CTOUCH feels right at home on historical ground.

BERNARD GOSSELINK

Strijp-T, Achtseweg-Zuid, the 3rd floor of building TQ3, that is the brand-new home of CTOUCH, one of Eindhoven's rising stars. CTOUCH was founded by three former Philips employees, and building TQ happens to be the former headquarters of Philips, where companies like ASML, NXP, and Philips Medical originated. Coincidence? We talk to co-founder Bernard Gosselink about this special place, the price of growth, and the journey from chalk to touch.

Atomic shelter and horse lift

The elevators in building TQ are occupied by construction workers, and catching your breath with a cup of fresh coffee after climbing six flights of stairs, you cannot escape the beauty of CTOUCH's new home.
Bernard: 'There are still some glass walls to be placed here and there, a piece of carpet, some lamps, but then it's done. We are extremely proud to be located in this place. Building TQ is the old headquarters of Philips, with a traditional layout of small offices. There was even a nuclear shelter, where they found a control panel that used to switch the electricity for all the plants. Still from the Cold War era. It was like Chernobyl here; everything was still there but the people were gone. The story goes that Frits Philips could see all the other offices from his own office and would check if there was already light on early in the morning. There is still a gigantic elevator in operation for the horses that Philips Medical used to test the medical devices.
Beautiful history. The renovation has been done splendidly, the finishing level is so high that it feels like new construction, but with the authentic atmosphere.

Bernard: 'We have been sitting at the industrial estate near Anthony Fokkerweg for 15 years with great pleasure, but it became too small and, for example, inaccessible for interns by public transport. Our sales, marketing, and service departments have grown enormously, requiring a larger, inspiring workspace. At Strijp-T, all facilities are good, we are located opposite the station, with a short afternoon walk you can step into the vibrant life, we will even have a complete rooftop garden. Very beautiful and exciting things are happening here. We are among the big players, we still feel small, but with a turnover of 35 million and 50 employees, we are no longer that small. We are a serious player in the Large Format Touch Displays market, with a strong position in Europe.'

Everything is fine!
Bernard: 'Years ago, the school chalks were replaced by digital boards in the classrooms, and we were the first to start replacing them with large format touch displays. It's a beautiful, large market where we gained a strong position with touch technology. Now, we see that the business market is also becoming interested in these touch screens. Microsoft, Google, and Cisco are now also getting involved. With our Leddura 2meet series, we promote remote collaboration by enhancing people's collaboration in a meeting environment. It works with Skype for Business, making the screen a tool for sharing information directly.'
Sharing and making the world smaller. Everyone knows by now how 'touch' works. Also in business, in the past we used to sell to the IT manager or a facility manager, now we talk to innovation managers who need to integrate new technology into the workflow.
That is important, because you cannot just hang up a screen and hope that people will pick it up. It requires a learning process, people need to overcome a threshold, only then value and results will emerge.

Office as showroom
Bernard: 'An important application of the screens is 'CTOUCH Leddura 2meet', with which you start meetings, even remotely, invite people through Outlook, book the meeting room, and share everything discussed in the meeting directly with the participants. Skype for Business, which is the main focus, is part of Microsoft's Office 365, so many large companies can use it to promote their message and work. 'CTOUCH Leddura 2share' is the solution that allows you to easily share content from your phone or tablet. You log in, connect to the screen, and quickly and wirelessly send charts, reports, minutes.'
to the screen and vice versa. This way you can also make video calls.

B-TOO

Growing is expensive!
Bernard: 'This new building is of course a magnet in our 'battle for talent', without good people we will not grow. Last year we needed 25 Christmas hampers, now 50. But also service for example. We have hired some former Philips colleagues.'
With a lot of experience and who have set up a powerful service organization in no time. That is no longer an issue now, it creates a positive flow. Innovation also requires continuous attention. Together with Harman Kardon, we have developed new speakers.
With 25 students from Delft, we are investigating what is going on with young people, where things are heading. Someone aged 20-25 simply thinks differently, and we need to continue to connect with them. This provides very concrete information.
We are experiencing good growth, but it requires a huge investment, not only financially.
Also in terms of time and energy, you need to manage that growth well. For me and my partners Remmelt
van der Woude and François Barlinckhoff is the permanent challenge.

Source: Eindhoven Business