Philips and Desso Announce Partnership to Develop Light Transmissive Carpets

Eindhoven And Waalwijk, The Netherlands (ots/PRNewswire) -

LED light transmissive carpets to provide information, direction,
inspiration and safety in offices, hotels and public buildings

Philips and Desso - global leaders in lighting and carpets
respectively - today announce a partnership agreement to develop
solutions that combine LED lighting with light transmissive carpet.
This innovation will further unlock the potential of LED integration
into surfaces and adds an exciting dimension to interior design and
space planning. The solution will transform the way people interact
with information and their environment in offices, hotels, conference
centers and other public buildings.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131118/653835-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131118/653835-b )

These LED light emitting carpets will provide many benefits in the
areas of information, direction, inspiration and safety, such as:

- Guiding people around buildings, including safety exits and routes
- Enhancing the ambiance and atmosphere of the interior of buildings combining
lighting with design and colour
- Helping to de-clutter spaces by making information visible only when needed

The solution is designed for high traffic areas and comes in
different colors, shapes and sizes - enabling highly flexible
application of the new technology.

"This light transmissive carpet solution is designed to engage
directly with people's senses and the eyes' natural inclination to
seek out light. The technology takes advantage of people's tendency
to be guided by the floor when moving through and interacting with
space. It brings information, direction, inspiration and safety via
the carpet you walk on. This partnership of market leaders is focused
on bringing meaningful innovations to the market." said Ed Huibers,
Marketing and Sales Director, at Philips Lighting.

Desso CEO Alexander Collot d'Escury adds: "We know people spend
90% of their time indoors and our vision linked to this is to create
innovative flooring solutions that contribute to people's health and
wellbeing. This new solution developed with our partner Philips,
meets this need and offers exciting ways to enhance the interaction
between the interior space and its users."

The partnership is an agreement to work exclusively together in
developing the markets in EMEA. In addition to this, a joint
development agreement has been signed focusing on a seamless
integration of this solution into new and existing buildings. The
product name will be revealed in 2014 as part of the full
go-to-market launch, but Philips and Desso are already working on
pilot projects in key markets.

Combining the many benefits of Desso's carpet, such as improved
indoor air quality, acoustics and comfort with the benefits of
Philips' LED lighting, this innovation reflects Philips and Desso's
common goal to improve people's lives, whilst bringing a new level of
design freedom to architects, designers and end-users.

About Royal Philips:

Royal Philips is a diversified health and well-being company,
focused on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in
the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2012 sales of EUR
24.8 billion and employs approximately 114,000 employees with sales
and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in
cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient
lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male
shaving and grooming and oral healthcare. News from Philips is
located at http://www.philips.com/newscenter.

About DESSO(R):

Desso is a global carpets, carpet tiles and sport pitches company,
active in more than 100 countries. Desso products are supplied to
corporate offices, education, healthcare, government, homes and also
hotels, cruise liners and airlines. It also produces world leading
sports surfaces such as the DESSO GrassMaster(R), which has been
installed at the home grounds of premier football sides and at the
football 'temple' Wembley. Today, most people spend on average 90% of
their time indoors which has led to the company's vision: 'How to
make the floor work for our health and wellbeing'. Our mission is to
ensure that we develop unique products that deliver a much improved
indoor environment that maximises people's health and wellbeing and
ultimately their performance. This is driven by our innovation
programme based on the three pillars of Creativity, Functionality and
Cradle to Cradle(R) design.

For more information please visit: http://www.desso.com

Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131118/653835-a

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131118/653835-b

ots Originaltext: Desso Group BV
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further information please contact: Jeannet Harpe-Goor,
Philips Lighting Corporate Communications, Tel: +31-6-53-722221,
E-mail:
jeannet.harpe@philips.com. DESSO BV, Anette Timmer, Corporate
Marketing &
Communications, Tel: +31-416-684-100, Email: atimmer@desso.com