Nicolas Gontard says if you have a good product, you will find success in Hong Kong

Frenchman Nicolas Gontard came to Hong Kong in 1988 to fill an unusual order for a customer back home: a watch for Muslims showing praying times and the direction of Mecca. Fourteen years later he is still here, now working at the cutting edge of modern technology, designing and manufacturing a key component for an exciting advance in communications.

"When I first came I just loved the place and decided to stay. So I set up in Hong Kong," he said.

His company, Innovi Technologies, has become one of the first in Asia to develop specific products for Bluetooth, a technology developed by a consortium of top industry players, including Ericsson, IBM, Intel and Microsoft, to link mobile phones, computers, portable handheld devices and the Internet without wired connections.

It's the next big thing in the wireless age and Innovi, a French-financed, privately-listed Hong Kong company, is holding its own against giant industry competitors. It has 12 employees at its headquarters in Hong Kong, eight at a research and development facility in Shenzhen, and two top-class engineers at Innovi Research Laboratories which it recently set up in France.

Its lead product, a wireless headset that can pick up mobile phone signals from 10 metres, has taken an estimated 10 per cent of market share worldwide for such components, competing against the likes of Sony-Ericsson, Motorola and Nokia.

"Innovi had been a trading company since 1988," Mr Gontard said. "But in 2000 we needed to change. Trading was dead at that time so we had to do something to create volume. Back then no one was interested in Bluetooth, so we decided to go into it.

"We hired engineers, set up our R&D offices and for two years were heavily into the development of the software and hardware that we needed. We have spent millions on this."

Key strength is adaptability

The result is a sleek, lightweight headset that fits flush into one ear. It is activated by a mobile phone programmed to link with it, allowing the user to talk and listen as if using the phone itself. Voice recognition via code words can be utilised to dial pre-set numbers.

"Our key strength now is that we control the technology, both hardware and software. We can adapt to a new phone whenever it comes out," Mr Gontard said.

Bluetooth products are at the core of Innovi's activities, although its earlier video camera and mobile phone accessory lines, including mobile chargers, are still important to its operation.

The headset and adaptor are manufactured in Dongguan in the Pearl River Delta, using different factories. "We go to people who can meet our specifications, who provide high-end certification and work with key companies," said Mr Gontard.

Hong Kong has played an important role in this Frenchman's success story. "You can develop the same product in Europe, but you would have to keep coming and going. You would miss the interface," said Mr Gontard, who persuaded a school friend, Guillaume Ponticelli, to move from France and join him as business development manager.

"In Hong Kong you can design your own product and protect this product. You can target the whole world from Hong Kong. People are always coming for exhibitions and sales. One advertisement, one booth and you can get everyone.

"For instance, we were overloaded with orders at the Trade Development Council's Hong Kong Electronics Fair in October. We have been showing there for 13 years."

The Hong Kong government also helped Innovi with a HK$2 million loan (US$257,000) from the SERAP (Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme) fund set up by its Innovation and Technology Commission to enable small technology-based companies to carry out business oriented research.

Mr Gontard obviously feels part of Hong Kong. He married a local woman, has three children and loves the lifestyle, playing sport, going adventure racing, walking in Hong Kong's many country parks and kayaking once a week.

 "Hong Kong is not about making something cheap, but top quality, cutting edge," he said. "If you have something good, you are bound to be a success."

Related links:
Innovi www.innovi.com
French Chamber of Commerce www.fccihk.com
Ericsson www.ericsson.com
IBM www.ibm.com/us
Intel www.intel.com
Microsoft www.microsoft.com
Sony-Ericsson www.sonyericsson.com
Motorola www.motorola.com
Nokia www.nokia.com
Trade Development Council www.tdctrade.com
Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme www.info.gov.hk/itc/eng/funding/serap.shtml