dec-2017

188 189 HARMAN BRAZIL fessional audio and aftermarket car audio markets in the automotive assembly plant, and Harman worked in four divisions,which allowed the deploy- ment of two new divisions in Brazil,” said Rodrigo Kniest,Harman Brazil CEO.Today the company has about 150 employees, distributed in its three fac- tories - two in Manaus/AM and one in Nova Santa Rita/RS-and the São Paulo office, to serve the entire Latin American market.“After 7years,Harman Brazil revenue simplymultiplied sixfold and continues to grow efficiently,” says Kniest. Harman Brazil is structured in four divisions, the first of Professional Solutions, including speakers, lighting, video and a line of products with state-of- the-art digital technology.This division is responsi- ble for big deals, such as the sale of equipment to eight of the twelve football stadiums that hosted FIFA games in Brazil, comments Kniest.The compa- ny was also present at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, supplying about 75% of all professional audio and lighting equipment for the event. Lifestyle Audio is the second division of the com- pany, producing headphones, Bluetooth speakers, home theaters and an aftermarket car audio line. The company has evolved in the aftermarket car audio market with the introduction of new electron- ic products that stand for quality such as the JBL® Bluetooth boxes.“We helped Brazil implement wire- less technology and today we have about 70% of the domestic market, thanks to the implementation of that JBL® technology in the country,” says Kniest. This division also includes the Car Audio OEM sys- tem,with the supply of speakers and amplifiers for the automakers. The third division is the Connected Car, providing all the features and connectivity through the Head Unit Intelligent Multimedia for automakers.The novelty is the latest division, Connected Services, focused on the production of software for custom- ers in the automotive market, telecommunications, healthcare and large institutions.According to Sakai, the Connected Car aims to integrate even more the smartphone into the vehicle so that the driver does not need to handle the smartphone while driving. “The goal is to provide connectivity with security by integrating the smartphone into the vehicle through the speaker system so that the driver can communi- cate and access all the functions of the smartphone,” Sakai explains. In addition, in-vehicle connectivity enables data access fromwithin the vehicle, and data extraction from the vehicle to the cloud, opening up a range of additional services that will be integrated into the car dealership portfolio.Thus, the concessionaires may better understand what is happening in the vehicle and reduce the cost of the service offered to the customer.According to Sakai,“This is the big trend for the coming years, and it’s happening quick- ly in the marketplace.” Based on the technology, the company has two di- rections: invest in high-tech products that will allow connectivity, and in the production of software to ensure this connectivity.“Harman Brazil is focused on delivering technologies and services to the con- sumer through the automotive automakers and B2B partners,which in turn choose a complete or partial solution in line with their strategies,”explains Sakai. Harman Brazil also seeks to integrate its four