Russell Solts
Commercial Director and co-founder of SEG Group. Thirty-five years in electrical contracting, and the commercial side of the business that installs and supports the systems on this site.
From the National Theatre to Heathrow to here
Russell began as a lighting technician at the National Theatre, served his electrical apprenticeship with Alpha Commercial Developments, and has spent more than thirty-five years running electrical businesses and employing people.
His project history is infrastructure rather than domestic: ticketing systems and gates for London Underground, work at Heathrow, the BT and Cisco dial-up network installation in 1999, a fit-out for the US Department of the Navy, Calvin Klein’s warehouse infrastructure in Rotterdam, and work for Tesco, Amazon and a number of educational institutions.
He founded his own contracting business — trading under names including Smartplc — and founded Smart Wireless, which is now SEGwifi, the group’s dedicated Wi-Fi division. In 2024 that business merged with Michael Simm’s to form SEG Group, and he has been a director of The Specialist Electrical Group Ltd since 1 May 2024.
- Commercial Director and co-founder, SEG Group
- Director of The Specialist Electrical Group Ltd since 1 May 2024 (Companies House, company 11464567)
- Over 35 years in electrical contracting
- Founder of Smart Wireless, now SEGwifi
- Former Council Member and Board Member of the ECA (Electrical Contractors’ Association)
- Fifteen years as a Colney Heath parish councillor, including a term as Chair
Commercial and finance, across the group
Michael runs operations; Russell runs the commercial side. On a school or venue project that is the difference between a quotation and a decision.
The quotation, and what is in it
Commercial and finance across the group. A number that holds, with the licence years, the configuration work and the training in it rather than bolted on afterwards. What drives the number.
Thirty-five years of infrastructure work
Underground ticket gates and airport systems are not school lockdown platforms, but they are the same discipline: large sites, live buildings, other trades, and a client who cannot have it fail.
The ECA connection
A former ECA Council and Board member sitting in the business is a straightforward answer to “are these people serious about standards”.
What the electrical trade teaches you about a new duty
Martyn’s Law is the reason this part of the business exists — not as a sales hook, but because a duty that has not commenced yet is exactly the moment the wrong things get sold.
Standards are set by people who turn up to set them
Russell served on the Council and the Board of the ECA — the trade body that argues the electrical industry’s standards rather than just complying with them. Knowing how a standard is written changes how you read a new one, and Martyn’s Law is a very new one.
“99% perfection is 100% failure”
His own words, on the group site. On a lockdown system that stops being a slogan: a platform that reaches ninety-nine per cent of your staff has failed the one classroom that needed it.
Thirty-five years of being audited
Underground ticket gates, an airport, a naval building, national retail and distribution. All regulated, all inspected, all live while the work happened. That is the same shape as a school: you cannot take it off line, and somebody will check your work afterwards.
Public duty is not a marketing line
Fifteen years as a parish councillor, including a term as Chair. Sitting through other people’s problems in a village hall is decent preparation for telling a head teacher the honest answer is that they do not need to buy anything.
Russell Solts online
The published record.
His SEG Group profile
The full biography, project history and qualifications on the group site: segplc.com/russell-solts.
Companies House
The officer record for The Specialist Electrical Group Ltd, company 11464567.
Why we put our names on this
This site tells schools that Martyn’s Law is not yet in force, that no product makes anyone compliant with it, and that most of them have no section 6 duty at all. Those are commercially inconvenient things to say. They are easier to trust when you can see who is saying them.
Speak to the people who own the answer.
A free site survey, run by an engineer rather than a salesperson. If the honest answer is that you do not need anything, that is the answer you will get.
Book a free site survey Call 01727 822 833