People in Lighting: László Szombati
Companies are defined by the people who work for them: for over a century, Schréder has been at the forefront of lighting thanks to its employees worldwide. In Life@ Schréder we tell the stories of the people who make our company what it is, including their career path, landmark projects and their thoughts on the future of lighting.
Hungary holds a special place in Schréder's history, as it is where we learnt to craft replica luminaires, such as the vintage wrought-iron lanterns for Heroes' Square in Budapest. These new lanterns can be fitted with LED lighting and controlled by Schréder EXEDRA and other systems, bringing past and future together beautifully.
László Szombati has been working as a Field Application Engineer at Schréder Magyarország in Hungary for over 10 years. During this time he has worked on numerous projects and contributed to their success with his creative ideas and solutions. We asked him about his job.
There is no such thing as an average workday...
We find our schedule out one or two weeks in advance, and always go to different places. Sometimes we work from home on our laptops, usually in the evening, because public lighting is switched on then.
I enjoy every aspect of my work...
We face different challenges every day, such as programming the luminaires in a pilot project or working on something that’s never been tried before. I also enjoy preparatory work, where we investigate the site and consider the project. We always check if there is already a solution available for the concept, and if there is none, we sit down with our colleagues and come up with one.
Sometimes we need to develop novel solutions to meet customers’ needs...
In Trencin, Slovakia, we solved control of a decorative lighting set-up with a solution that wasn’t originally part of our portfolio. We can now switch traditional sodium lamps on and off with the help of DALI switches. This means we can integrate devices that were previously incompatible into the system. With this solution, it is possible to move control of a complete public lighting network from the electricity provider to the local authorities. They can then monitor public lighting, which makes troubleshooting easier.
Smart systems are the future of public lighting....
Without a doubt. For example, in Budapest, the city will only install luminaires that are fitted with a NEMA socket. The luminaires are already connected-ready, but they are not yet connected to a platform - it’s only a question of time and it means that the whole process will be much smoother for the city.
I don’t have a favourite project...
A completed project always makes me proud. It still warms my heart when I cross Árpád Bridge or Liberty Bridge in Budapest, since I also played a role in those projects. And you have to expect the unexpected. Installing smart public lighting in Békéscsaba was a challenge. It was a very big and complex project, where a lot of luminaires had to be upgraded to be connected-ready, and we had to come up with some solutions on-site. It was not possible to plan everything beforehand.
I love the variety my job brings...
Site visits are fascinating part of my work. I love that we can enter places where ordinary people are not allowed, like in the pylon of a bridge that is still under construction. Thanks to the company, we also get opportunities to go on field trips. We can see our projects abroad and gain experience in planning, preparation, and implementation.
Proper communication with other teams is crucial for the success of a project...
My colleagues and I can cooperate in complete harmony, even though we may have very different personalities. Personal development plays a role. We work as a team at group level, too: Schréder application engineers communicate on various platforms, and we share ideas, like our DALI switch solution, with each other.
I’m always learning...
When I got here, we still produced HID lamps! Now it’s all about control systems. There are still some features in our current system which I am not familiar with, but I learn something new almost every day. I always prefer to work on the project at hand, whether it is a smart solution, sports lighting, or a reconstruction. This year holds many new challenges. There are several special lighting projects with control systems in preparation, and the demand for smart systems is also growing.
It’s great to be part of the team...
Whether we are talking about colleagues from Hungary or other countries, everyone is proactive and solution-oriented. If anyone were to leave the team, we would feel their absence. I have worked at many places before Schréder, but nowhere was my work appreciated as much as here, and I never had so many nice colleagues. Although the home office system that was introduced because of COVID is still in place, there are days when the whole team is in the office. On those days we always take the time to have a coffee together between our meetings.