Our Managing Director, Alistair Scott has recently celebrated his 15 year anniversary of working at DfL!
We wanted to ask him some questions about how it all started and find out what makes him enjoy working at the company…
What drew you to DfL originally and how has the company changed since?
DfL was dreamt up during a walking break in the Lake District with fellow founder John Heath, following the 1994 ILE conference at Lancaster. At that time John who was Lighting Engineer at Hampshire CC saw that lighting design had a great future outside of local authorities. We set up DfL and worked on a few projects, but the economic climate was such that we abandoned the company a few years later. It wasn’t until 2000 that John left his full time job and resurrected DfL. I decided to make the move 5 years later in 2005 with the offer of a significant shareholding and the position of Managing Director.
What is your proudest moment from your 15 years working at DfL?
There have been and continue to be, many proud moments. We have a great team and when I reflect on the progress of the company since 2005 it is with great pride as I see individual and combined successes. Personal highlights have included becoming President of the ILP in 2010 and being awarded the HEA Service to Industry award in 2013.
Company highlights include winning our first large order for a PFI in 2006 (we never stop celebrating winning these orders especially when we compete against the multi-nationals and beat them on quality); and more recently, doubling our office area last year as we now have a team of 19 people.
Development of staff has always been important to me and I am proud to have introduced so many to the lighting industry and to see them flourish, both whilst at Urbis and for the past 15 years whilst at DfL.
What has been your favourite project at DfL?
There have been many lighting projects that I have enjoyed. One particular favourite was the lighting of the Semaphore Tower at Portsmouth Historic Naval Dockyard, made more enjoyable for my love of all things nautical and for the hands-on approach to getting the optimum lit effect on site.
What are your hopes for the future of the lighting industry?
The lighting industry has been transformed from when I first joined it which was when lighting performance was beginning to gain traction in street lighting with the introduction of BS5489-1. More recently a bigger transformation is taking place; that is the LED revolution supported by CMS which give fantastic flexibility to asset owners. My hope is that the industry continues to innovate to further reduce energy consumption and obtrusive light in order to protect our environment. In addition, the lighting infrastructure has a great opportunity to be a key component in the drive towards “smart places”.
Describe what DfL means to you, on a personal level, in 15 words or less…
DfL has been a part of my life for 15 years and although there have been some downs, there have been many more ups. It is great fun!