptoXS™ equipment on it and that's it. The OptoXS™ network does not suffer from outside interference, it has high data throughput rates. So prepare for the future."

GREATE MARKET

The patent granted in 2012 accelerated everything. After the European patent, Luuk now wants to grow to a worldwide patent, the technology is now recognized as a world standard, such as Ethernet cable. He is now in the phase that he is busy with new investors, focusing on four "verticals": hotels/leisure, care, offices and consumers, a huge market in other words. Under the brand name Fiber Unlimited, he focuses on Europe and the USA with a team of ±15 men, six of whom are based in Tilburg. And with the patent in his pocket, he is not afraid of competition. "We have a big technological lead. We have just completed 300 homes in The Hague, and KPN's old head office has been converted into apartments. That's where our application lies, with Ethernet points and Wi-Fi everywhere, all this is included in the service costs with a subscription. At the moment we are working on a.o. the supermarket chain."

CONQUERING THE WORLD

After even having a European patent, Luuk is ready to conquer the whole world. But how? "Simple, not only, but through platforms, a large network and social media. We often attend all kinds of events where we can tell our story. That's important to get this product across the stage. In addition, we contact operators and potential major distributors from various countries. We discuss this with them and make agreements. This is how we grow. All this is done from Tilburg. For example, I work a lot with TU Eindhoven and Tilburg."

WHY TILBURG

"Tilburg has a nice business climate, you can reach Eindhoven Airport, Rotterdam Airport and Amsterdam by train. Access is fine and in Tilburg the rents for an office building are still acceptable. There are still a lot of people available, they may not always be the right ones on paper, but that doesn't mean that you can make the right out of it together. This is due to the mentality of the entrepreneur and the company. What I also like is that all facilities for the company in Tilburg are present here. So it's all really well organised."

THE GOLDEN TIP OF LUUK

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GROWMARKET

The patent granted in 2012 accelerated everything. After the European patent, Luuk now wants to grow to a worldwide patent, the technology is now recognized as a world standard, such as Ethernet cable. He is now in the phase that he is busy with new investors, focusing on four "verticals": hotels/leisure, care, offices and consumers, a huge market in other words. Under the brand name Fiber Unlimited, he focuses on Europe and the USA with a team of 15 people, six of them in Tilburg. And with the patent in his pocket, he is not afraid of competition. "I have a big head start, no one can do this any more. We have just completed 300 homes in The Hague, and KPN's old head office has been converted into apartments. That's where our application lies, with Ethernet points and Wi-Fi everywhere, included in the service costs. We are currently working on 1,400 supermarkets."

CONQUERING THE WORLD

After even having a European patent, Luuk is ready to conquer the whole world. But how? "Simple, not in your own mind, but through platforms, a large network and social media. We often attend all kinds of events where we can tell our story. That's important to get this product across the stage. In addition, we contact operators and good distributors from different countries. We discuss this with them and make agreements. This is how we grow. All this is done from Tilburg. I work a lot with, for example, Tu Eindhoven and Tilburg University and am in front of the class. In addition, I also founded Innovience in Costa Rica with a few other parties. I'm currently working on that."

WHY TILBURG

The biggest reason for Tilburg at the time was the distance to his hometown Loop op Zand, but now Luuk is on. "Tilburg has a nice business climate, you can easily reach Eindhoven Airport, Rotterdam Airport and Amsterdam by train. Access is fine without high rents. There are still many people available, these may not be the right ones on paper, but then you can make the right ones. This is due to your mentality as an entrepreneur. What I also like is that there are all the facilities here. It's all well organized here, there is uni present that you can use as an entrepreneur, this is unfortunately still underexposed."

THE GOLDEN TIP OF LUUK

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