SAO PAULO: Dutch-based electronics giant Philips is committed to its health-technology push and remains confident of an economic recovery in Brazil, Philips Latin America CEO Henk de Jong said.
“We carried out a deep transformation,” De Jong told EFE during the Philips Innovation Experience event in Sao Paulo.
The multinational recently reorganized its activities into three main divisions: Philips Consumer Lifestyle, Philips Healthcare and Philips Lighting.
Regarding Brazil’s economy, forecast to shrink 1.2 percent this year amid higher inflation and a falling currency, De Jong said he expects to see a turnaround.
“We are here for 90 years and there have always been and always will be big ups and downs,” he said. “Our strategy is to continue and to innovate in Latin America. It is not innovation for innovation’s sake, but innovation thinking about people and stakeholders.”
De Jong said Philips’ current innovations are focused on “real issues in people’s daily lives.”
The company, which allocates 7 percent of annual sales to research and development, has roughly 1,700 people in 10 countries working in the area of innovation.
As an example of Philips’ new products, De Jong pointed to Visiq, a portable ultrasound device for use in remote areas, such as Brazil’s Amazon region, which is due to reach the market in 2016.
Last year, Philips Healthcare acquired the Brazilian firm Wheb Sistemas, creator of Tasy, software that promises to save hospitals up to 60 percent on administrative costs.
Philips has plans to market Tasy outside Latin America, De Jong said.
