Moonoff, the company that lights the majority of Galician city councils

In 2012, a group of friends, full of interest and with an extensive technological background, set up a company that today illuminates the majority of Galician town councils. All of them worked in the professional electronics sector and for two years they researched different technologies and business lines with the aim of starting a business. Along the way, they became aware of a revolutionary change in the sector: traditional lighting was being replaced by LED lighting. “LED components have a very important electronics part, in which Moonoff’s founders were specialists. This was the perfect breeding ground to start from scratch,” explains the company’s commercial director, Alberto Picón.

In the last decade, Moonoff underwent major changes. It started out as a lighting manufacturer with the aim of establishing itself in the market as a commercial brand. According to Picón, in the early years, the company was very focused on interior lighting. That is to say, catering, consumer shops and car parks, among other types of installations. However, from 2014 Moonoff began to undergo its first major change. “We became both a national and international reference as a manufacturer of outdoor lighting”, says the commercial director. As he explains, this means that Moonoff is making its mark in public lighting as well as in sports – for example, on football pitches – and industrial lighting.

Publicidade

In fact, the company’s growth in recent years has led it to open a subsidiary in Miami. Although the development processes continue to be developed in Santiago, where Moonoff has been based since its beginnings, the logistics and commercial side of the American market is managed from the other side of the pond. This is how Picón explains it, who, despite recognising Moonoff’s international growth, insists that they have not lost their local focus. “We are from Santiago and this evolution was perimeter-based, with a strong technical and commercial presence in Galicia. In fact, most town halls have Moonoff luminaires,” argues the sales director. This way of staying true to their roots does not prevent them from continuing to innovate and respond to the needs of the market, but working on the trust already generated by the brand: “I like to think that we are still the same guys we were 11 years ago”.

Future proyects

Although the essence of the company remains the same, Moonoff prefers to look to the future rather than the past. On this path forward, they have renewed all their street lighting with products that are both aesthetically and functionally updated. “This completes our catalogue, giving us the strength to undertake projects from an ornamental point of view, but which are also as efficient and green as possible”, Picón emphasises, highlighting the company’s new objectives. Similarly, they are designing solutions for electric vehicle chargers and sensors for the primary sector. “All these business lines are based on electronics, in which we are specialists. Although they are different paths, they can easily converge in the smart rural concept that is so much in use today and towards which we are heading”, argues Moonoff’s commercial director.

“Without a doubt,” says Picón, when asked if the future lies precisely in smarter cities. “The aim is for all the immobile elements to be connected so that the technology is perceptible to the citizen,” he adds. As he goes on to explain, the idea is not just for the luminaire to switch on or off by itself, but for it to be able to understand the needs of the space. For example, it can illuminate with greater or lesser intensity depending on traffic or scenarios: a weekday is not the same as a town’s patron saint festivities. In short, Moonoff is confident in the concept of smart rural areas, precisely because they bring technology closer to the citizen.

A green commitment

Another of Moonoff’s major commitments is its respect for the environment. For this reason, from the very beginning, the company’s founders focused their knowledge of electronics on the manufacture and sale of LED luminaires. “In our projects we are registering between 65% and 70% electricity savings by replacing traditional lighting with LED lighting”, says Picón. As the manager emphasises, this issue should not only be assessed from an economic point of view, but above all from an environmental point of view: “This will help us to decarbonise our own area”.

Picón also believes in a paradigm shift towards a circular economy. “Right now, if a fridge or a television breaks down, people buy new ones. Nowadays there are few things that can be repaired”, criticises the Moonoff executive. That’s why his company aims to break the trend. In the latest renovation of luminaires, they opted precisely for standard and repairable products. “Even if we have a minimal impact, Moonoff encourages this type of European strategy”, concludes the head of the company from Compostela.