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98 business magazine for i n t e r n at i o n a l e n t e r p r i s e s

Tim Gardner, the newly appointed global leader of Lockton’s Reinsurance business PAGE 57

GE Current’s take on premium tubes PAGE 36 Aon study into workforce resilience PAGE 37 Hilti demonstrates the importance of a positive work culture PAGE 7

Vistaprint expands design offerings PAGE 61

BUSINESSBUSINESSt r e n d s

N I N E T Y - E I G H T H E D I T I O N 2 0 2 1

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Table of contents

CONSULTING, BUSINESS SERVICES & FINANCEAon 37Argand Partners 5AxiomSL 9 KGH Customs Services 44Kungsleden 43Lionbridge 52Lockton Re 57PwC 46UL 68

ELECTRONICSDR. FRITZ FAULHABER GMBH & CO. KG 24 GE Current 36SMOORE 47

HEALTHCARE & FITNESSAker Biomarine 65B-Temia, Inc. 23SINTX Technologies 56Zwift 21

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING & SERVICESBrambles 25EVAC 15FARO Technologies, Inc. 35Hera Group 69Hilti 7Jotun A/S 49OX2 63Ricardo Plc 11Svenska Aerogel 55Takara Belmont 29Vistaprint 61

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYAdvania 67Airship 73Cognigy 26 TietoEVRY 66

MOBILITYRemix 45ROSE Bikes 33

ONLINE GAMBLINGGVC Holdings 40

RETAIL & E-COMMERCEAsics 60Autodoc 53 Coty 31ESR 27Urbanista 74

SECURITYAuthentix 13

SURVEYINGHexagon Geosystems 71

SOCIAL MEDIA, SOFTWARECaptiv8 10

TELECOMCisco, Inc. 41Lifesize, Inc. 17Motorola Solutions, Inc. 19

TRAFFIC, TRANSPORT & LOGISTICSAireon 3

Urbanista

Website: www.urbanista.com

Anders joined Urbanista in 2012 and

has successfully managed to grow the

company into a profitable business.

“What I’m particularly pleased about is

that we’ve grown in a healthy way,” he

says.

He readily admits that Urbanista is a

highly competitive market but points out

that they’ve found a niche in making

products that are both functional and

beautiful. “What we want to offer is good

audio product for modern minded

people, with designs that they are proud

to wear and a brand they want to belong

to. We fit in with the Scandinavian design

aesthetic with our focus on clean, simple

lines and functionality without sacrificing

beauty. Ultimately our ambition is for our

speakers, headphones, and other

products to make it easier to listen to

music, wherever you are. When you’re in

your car you need a different set of

headphones than when you’re going for

a run. The price point we’re at allows

people to have a different headset for

every occasion.”

With each Urbanista product taking its

name from a major city, the brand

clearly targets urbanites. Anders points

out that while they initially focused

uniquely on physical retail, they now

have a good balance with online sales

through their own platform. This has

also given them a clearer idea of who

Urbanistas are. “They are in the 18-30

age bracket, mostly, and they typically

lead active lives.”

To celebrate their 10-year anniversary,

the company called on 10 Urbanistas to

help compile individually-curated city

guides to 10 cities that have influenced

them. “We decided to publish the guides

despite of the pandemic; people need

something to dream about,” says

Anders.

While sales of Urbanista products in

physical retail have been negatively

impacted by the pandemic, this has been

offset by online sales, he adds. “Our

It’s been a decade since Urbanista first began releasing its award-winning collection of true wireless, sport, and over-ear headphones, speakers, and earphones, each named characteristically after different world cities. The global pandemic hasn’t stopped the company from celebrating its anniversary with the release of individually curated city guides to 10 cities that have influenced the brand. “It’s a celebration of what we’ve achieved over the past 10 years,” says Anders Andreen, the CEO of Urbanista.

Celebrating a decade of innovation in audio

online business has been growing very

fast and we have been able to react very

quickly. When the world changes you

need to change, too. Ten years ago this

company embarked on an interesting

journey, and I believe we are somewhere

in the middle of that journey now. We

want to continue to grow, as a brand and

as an innovator, but also as a role model

in sustainability. We’ve eradicated all

plastic packaging from our new products,

for example. That hasn’t been easy and

you could argue it only makes a small

difference, but it’s important to us, and to

Urbanistas worldwide.”

Urbanista is available online as well as in

30,000 stores and 90 countries around

the world.

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Delivering solutions fit for the future

As a global strategic, technical and environmental consultancy, Ricardo UK Ltd, based in West Sussex, is a specialist niche manufacturer of high performance products, committed to delivering outstanding projects focused on class-leading innovation in Ricardo’s product areas of engine, transmission, vehicle, hybrid and electrical systems, environmental forecasting and impact analysis. In 2020, the entire Ricardo team has been recognised as a ‘UK Business Hero’ for designing and manufacturing PPE to supply to frontline NHS and healthcare workers. Steve Dyke, Managing Director Ricardo EMEA, says: “Everyone at Ricardo was extremely proud that we got involved in this initiative which I feel reflects not only Ricardo’s professional expertise, but also the values of our people.”

“Electrification is at the core of our

evolution but a battery is not going to

be the answer to everything. We need

that alongside the hydrogen economy

with de-fossilised fuels for those

higher energy consuming sectors

where the energy density of battery

technology is not going to be a full

answer and we are currently investing

in hybrid test rigs and a state of the art

hydrogen test facility at our Shoreham

Technical Centre in the UK.”

Digital engineering is at the heart of

everything Ricardo does for its

customers, promising a faster time to

market for new technologies as well as

reducing risk and enhancing real-world

efficiency and performance. “The

market; full-service offering; holistic

understanding of the market situation,

requirements and solutions.

Throughout Ricardo’s history,

innovation has been in its DNA to use

its expertise to help make

improvements or address challenges

positively which help to create a world

fit for the future. In that spirit, Ricardo

has been acclaimed a ‘UK Business

Hero’ in recognition of its work earlier

this year in designing, manufacturing

and assembling personal protective

equipment (PPE) for frontline NHS and

other healthcare workers. ‘UK Business

Heroes’ is a national recognition

campaign led by the British Chambers

of Commerce to recognise UK

businesses who have gone the extra

mile to help the local community

during the pandemic.

“Around the middle of March when the

Covid-19 pandemic began to escalate,

we all felt that that we could be

applying our engineering, design or

manufacturing capability to help

alleviate some of the challenges which

were emerging. We were extremely

proud to ‘do our bit’ and to have been

able to play a small part in protecting

those in the front line at care homes

and in the NHS,” Steve proudly states.

He concludes: “COVID-19 has had a

transformational impact, and in some

ways, the pandemic can be regarded as

an accelerator of the megatrends that

virtual environment is becoming the

core for the development process as

well as for many of the control aspects

of the product,” Steve explains.

The third trend Ricardo’s expertise is

focused on, especially now that the

global pandemic continues to change

mobility possibly forever, is the light

urban mobility solutions that can help

manufacturers, governments and

logistics companies move people and

goods around cities quicker, more

sustainably and more efficiently. Ricardo

has a holistic understanding of the

opportunities, challenges and diverse

solutions for light urban mobility.

“Whether organisations are looking to

develop e-bikes, scooters, mopeds,

motorcycles, four-wheelers, three-

wheeler last mile delivery, mail delivery,

on-demand personal transport of three-

wheeler public transport vehicles,

Ricardo provides light urban mobility

clients with a full service offering,

ranging from initial product definition,

through design and development to

effective manufacturing solutions for

production vehicles.”

Uniquely, Ricardo offers customers

both commercial insight and technical

or operational capabilities, acting as a

trusted technical and commercial

adviser, and providing them with

critical benefits in the development of

their light urban mobility market and

product strategy, including speed to

Ricardo UK Ltd

Shoreham Technical Centre,

Shoreham-by-Sea

West Sussex, BN43 5FG

United Kingdom

Website: www.ricardo.com

Ricardo is named after its founder, Sir

Harry Ricardo, and was originally

incorporated and registered as Engine

Patents Ltd. in 1915. Its activities today

cover a range of market sectors

including passenger car, commercial

vehicle, rail, defence, motorsport,

motorcycle, off-highway, marine, clean

energy and power generation and

government. Its client list includes the

world’s major transportation original

equipment manufacturers, supply

chain organisations, energy companies,

financial institutions and government.

Steve Dyke: “Ricardo has over 100

years of expertise in innovation and

has been renowned for supporting

manufacturers in the global transport

and mobility sector, minimise waste,

and drive product efficiency and

performance through world-leading

technologies. Today, that ethos is still

very much at the heart of everything

we do, but with a focus on delivering

and accelerating a net zero carbon

future. Our vision sees us as the

trusted global engineering services

partner delivering clean, efficient,

integrated propulsion and energy

systems.”

Steve identifies three big trends that are

relevant for its industry clients today:

sustainable solutions for mobility and

energy; digital engineering; and light

urban mobility including last mile

delivery.

were already in place, such as

heightened regulatory pressure, market

consolidation, less traditional

outsourcing, decarbonisation, and

technology uncertainty. While no one

could ever have predicted what has

happened this year, our view is that the

long-term vision for future mobility is

probably still reasonably unchanged.”

Ricardo remains committed to applying

its expertise in integrating new

technologies, cost reduction around

electrification, digitalisation, and

offering trusted guidance on renewable

fuels so that manufacturers can bring

their products to market quicker,

greener, and cheaper, achieving their

goal of net zero carbon.

Steve Dyke, Managing Director Ricardo EMEA

Shoreham

Technical Centre