Onzo

Lightweight Medical, the Glasgow-based product development company, and Onzo, the leading designer of home energy management systems, have decided to pool their resources in a single company.  As a result all the Lightweight Medical team has joined Onzo and will be based at the company’s office and studio in central London.

Onzo was founded in February 2007 as a collaboration between Lightweight Medical, the ground-breaking sustainable design practice, Joel Hagan, who became Chief Executive, and More Associates, a design, communications and branding consultancy specialising in sustainable technology.  Lightweight Medical has been the design inspiration behind Onzo, researching, developing and designing its products and supporting service system.  Both companies have now resolved that their future potential and ability to take advantage of the global market can best be realised if they work together as a single entity.

Chief Executive Joel Hagan commented: I am proud that Lightweight Medical has decided to join forces with Onzo.  From the beginning I have been extremely impressed by what it has achieved.  It set out to do things differently, recruiting one of the most talented groups of young designers in the UK.  It has built outstanding processes and had outstanding results.  I am convinced that working together we will be able to build on our past individual successes, to cement our position as a world leader in in-house energy management systems.

Neil Farish and Neil Tierney, Founder Directors of Lightweight Medical, added: At the moment there are no greater design challenges globally than addressing high energy prices and tackling global warming.  This move puts a truly exceptional design team at the heart of Onzo and will hugely strengthen its already proven
ability to play a leading role in meeting these challenges.

Notes for editors:

Lightweight Medical was founded in 2003 and employed 15 people.  The team specialises in strategy, research and design, operating in the fields of technology, innovation and sustainability.  It is expert in turning complex technologies into usable, useful and compelling consumer products, involving the end user at all stages of development, from technology specification to manufacturing liaison and product packaging.  This unique approach has been recognised by leading business and design awards including:

• 2008 International Red Dot Product Design Award
• 2007 International iF Product Design Award
• 2007 UK Design Week Industrial Design Award
• 2006 Scottish Creative Entrepreneurs of the year
• 2004 UK Shell Entrepreneurs of the Year

Element Zero Six is Lightweight Medical’s consultancy arm.

Onzo, the leading global designer of in-house energy management systems, announces that it has become a Participant in the ZigBee Alliance of major technology-based companies cooperating to offer reliable and cost-effective wirelessly networked products based on an open global standard.   Working with ZigBee has enabled Onzo to develop rapidly a range of innovative energy products that work with a smart metering infrastructure.

Ben Pirt, Onzo’s Chief Technology Officer, commented: Onzo is very pleased to have joined the ZigBee Alliance.  Use of the ZigBee standard and the support provided by the Alliance marks a new and important phase in our plans to offer ground-breaking in-house energy displays and services around the world.  This will help us develop valuable and innovative tools that enable consumers to manage their energy use, saving money and protecting the environment.  Although we are working with the developers of several wireless standards, and shall continue to do so, we are particularly excited that ZigBee is leading the way in ensuring the interoperability between sophisticated in-house displays and smart metering, to provide the consumer with an extensive new range of benefits.  We are helping to develop further the ZigBee system and look forward to active future participation in the Alliance.

Onzo’s participation was welcomed by ZigBee Chairman Bob Heile, who said:  We are delighted Onzo has joined the ZigBee Alliance.  ZigBee is widely recognized as the technology that can best deliver benefits of energy management systems to consumers.  Onzo brings added expertise and innovation to this space and we welcome their contribution.

Ends

Notes to Editors

ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different devices to work together and enhance everyday life.  The ZigBee Alliance is a non-profit association of more than 280 member companies driving development of ZigBee wireless technology.  The Alliance promotes world-wide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in energy, home, commercial and industrial areas.