Dubai-based smart and green home maintenance specialist Hitches & Glitches (H&G), part of the Farnek Group, has signed an exclusive agreement with Israeli smart home solutions company SwitchBee.

Under the terms of the initial agreement, Hitches & Glitches will have the exclusive rights to sell, distribute and install SwitchBee products throughout the UAE. Furthermore, their products will be available for purchase on Hitches & Glitches’ online store.

“SwitchBee has developed a comprehensive solution that provides freedom of choice and flexibility, to effectively manage smart home devices. They have a wide range of products that have been designed to connect wirelessly to a central unit, via a smartphone, tablet or voice control,” said Kelvin Vargheese Senior Director-TFM.

Based in Netanya, 30 kilometres north of Israel’s major economic and technological centre Tel Aviv, SwitchBee products instantly make any home into a smart home, by removing the need for batteries or any new wiring, resulting in a seamless fit with any type of light switch or electrical socket. 

“We decided to partner with Hitches & Glitches for two main reasons. Firstly, they are one of the leading home maintenance companies in the UAE and have extensive reach throughout the country. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, they are a tech-savvy organisation and they want to support innovation,” commented Ehud Illios, VP Global Sales, SwitchBee. Our smart home products have a unique, high quality design, that ensures customers can not only upgrade their home efficiency but improve its design aesthetics as well. Included among the extensive product range are light switches, dimmer switches, change over switches, water heater switches, electric shutter switches, smart sockets and stick-on switches. 

“Our corporate philosophy is based on two pillars – sustainability and innovative technology; and the smart products that SwitchBee is developing, provide perfect synergy with our business strategy,” added Vargheese.

Indeed, this collaborative approach has already delivered results, their first customer was HE. Massimo Baggi, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Hitches and Glitches were asked to upgrade and install smart devices in His Excellency’s Abu Dhabi residence. The results were impressive, with the installation team, and management of H&G, and HE. Being very pleased with the results. “We installed the SwitchBee central unit, paired the wall sockets, installed new smart wall switches, and found solutions to integrate the existing WiFi to other devices,” said Vargheese. 

Hitches & Glitches can now supply and install a growing list of smart home products. Quite apart from the new SwitchBee products, the company offers smart irrigation systems, safety keys and facial recognition displays. It can also deliver and install NEST a smart home thermostat that manages indoor temperatures, whether families are at home or away and can be operated through a smart phone, saving time and money.

Another popular smart home device available through Hitches & Glitches is the Ring video doorbell and Ring security cameras. Again, both products can be connected to any smart phone, allowing the user to ‘answer’ the door or ‘look’ around his or her property in real time, whether at home or away.