The panel consisted of David Morgan, product designer; Paul James, editor of mondo*arc; Kevin Theobald, President of the International Association of Lighting Designers and principal of KTLD; James Dilley, Associate Director of architectural design practice Jestico & Whiles; and Durham Marenghi, lighting designer and curator of The ARC Show. From the many entries the panel came up with a shortlist of fifteen that will be displayed at The ARC Show. The winners, as voted by the judges panel and by the visitors to the show, will be announced at The ARC Show.

a) ACDC Lighting / AZETA (ROUND)
A new family of technical, dimmable, recessed geared LED downlights offering lumen outputs equivalent to 20 and 35 Watt Metal Halide. The simple, clean design and deep recessed LED position, with the choice of interchangeable optics and accessories, make this a visually stunning, flexible luminaire.

b) Architectural lighting Works / ECO Trapeze
This suspended wire system helps promote cooling, providing lifetime up to 50k hours. More efficient LEDs and higher voltage keeps the current low (<5 Amps), whilst providing the same amount of light as 500W of halogen with only 150W of LED.

c) Crestron / Green light power pack
The Crestron Green Light Power Pack is a standalone room controller designed to communicate with photocells, occupancy sensors, and control lighting in any room. The entire Power Pack family provides cost-effective and powerful lighting control for classrooms, small offices, and open-plan offices.

d) Deltalight / Metronome 
Deltalight has worked in collaboration with fashion designer Tim Van Steenbergen to rework their Husk fitting to become a totally new creation. The pendant comes in 3 versions: Metronome XXL (tailor-made) and two smaller variations (Metronome with and without top part of HUSK model).

e) ERCO / Opton Spotlights
The Spherolit technology featured in Opton is easily replaced without tools to produce a wide range of light distribution patterns for flexible lighting solutions. Its modular design means that Opton is suited particularly for frequently changing lighting requirements such as in shop windows, for example.

f) Helvar / uSee Hub & Panels
uSee Hub is a web-based system management software that allows users to control their lighting system from any web accessing device. As well as controlling your system the uSee Hub allows users to wirelessly monitor energy usage and make changes to improve efficiency.

g) inox / Led Diva 2
LED Diva 2 is a seamless linear lED luminaire for cabinets and small architectural details. All connections are ‘plug and play’ and for further ease of installation, two fixing methods are provided – metal clips or adhesive-backed metal plates that the luminaire fixes to magnetically.

h) Inspired by Design / Wookyee LL
Wookyee LL is a peculiar union, between a hanging and floor lamp. It is fitted with two different LED light sources: an atmosphere light and a power light. Powered from the bottom it can be hung on the ceiling or put on a stand, with speakers wirelessly controlled by your iPod.

i) Pharos / Touch Panel Controller
The TPC is an advanced, standalone, LED controller with an integrated 4.3” capacitive touch screen. No other touch screen product includes an advanced lighting controller in the same enclosure – a complete lighting control solution.

j) Vista Light / one.LED
At only 4mm thin, One.LED is the sleekest luminaire on the market. The 9.5W LED board can be replaced and, with no wiring within the luminaire, it’s also very rugged. Efficiency is 73lm/W with 700lm to 2800lm output.

k) Whitegoods / Universal LED module
The Universal LED Module (ULM) is a revolutionary approach to sustainable lighting solutions. Whitegoods has designed the ULM to accept various market leading LED emitters, just like traditional luminaire and lamp ideology. Just like the rest of the Whitegoods family, it can also be replaced or upgraded without replacing the whole luminaire.

l) FDV Group / Katana Dual Inside
Dual Inside is a revolutionary, multi-functional and multi-sensorial design that radically changes how we perceive and understand light and sound. It features easy-to-use Sensai technology that allows you to play your favourite music from any device with a Bluetooth connection.

m) applelec / Curved LED Light Sheet
Addressing a problematic feature of a retail space, the structural column, Applelec experimented with curving the acrylic used in its LED Light Sheet with a view to developing a slim, curved light box. The result is an 8mm thick curved panel that delivers bright, even illumination. 

n) Photonstar / CLE LED Module: ChromaWhite Tungsten+
Matching or outperforming halogen in all parameters, ChromaWhite Tungsten+ provides a reliable, high colour quality, efficient source without the concerns over colour shift, without shortfalls in rendering certain colours including red (R9), as well as matching dimming characteristics. 

o) iGuzzini / iQ
iQ has been developed to illuminate a column achieving uniform linear light without the usual scallop on the bottom part. The basic idea of iQ is to undo the usual centered source and dismantle the typical recessed up light round fixture into 4 parts of the curve.

The ARC Show takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, the heart of the design community in London, on February 29th and March 1st.

www.thearcshow.com

Birmingham Science Park Aston's (BSPA) Optical Performance Centre will become one of two state-of-the-art testing laboratories to be run by LUX-TSI. LUX’s Bridgend facility focuses on energy efficient lighting, electrical performance and safety testing, while the Birmingham testing laboratory will continue to specialise in the optical performance aspects of new lighting and photonics technology, and delivering ERDF-funded training programmes for the industry. LUX-TSI will manage both facilities; in return, BSPA will take an equity stake in the business.

Dr David Hardman MBE, CEO of Birmingham Science Park Aston said: “A key driver for this agreement was the opportunities that LUX-TSI’s ‘Preferred Partner’ status with UL (Underwriters Laboratories) will generate for Birmingham. UL is the world’s largest safety testing company, and since 2010 LUX-TSI has tested the performance of a vast array of consumer electronics and new energy efficient lighting products. The Bridgend facility is currently developing testing solutions with UL, suitable for products in the EU and also for export to the US and Asia. The aim going forwards is for the combined Bridgend and Birmingham operation to become the leading testing centre in Europe.”

LUX-TSI has also recently become one of only a small number of the UK Accreditation Service’s (UKAS) lighting product testing laboratories (to ISO17025 standard). UKAS is a member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), which ensures accreditation for measuring and testing services is internationally recognised. To expand the offering, both the Birmingham and Bridgend facilities will be compliant to this accreditation standard going forwards. Lighting and photonics product manufacturers, and Government-market surveillance and energy efficiency schemes require UKAS certification.

The agreement will see the range of technical training programmes and seminars offered at BSPA expanded in line with ERDF funding parameters and objectives.  LUX-TSI will also be working with the highly experienced staff based at the Science Park to market specialist software to assist companies with the understanding of the optical hazards of light sources, such as lasers, LEDs, flashlamps and other lighting products.

Dr Gareth Jones, Chief Executive of LUX-TSI said: “This is a very exciting development for the industry. The combination of the Birmingham and Bridgend facilities will increase technical, marketing and business development resources, as well as creating added value for our customers and our partner UL. We have had a good working relationship with Birmingham Science Park Aston’s Optical Performance Centre for several years and it is fantastic that we are now working together within a formal arrangement.”

The Science Park’s £770,000 ERDF-funded project, which will be run under the new arrangement with LUX-TSI, is known as the Ultra Efficient Lighting Product Development Centre. SMEs with prototype and early-stage designs for new low-carbon lighting solutions can take advantage of vital support into research and development. The Development Centre is assisting with the creation of truly ‘next generation’ lighting products that offer huge improvements to quality, while reducing CO2 emissions. With the ‘green’ lighting technologies market forecast to grow by 19 per cent, this project is helping to ensure that West Midlands-based companies can continue to provide innovative,  market-leading solutions.

Businesses can assess their technologies using BSPA’s state-of-the-art photonics equipment and facilities, as well as gaining access to a variety of specialist advice and guidance on everything from bringing products to the market, to the most effective way of working with the photonics supply chain.

Using cutting-edge, state-of-the-art equipment, the Centre can perform a multitude of different tests, from measuring light and colour to defining complex optical structures.  The team can also undertake complex specialist tests such as thermography, reflectometry and environmental and stress testing, as well as high speed imaging.

www.lux-tsi.com 

The Green Paper proposes to launch a number of new policy initiatives and a public debate in Europe with all interested parties for accelerating the wide deployment of SSL technology.

Available on the European Commission's website, the paper is aimed at a wide audience covering individual consumers and professional users, the lighting industry, the building and construction sector, architects, lighting designers, electrical installers, municipalities, public authorities, civil society communities, professional associations and all other relevant stakeholders involved or interested in the topic.

It first addresses policies targeting European users (professional users and consumers) for overcoming existing challenges for wider market uptake. It then proposes policies addressing the European lighting industry with the aim to foster its leading position and competitiveness thus contributing to the creation of growth and jobs in Europe.

For example, on the demand side (European users) the EC proposes to raise awareness and demonstrate to consumers, professional users and public procurers that SSL technology is of high quality and saves energy and money over its long lifetime, helping Europe meet its energy efficiency targets, and propose new initiatives to prevent early market failure. Whilst on the supply side (European lighting industry) the EC proposes, amongst other initiatives, a raft of policies that foster the competitiveness and global leadership of the lighting industry and contribute to the creation of growth and jobs in Europe.

Current market penetration of SSL in Europe is very low: the LED market share (in value) reached 6.2% in 2010. However several studies such as ‘Lighting the way: Perspectives on the global lighting market’ by McKinsey & Company (2011) predict that SSL will account for more than 70% of Europe’s general lighting market by 2020.

Commenting on the initiative, mondo*arc's LED expert Dr. Geoff Archenhold said, “This affords a great opportunity to the European lighting industry with such a rapid growth rate in Europe over the next eight years. I cannot think of any market that will have such strong demand in these timescales.”

The Green Paper highlights that lighting accounts for 50% of the electricity consumption of European cities and increasingly, cities are developing sustainable urban lighting strategies integrated with urban development policies and implemented in close cooperation with lighting designers, architects and town planners. The potential of SSL to become the replacement technology for more than 90 million traditional street lights in Europe and its fast evolution are motivating many European cities to launch pilot actions to familiarise themselves with this technology, to experience its main benefits and to understand possible drawbacks.

View the Green Paper here: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/actions/ssl-consultation/index_en.htm

Read Dr. Geoff Archenhold's critique of the Green Paper HERE.

The IALD Enlighten Europe Conference brings together renowned industry professionals delivering an invaluable insight on the direction of the latest lighting trends. Prices are £150 for a one day pass and £250 for a two day pass.

Register online for your place: www.thearcshow.com/enlightening-zone-conference

Wednesday 29th February

10:00am: INTRODUCTION

10:15am: Giulio Antonutto & Arfon Davies, Arup
“Daylighting for Lighting Designers”
Part 1 – Fundamentals with Giulio Antonutto. Giulio will present the fundamentals of daylight and inspiring all lighting designers with what they should know.
Part 2 – Application with Arfon Davies. Arfon will present a case study to illustrate how to design with daylight.

12:00pm: COFFEE BREAK

12:15pm: Kevin Grant IALD, Buro Happold
“City Master Planning”
The Olympics has brought about the regeneration of city environments right across the country and Kevin will explore the question of how lighting designers work with town planners to create new environments or improve existing ones.

13:15pm: LUNCH BREAK

14:15pm: Dr Geoff Archenhold
“LED Basics”
LEDs are a topic that is constantly explored by lighting designers, but are they ever truly understood? Join Dr. Geoff Archenhold to discuss how LEDs work and what they are best at doing.

15:15pm: Mark Sutton Vane IALD, Sutton Vane Associates
“LED case study”
Mark will take a look at how LEDs are being used in the built environment.

16:15pm: Dr. Geoff Archenhold, ISTL; Ian Cathcart, OSRAM; Derek Tibbitts, Cree; chaired by Kevin Theobald IALD President
“LED Panel”
This panel session will explore what the leading manufacturers are doing for the architectural lighting design industry.

17:30pm: Conference adjourns

18:00pm: Drinks reception

20:45pm: Michael Bosanko, light artist
“Inspiration and light”
Join us as Michael presents an insight into his many imaginative art works.

22:00pm: Students from UCL and Rose Bruford College
“Glow stick graffiti”
Students from Rose Bruford and the Barlett entertain us with their temporary light installations on a guided walk around Islington.


Thursday 1st March

10:00am: INTRODUCTION

10:30am: Paul Traynor, Light Bureau
“The affects of lighting on towns and cities”
Paul will discuss how our cities and towns are affected by the way we light them. Designed or accidental, visual stimulus form part of what we see. Paul will explore what the emotive result of this is.

11:30am: COFFEE BREAK

11:45am: Joe Bokelman, ETC, introduced by Durham Marenghi
“Spectral Equalisation – An industry exclusive only at The ARC Show”
Joe will introduce a new technology that will excite all lighting designers – Spectral Equalisation. For all Lighting Designers looking to take their knowledge to the next level, this session is for you!
Imagine a world where a white or coloured light source is capable of being tuned to vibrate and enrich certain colour wavelengths whilst still appearing as a constant colour to the human eye.
A warm white source giving flattering illumination to skin tones yet able to enrich the bands of the visible spectrum of specific clothing whilst appearing to be the same colour temperature of white light.
An art gallery illuminated with white light where each source is tuned to enhance each particular picture’s colour composition. Coloured architectural light thrown upon a building’s surface yet tuned to pick out specific tones in brick, metal and stone work. A retail environment where the lighting scheme can be tuned to show each product and branding in literally the best light!

12:30pm: Julie Greer of Greer Pritchard, Mark Major IALD, Speirs and Major and Kay Hughes, ODA
“The Olympic lights”
This panel session will discuss the Olympics looking at how the project is managed and delivered to a world class standard.

13:15pm: Lunch break

14:00pm: Hosted by the Lighting Industry Association (LIA)
“Lighting in the Green Deal”
Panel debate hosted by the Lighting Industry Association.

15:00pm: Dominic Meyrick, Hoare Lea Lighting; Sally Storey, Lighting Design International; Mark Ridler, BDP; and Jeff Shaw, Arup Lighting.
“BD Magazine Panel, chaired by Amanda Baillieu”

16:00pm: BD Magazine Networking session

17:00pm: Conference finish

Register online for your place: www.thearcshow.com/enlightening-zone-conference

Tridonic CEO Walter Ziegler and COO Rüdiger Kofahl are to leave the company at the end of January. For an interim period, the Chairman of the Management Board of Zumtobel AG, Harald Sommerer, will be taking charge of the management of Tridonic in addition to his role as Group CEO, working closely with Tridonic CFO Werner Blum.

Walter Ziegler joined the Group in 1989 as Managing Director of Tridonic's German sales company and in 1997 assumed the role of Tridonic CEO. Under his leadership, Tridonic advanced to become one of the world's leading suppliers of lighting components. Rüdiger Kofahl has been Tridonic COO since 2007, responsible for Production, Quality Management, Supply Chain, Logistics and Product Development.

"We owe a great debt of gratitude to Walter Ziegler for his outstanding achievements and great personal commitment. During his 22 years with the Tridonic company he has made a great contribution to the international establishment and expansion of our components business. Our thanks also go to Rüdiger Kofahl for his achievements in developing a global, flexible production network, establishing standardised production processes and improving our patent position," commented Sommerer.

"In view of the technology shift to LEDs, Tridonic is today facing some major strategic decisions. Based on its excellent customer relations, broad product portfolio and technological expertise, we can see great potential for Tridonic to strengthen its position as innovation leader in this dynamic market environment. In future, the corporate knowledge base in the areas of semiconductor technology and electronics will be more important than ever. So the technology shift is having a substantial impact on all key business processes, as well as on the requirement profile facing top management," said Sommerer, explaining the management changes.

www.zumtobelgroup.com

Launched in 2010, the popularity of the service has seen Harvard invest in new technology and equipment.

Recent expansion to a purpose built advanced manufacturing facility in the UK has ensured Harvard's ability to provide reliable, high volume LED placement by combining the most advanced automated manufacturing processes, which also include fully automated surface mount machinery and thermal testing equipment.

As part of service, the company's engineering team of LED specialists works closely with customers to deliver a bespoke PCB layout and design service. Every project has a dedicated engineering development manager, who is involved from the start of each project through its completion. 

Michael McDonnell, sales and marketing director at Harvard Engineering, commented, "It is an exciting time for the company. We have always had the in-house capabilities to provide this customised service, but we have never really actively marketed it. We have now put together an experienced team specifically focused on identifying opportunities, delivering solutions and meeting customer requirements. And with over 18 years electronics manufacturing and lighting experience, we are well placed to deliver cost efficient innovative tailored solutions."

www.harvardeng.com

Philips has announced that it expects a mid single-digit comparable sales growth in the Lighting sector compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.

Continued operational issues in Consumer Luminaires, Lumileds and macroeconomic factors, which impacted pricing in Philips' Consumer Lighting businesses (mainly lamps), have impacted the Lighting results. In addition, incidental charges, primarily relating to the disposal of slow moving inventories, as well as adjustments in production volumes further affected the bottom line. These actions have led to reduced inventory levels and improved cash flow. Adjusted EBITA for the fourth quarter is expected to be around 3 to 4% of sales. The reported EBITA is expected to be around 2%.

Group sales for the quarter are expected to show mid single-digit comparable growth over the fourth quarter of 2010. The group's Adjusted EBITA (excluding restructuring and acquisition related charges) for the quarter is expected to be between 8 and 9% of sales, which corresponds to a reported EBITA (Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) between 7 and 8%. The reported EBITA for the group is estimated to be around EUR 500 million. Free cash inflow for the fourth quarter of 2011 is expected to be around EUR 1 billion compared to an amount of EUR 1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Group cash balance at the end of the quarter is expected to be approximately EUR 3 billion. All figures exclude the Television business, which is part of discontinued operations.
 
"Our expected fourth quarter financial results have been affected by the weakness in Europe, which has impacted our Healthcare business, as well as pricing in our Consumer Lighting business," said Frans van Houten, CEO of Philips. "We have taken measures to address our inventory situation in the Lighting business, which also had an impact on earnings for the quarter. Our Consumer Lifestyle business, which was the first to start implementing the Accelerate! change and performance improvement program, is beginning to show early signs of improvement. While we are disappointed with the results, we are confident that by continuing to execute on our change plans, and delivering on our cost reduction plans, we will improve the operations of the company and achieve our 2013 mid-term financial targets of 4-6% sales growth, 10-12% reported EBITA, and 12-14% ROIC."

www.philips.com

“Pierre Yves' tremendous experience at NXP Semiconductors, most recently as Senior Vice President & General Manager of the business lines Microcontrollers & Logic, make him uniquely qualified to lead Philips Lumileds into the new world of lighting,” said van Houten. “I'm confident Pierre Yves will drive Philips Lumileds performance and actively shape the fast changing LED illumination market.

“At the same time I also thank Mike Holt, Lumileds’ first CEO, who for more than a decade has led the company as it invented and introduced high power LEDs and opened entirely new lighting segments. Mike is retiring to enjoy more time with his family.”

Lesaicherre joins Lumileds with more than two decades of experience in the semiconductor and component industry. He lives in Silicon Valley and speaks multiple languages including French and Japanese.

www.philipslumileds.com

With no fewer than 19 nominees, the 2011 Auroralia Awards, jointly organised by LUCI and Schréder, was the most successful in its three years. Following lively discussions, the panel of independent judges composed of representatives from specialised press chose to give first prize to the village of Arraiolos (Portugal) with Nivelles (Belgium) and St. Helens (UK) picking up second and third prizes respectively. Remchingen in Germany received a special mention. The representatives of these four municipalities received their Auroralia Award on 8th December in Lyon at the official ceremony during the Lyon Light Festival.

In 2011, Arraiolos acquired the enviable status of being the first Portuguese village to draw up and implement a large scale project to light the historic centre of the village exclusively by LEDs. The old lighting system, made up of a disparate set of conventional luminaires equipped with discharge lamps, was completely replaced. The objective was threefold: to increase the level of lighting; offer better-quality lighting; and dramatically reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

To achieve this, the local authorities worked with the lighting designers Eduardo Gonçalves and Rogério Oliveira from Eclipz Lighting Design based in Lisbon. In collaboration with Schréder Iluminação, they designed a luminaire equipped with 36 LEDs that was perfect for their project.

By diffusing a warm white light, the 401 Rivara luminaires - named in homage to one of the village's famous inhabitants, a writer and statesman of the nineteenth century - provide excellent colour rendition and a high degree of visual comfort. With energy savings of no less than 50% per luminaire, the new LED installation significantly reduces operating and maintenance costs.

To preserve the open character of the space around the Collégiale, an eleventh-century church in the heart of Nivelles, the local authorities decided to ban luminaires on poles. They gave priority to bollards and recessed luminaires as their discreet integration helps preserve the cultural heritage. By exploiting different levels of lighting, the installation structures the space and highlights the architectural treasures of the town centre. The new installation generates energy savings of 73% and stops the town from producing more than 26 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere each year.

Through various operations under the heading "Nivelles, cœur de Lumière" ("Nivelles, heart of Light"), the town promotes a social and environmental approach to light. A commitment that clearly pleased the members of the Auroralia judging panel!

Situated in the heart of the town, precisely where there is most commercial activity, the campus is home not only to educational facilities but also a sports hall, restaurants and public spaces.

Replacing the old sodium lamps, a new LED lighting system was installed on the college site and in the four main streets surrounding it in the Liverpool suburb of St. Helens, a town of 175,000 inhabitants.

The aim was to increase the level and quality of lighting while significantly reducing energy consumption. The new installation generates energy savings of 21% and fulfils several functions: light the space comfortably and efficiently, reduce crime, ensure traffic safety and stimulate economic activity.

In rewarding St. Helens, the judges wanted to acknowledge the positive impact of this project on the social, economic and environmental aspects of urban and student life.

With just under 12,000 inhabitants, Remchingen has made a significant commitment to future generations by converting all its luminaires equipped with 150W sodium lamps to 34W 28 LED luminaires. The intervention involved no fewer than 1,000 lighting units in all corners of the town. To reduce the investment and the time needed to install the new luminaires, the authorities retained the existing poles. The new installation provides a warm, white light and allows the town to cut its energy bill by 78%. Each year, Remchingen will thus reduce its CO₂ emissions by 146 tonnes.

By giving the German town a special mention, the judges wanted to emphasise the massive economic and environmental impact of a global conversion to LED light sources as undertaken by Remchingen as part of its 'relighting' project.

www.auroralia.org

Now in its third year, mondo*arc's survey of 50 lighting designers was able to extrapilate some interesting analysis due to the comparative data that is now available. In fact, the 50 has now turned to 46 due to two companies not responding and two not now operating (one being taken over by a larger organisation so comparative results were not possible; and one having been wound down with its work taken over by a newly established practice - again comparative results were not possible). Plans to expand the sample are under way for next year’s survey.

Depending on who we talked to, the lighting design profession has either turned the corner or it is in serious trouble. In actual fact, the answer often depended on which region(s) you practice in, how big your firm is and how diverse your work is. Those that have a diverse portfolio now appear to be reaping the benefits whereas those that have, for whatever reason, remained in a single market have, for the most part, suffered a downturn.

Paul Traynor’s (Principal of UK firm Light Bureau) response was typical of those who had a good year: “For us, 2009 was awful, 2010 was better and 2011 has been exceptional. In the depths of the downturn, the hospitality and residential sectors thankfully remained firm and in the recovering months (particularly 2011) the commercial sector seemed to return strongly. I think that the fact that lighting designers stayed busy during this recession is testament to our increased value and credibility since the last major recession which saw demand for our services all but dry up.”

Tapio Rosenius of Lighting Design Collective echoes the importance of diversity with a sorry tale of the state of the profession in Spain: “The market in Spain is in dire states. 46% of the registered architects are unemployed. There are very few proper projects on the go or starting. Lighting design practices are mainly one man bands. We are now the second biggest in the country and we only started two and a half years ago! Only those with international work are surviving. The lighting design profession however is clearly developing here and receiving more exposure. Many academic courses have been established as well as APDI (Spain’s lighting design association).”

What is clear from the results is that the lighting design practices have taken on more work in 2011 (an average of 43 per practice compared to 41 in 2010) but these projects have, on the whole, been smaller and have earned less revenue.

This is borne out by Jim Youngston of Gabler-Youngston in the USA: “I see a lot more requests for proposals, which is encouraging, but am finding that most of our new work is on a very rapid schedule and that larger, longer term, ‘pipeline filling’ projects are still few and far between.”

Average gross revenue per practice has dropped from US$1,508,000 in 2010 to US$1,475,533. Bearing in mind that, in 2009, this figure stood at US$1,600,000, we can see that there has been a steady, if not dramatic, drop in turnover since the survey began. Couple this with an actual increase in staff (from just over 13 per practice in 2010 to just over 14 per practice in 2011) and we can see that revenue per head has fallen more sharply from US$115,143 in 2010 to US$104,583 in 2011.
One may be tempted to apply the basic equation of turnover divided by number of projects to find out the average project fee but there are obviously other factors that need to be applied. However, as an exercise this results in a basic average fee per project of US$34,315 in 2011 compared to US$36,780 in 2010. Based on the number of employees and projects completed in 2011, the average number of projects per employee is three.

Financial constraints caused by more design practices (whether bona fide lighting designers or not) with highly competitive fees, manufacturers and architectural / engineering firms with their own lighting design departments have all put downward pressure on fees.

James Long, owner of James Long Studio in the USA, has first hand experience of this phenomena: “What I’m seeing is architectural firms offering professional lighting design services as a way to increase revenue. Clients/architectural firms are expecting deep discounts - they site the state of the economy resulting in less projects to go around. The looming threat is if your costs are not in line with their thinking they will shop the project around until they get what they want. One client actually used ‘Think Ikea’ as a reference for their budget. Sometimes you just have to walk away. In a strange twist we are working with a client who parted ways with the original design team but kept us on to work with a new design team.”

However, the region where this sort of practice seems to be most prevalent is Asia where the need for lighting design has exploded. This point is emphasised by Stephen Gough of Project Lighting Design, based in Singapore: “This year was challenging. We are finding that competition is increasing in Asia with many smaller or start up firms offering ridiculous fees. In particular the China market is becoming difficult as developers try to leverage us down to lower fees using the smaller firms as fee benchmarks. I also see some of the larger firms offering highly competitive fees and just taking tons of work. I don’t know how they can expect to maintain any level of quality or indeed find the qualified staff to do the work. Having said that we are soon to open an office in Shanghai with a view to consolidating our position in the China market.”

André Tammes, founding director of LDP in Australasia, is particularly scathing of the situation: “As the European and American economic mess worsens, we are seeing an increased rate of ‘suicide pricing’ for projects in Asia by lighting designers from the afflicted countries. This is deplorable because it represents only a short term, last gasp, fix for those who are struggling, inevitably resulting in an under-servicing of projects and creating confusion in the minds of clients who are led to believe that they can obtain high quality service for implausible levels of fee. Bad news which will take years to work its way out of the system.”

And JK Yao of Chroma 33 in Taiwan: “People are becoming aware of the disadvantage of using LEDs, which is a good sign. Unfortunately, there are more so-called lighting practitioners but, sadly, most focus on marketing and not professionalism, especially in the Asian market.”

Returning to the notion of diversity and it is interesting to note the national / international split of work between different regions. The overall average across all the lighting design firms is 58% national and 42% international work for 2011. However, this is heavily skewed by practices from the US who’s work is 75% domestic - understandabe for such a huge market. Compare this to European firms who’s 53% national average is nearer that of the overall average; and to UK firms who’s international projects actually exceed the domestic workload 56% to 44%.

Many responses to the survey stated that it was the fewer, international projects that brought in the higher fees, whereas less profitable projects in their own country were the bread and butter work that kept them going.

Overall however, the feeling is one of positivity for the future with more responsibility falling to the lighting designer, even long after the project has been completed. This can only help with the establishment of lighting design as an essential profession within the building fraternity.

Keith Bradshaw, partner at Speirs + Major in the UK, can see the way it needs to go: “We are working harder now than ever for fees but this is common to all professional services home and abroad. In an odd way we are relishing the challenge and the manner in which the market is making us stay extraordinarily focused and targeted. The value of what we do needs to be crystal clear and fundamentally connected into the project such that clients understand lighting design as essential and not a ‘nice-to-have’. Proving one’s worth continues to be a defining factor of our profession.”

Perhaps we should leave the last word to Louis Clair of Light Cibles (offices in France, Spain, Malaysia, Singapore and China) who is typically upbeat about the role of the lighting designer in the future:

“Something is slowly changing. In France, clients are demanding more responsibility, even five years after a project we are still responsible for it by law, just like architects. In Asia the movement is starting. Instead of just using our ‘concept designs’ and not asking us to control the construction as it was ten years ago, clients start to look for long life installations and start to accept our fees and our recommendations for construction control. It is now normal to demand three years guarantee for lighting fittings, even if they are made in China. I think our role needs to become more professional and we will soon have less problems with people having no experience and asking for low fees and commissions from manufacturers.”

What the lighting designers had to say...

“I see lighting legislation as an opportunity to be more creative.  Lighting legislation is not a problem. It has only pushed us to design in a way that has never been seen before. Design without constraints usually lacks the spark of creativity that comes from overcoming obstacles.” Paul Gregory, Focus Lighting, USA

“In Italy there is a huge problem in the recognition of the role of  the lighting designer. Unfortunately, most companies that produce luminaires give free lighting ‘design’ executed by their technical departments just to sell their luminaires, taking work and respect from the lighting designer. These projects are only technical - they have no artistic and creative content. There should be collaboration between lighting designers and manufacturers to have real lighting design projects.” Francesco Storaro, Italy

“Stay current, stay creative and stay global. This is how you stay successful in my opinion.” Ted Ferreira, CD+M Lighting Design Group, USA, China & Middle East

“The demand for lighting design services in India is growing but we face an uphill task in educating the clients against strong commerce driven information that aligns their thoughts in predetermined directions. Major challenges also exist in the lack of trained and skilled installation teams.” Kapil Surlakar, LIGHT@WORK Design Consultants, India

“It is exciting to be witness to great change and indeed disruption in the lighting design industry. We embrace it all.” Charles Stone, Fisher Marantz Stone, USA

“The main challenge is projects starting and then stopping so you resource your commitment appropriately and perhaps turn down other work and then the project that you think you have stops. We had at least six major project commissions that stopped soon after which is very disruptive and problematic to managing a lighting consultancy or any other business for that matter. dpa has had a lot of projects finish and open in 2011 so it has been an exciting period seeing years of work complete. We are generally very optimistic about our business and we have seen a significant rise in major project enquiries and commissions come to us in the fourth quarter of 2011.” Nick Hoggett, dpa, UK, Japan, UAE

“Poor cash flow and delays on projects have been a real challenge.” Paul Pamboukian, South Africa

“The construction Industry is in a mess. Hardly anyone (particularly the end-user / client) understands the LEED implications and cheap installation still seems to be the driver - ‘To hell with the future!’. In that respect little has changed since the ‘60s when single bar electric fires were installed just because they were cheap. When the regulators start to get tough on environmental issues then we might see a sensible move towards capital expenditure on energy efficient solutions. Can’t wait!” Lawrence Titton, Visual Energy, UK & Middle East

“The market for lighting designers is getting harder. There is more competition and more time and effort to get good jobs.” Mike Helbling, Vogt & Partner, Switzerland, Germany & Austria

“We are still finding compatibility issues with some combinations of LEDs, drivers and architectural control systems – as such we have had to employ a full time technical manager to work with manufacturers to help us avoid these issues.” Darren Orrow, Into Lighting, UK

After narrowly averting potentially disastrous legislation limiting the practice of its members, the IALD formed a credentialing task force to study the viability of a design-based certification for the architectural lighting design profession. The task force intends to present a recommendation to the IALD Board of Directors in July 2012.

“It is important for us as an industry to determine best practices and any potential barriers for practice, rather than relying on legislators and regulators who do not necessarily understand our scope of work,” says IALD Immediate Past President Kathy Abernathy.

The practice of architectural lighting design has been threatened on several occasions in recent years, with the most well-known instance taking place in 2009 in Texas, USA. In May of that year, the Texas State Legislature passed legislation restricting the practice of “lighting design” to members of other professions and trades, such as architects and interior designers. The language banned architectural lighting designers located in Texas from doing lighting design work there whether or not their businesses were geographically located within the state. This had the potential to have serious damaging impact on architectural lighting designers worldwide.

IALD was quick to respond to the challenge to the profession and its members. Within minutes of receiving notice regarding the legislation, IALD mounted what became a successful counter-campaign. Joined in these efforts by individual lighting designers, lighting design firms and other lighting-related associations around the world, IALD was able to get the language in the bill rescinded.

“The lighting design industry was extremely lucky in this case, because [the Texas bill] could have been used as precedent by other states in the US and by other global legislative bodies looking to regulate or limit practice of the lighting design profession,” says Charles Thompson, IALD, who brought the association’s attention to the legislation, and who worked closely with the IALD in its successful defeat.

Validation of the profession is essential
Since the situation in Texas, the topic of credentialing has arisen in a variety of venues around the world and is being debated hotly within the architectural lighting design community. For IALD, it was clear that a formal validation of the architectural lighting design profession on a global basis had become necessary.

“With the maturing of the profession has come the need for outside validation of our practice,” comments David Becker, chair of the Credentialing Task Force. “The outside world is looking for a statement of validity and a lighting design certification will provide that statement.”
Initially convened in 2010, the task force undertook the extensive and painstaking work of creating an inclusive and global credential – a certification programme - for architectural lighting design. To assist in the development process, the IALD engaged certification expert and psychometric consultant Judith Hale, Ph.D., of Hale & Associates, a test evaluation and assessment consultancy firm. With Ms. Hale’s guidance, the task force embarked upon the challenging process.

Representatives from a variety of related organisations and interested constituencies were present at the first meeting of the task force and have remained engaged throughout the process, including the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP), the Professional Lighting Designers’ Association (PLDA), and the IALD Lighting Industry Resource Council (LIRC). In addition, input from a wide range of stakeholders worldwide has been sought and has been seminal in determining domains of practice and eligibility requirements. A straw model has been developed and is being tested to further refine the requirements.

Following the refinement process, a survey will be fielded to a broad group of major stakeholders, including IALD members, non-member lighting designers as well as members of other lighting associations and related industry professions both in the US and globally. This broad survey is a key component of the task force’s efforts and is scheduled for dissemination in early 2012. If you receive this survey, please complete it as it will assist the process and outcome enormously.

“The task force has observed that if the architectural lighting design community doesn’t define the industry in which we practice and measure competency against a validated standard, there is the very real danger that others will force regulation upon us, or determine our destiny without our control,” Becker stated. “The risk is real, which is why it is imperative for the lighting community to answer the call and complete the credentialing survey when they receive it.”

Explaining Credentialing
To date, the task force has held several open-forum meetings and webinars to acquire the feedback and input from this wide audience, as well as to provide a greater understanding of credentialing concepts. It has become clear that there is a great deal of confusion regarding certification and licensure, as well as a disagreement regarding which type of credential will best serve the lighting design industry.

“These sessions have been critical in gathering views from designers around the world and supplying information to the industry on our progress, as well as to clear up misconceptions regarding the development of a professional certification programme,” commented David Becker. “For example, if someone has familiarity with another credentialing body’s process, like the multiple-choice test used to administer the NCQLP certification in the United States, they tend to believe that method is the only one available to measure competency.”

Currently the task force is exploring a portfolio-based methodology to evaluate lighting design competence. When asked why the task force made this choice, Becker replied: “The credentialing industry is vast, and there are several ways to evaluate quality of practice. We have identified the formal portfolio-based assessment as the best method to use because it is impossible to evaluate the complexity of lighting design practice with a multiple-choice test. In addition, the multiple-choice method is extremely costly to develop, administer and maintain.”

The study is still determining how the credential might be administered; the concept is to manage and operate the certification through a governing board that would comprise representatives from a broad range of lighting-related associations.

A common misunderstanding in the lighting design community is about the difference between licensure and certification. Licensure is granted on a local/regional level and acts as a barrier to practice; i.e., you cannot practice without it. Licensing programmes are developed and administered by government agencies. Licensure is usually a response to public outcry on the lack of competency of practitioners in a profession or trade. A self-regulating profession with high standards of practice usually does not need a government entity to step in and police that profession or trade. In addition, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to establish common licensing requirements across local, national and not to mention international jurisdictions. For licensing to exist, it must go through legislative processes at each jurisdiction, and the jurisdiction would have to create the assessment tool.

The IALD feels that pursuing licensure would not serve our industry well. Many people make the mistake of believing that a license is the preferred credential, when in fact a properly developed certification programme measures competence at a much higher level, provides greater credibility and will be relevant in all countries where architectural lighting design is practiced.

If you are interested in knowing more about IALD’s credentialing work or would like to be contacted regarding the early-2012 survey, please email credentialing@iald.org.

www.iald.org

Kevin Theobald, IALD, is the President of the IALD (2012 & 2013) and is the Principal of Kevin Theobald Lighting Design, an independent lighting consultancy in London, UK.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CREDENTIALING

Credentialing permeates current discourse within the lighting design industry. The subject of numerous magazine articles, blog posts and online discussions, credentialing was also the topic of presentations at the 2010 and 2011 IALD Enlighten Americas and 2011 PLD-C conferences. Despite the amount of information available, misconception and misinformation regarding credentialing are widespread.

WHAT IS CREDENTIALING?
“Credentialing is the process by which an entity, authorised and qualified to do so, grants formal recognition to, or records the recognition status of, individuals, organisations, institutions, programs, processes, services, or products that meet pre-determined and standardised criteria,” according to the 2005 Institute for Credentialing Excellence Guide (ICE, formerly NOCA). Credentialing is an umbrella term that includes both certification and licensure.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CERTIFICATION AND LICENSING?
Licensing is a mandatory process administered by a government agency, and its benchmarks are intended to measure basic competency.
Certification is a voluntary process whereby an industry body grants an individual time-limited recognition and use of a credential based on pre-determined and standardised criteria. It is intended to recognise higher-level competence.
The IALD is interested in addressing higher level design competency. While licensing standards differ in each jurisdiction around the world, this credential would be international in scope. Local jurisdictions might elect to adopt the rubric of a professional certification in lieu of developing a licensing program from scratch.

IS MY PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP A CREDENTIAL?
Membership in a professional society, no matter how rigorous the qualification and review process, is not in itself a credential. The membership review processes for the IALD and other lighting design associations do not meet the standards for credentialing programs as set by the credentialing industry. Because membership review is an internal process, it has not gone through the intensive verification process establishing domains of practice and core competencies that is needed to meet the rigorous standards of a professional credential.

HOW WILL THE CERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT REMAIN VALID AND KEEP UP WITH CHANGES IN THE PROFESSION AND INDUSTRY?
The certification program would conduct a job task analysis to determine if the elements of the certification process need to change to reflect current trends in the architectural lighting design profession. In well-structured certification programs, a job task analysis is conducted every 3-5 years.

WILL THE PROPOSED CERTIFICATION REQUIRE CERTIFIED PRACTITIONERS TO RECERTIFY?
Yes. Just as the program undergoes a review every 3-5 years to ensure it measures a high standard of competence, certified practitioners must occasionally recertify to ensure that they themselves maintain a high level of competence. Because the proposed certification is intended to be an expression of continued competency, some form of recertification would be necessary.

HOW WILL THE CREDENTIAL BE RECOGNISED BY LEGISLATORS INTERNATIONALLY?
A certifying body that has conducted formal studies to establish and validate core competencies and practice domains would be an authoritative voice to assist legislative entities in defining the scope of a profession. It would be important to leverage opportunities to highlight the strength of certified lighting designers in front of legislative bodies. This would be particularly important in instances where governmental agencies are attempting to limit and define the scope of the profession.

WHO WILL QUALIFY FOR THE PROPOSED CREDENTIAL?
An individual would have to meet certain criteria to be eligible to apply for the credential. It is too soon in the IALD task force’s work to know the exact parameters limiting eligibility. Typical eligibility requirements include such parameters as: education, length of time in practice, level of responsibility, etc. The task force is currently exploring potential requirements.

HOW CAN I SHARE MY THOUGHTS ON LIGHTING DESIGN CREDENTIALING?
If you receive the early-2012 survey, please complete it. Your input is invaluable and helps to ensure that as many perspectives from the architectural lighting design profession as possible are covered by the outcome of the task force’s work.

www.iald.org

Working with environmental consultancy firm, The Carbon Footprint, WILA attained the voluntary carbon standard on 23rd November 2011 having successfully offset 166 tonnes of CO2.

WILA first became Carbon Neutral in September 2006 by continually and strictly adhering to the independent assessment guidelines from The Carbon Footprint, which recognises all stages of carbon management including initial emissions and year on year reductions.  For this year, the accreditation also includes WILA’s new warehouse facility in Abingdon.

Their target has been met in large thanks to tree planting in the South East of the UK which has allowed the business to successfully offset the full 166 tonnes of CO2 emissions generated in contribution to this year’s accreditation. 

WILA has also introduced a number of initiatives by assessing its carbon emissions and evaluating where these can be reduced and, in line with this, introduced a bike to work scheme earlier this year.  On a daily basis, everything from staff travel and printing to recycling systems and luminaire production comes under scrutiny.

Commenting on the company’s achievement, WILA’s marketing manager, Cally Elston said: “As a lighting company we understand the importance of energy efficiency and the resulting benefits to environment and finances. It’s a subject that has been at the forefront of our industry for many years so we feel that our products, as well as our business should be developed with energy in mind – we’re obviously thrilled to have achieved the Carbon Neutral standard again this year.

“Fundamental to achieving carbon neutrality is commitment from staff; we have found our colleagues to be hugely enthusiastic about reducing our impact on the environment. Each and every person in the company is involved with our carbon management so this achievement is something we’re all very proud of.”

Dr Wendy Buckley, director of Carbon Footprint Ltd commented, “WILA has taken a leadership position by actively managing the emissions of its operations, which marks them out in their sector and also to their clients as a responsible business.”

www.wila.com

Capitalising on the technical and manufacturing expertise of both companies, the Joint Venture will see $50million invested in a new manufacturing unit in Jiangsu Province, China which will be focused on the development of energy efficient and green lighting solutions including LEDs, CMI, HID and lighting fixtures.

Named as Jiangsu Havells Sylvania Lighting Co. Ltd, the Joint Venture aims to improve energy and cost efficient products for the local Chinese market, in addition to supplying global markets via the wider Havells Sylvania network. Both companies estimate that the new Joint Venture will lead to an annual turnover of $100million in the next 3 years.

The Havells Group, through its Havells Sylvania operations, has built a significant reputation within the lighting industry globally with a particular focus on the European market. As a result, Havells is confident that this agreement will allow the company to strengthen its product portfolio through consistent innovation, with quicker product releases in global markets courtesy of a reliable and stable supply source in China.

Nick Farraway, Head of Europe for Havells Sylvania said: “This is an important milestone for Havells Sylvania as we continue to build our lighting portfolio across Europe and beyond. By blending our technical and innovative expertise with best-in-class manufacturing practices, we’re confident that this joint venture will lead to a strengthening of our Chinese and Global operations”.

Mr. Jingwei Liu, Chairman of Yaming Lighting Co Ltd, added: “We are delighted to form this Joint Venture with Havells and are impressed with their global vision and growth plans. It is a unique platform to showcase and integrate our strengths to provide energy efficient solutions as are required in the current global environment. We look forward to achieving great strides and further strengthening of relations through this joint venture”.

www.havells-sylvania.com

Born in Bergamo in 1947, Enrico Caironi joined the Clay Paky team in 1995. As Commercial Director, he immediately became a key figure in the success of the business, spearheading its rise in the professional lighting market.  With his reliability and charm, he earned the respect of customers, lighting designers and competitors. His passion for the job never once abandoned him. Though officially retired, in the last years he dedicated much of his energy to Clay Paky, leading demanding projects such as the ‘Knight of Illumination’ and the ‘Show Way’ exhibition to success.

The last unforgettable memory he left us with was the incredible courage with which he faced the serious disease that afflicted him. His warm smile, generous hospitality, and thoroughness with which he carried out his every endeavour will remain for ever in the hearts of those who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Paul James, editor of mondo*arc, comments: “I am devastated to hear the news that Enrico has passed away. He was an inspirational character and I’ll never forget the times I spent with him and his family in Bergamo. He was a true gent and I will miss him.”

www.claypaky.it

Lumenpulse has continued their remarkable growth by opening a new UK subsidiary in London and unveiling its completed Corporate Headquarters in Montreal.

The Montreal office was celebrated on the evening of December 1, with an exclusive event titled the "Evolution of Light." A select guest list, including architects, lighting designers, agents and partners, investors and members of the media were treated to a facility tour and a night of celebration. Entertainers guided groups of guests through the office space, and a short video traced the history and evolution of light from the Edison era to the present day.

Located near the city’s Lachine canal, the facility combines a 20,000 sq.ft. office space and an adjoining  45,000 sq.ft. manufacturing facility where Lumenpulse fixtures or products are created. The office space is custom designed to reflect the Lumenpulse brand and culture, and is exclusively illuminated by Lumenpulse’s own award-winning architectural LED lighting fixtures.

The move to the new headquarters accommodates the rapid expansion of Lumenpulse, which has grown its personnel count by 112% over twelve months. The company was named to the PROFIT HOT 50 of Canada’s Top New Growth Companies in August and is focused on addressing the growing worldwide LED fixtures market, which is estimated to reach $9 billion by 2014 according to Strategies Unlimited.

“We have experienced rapid growth as we continue to see increasing demand for our LED fixtures from around the world,” said Francois-Xavier Souvay, president, CEO and founder of Lumenpulse, “The new Corporate Headquarters exemplifies what Lumenpulse is all about—innovation, performance and the future evolution of light. Lumenpulse DNA runs through the building, and it positions us well to become the next architectural LED lighting global leader.”

The UK office is located in the historic Leathermarket, a short walk from London Bridge, and provides full sales, technical and application support for countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.

The office will be headed up by Gorm Teichert, Lumenpulse Executive Vice President International Sales and a lighting and LED industry veteran of over 20 years.

“Choosing to locate our EMEA Sales Headquarters in London was a strategic decision,” said Teichert. “As well as being an international transport hub, London is a major center for the architectural and lighting design community. We’re now in the perfect position to be able to offer close support to UK based specifiers and our international customer base.”

www.lumenpulse.com

In a move to support the UK specifier market directly, KKDC are no longer marketed through a distributor and are setting up a team to support the UK's requirements directly.

Burridge has over ten years experience in the Lighting Industry, starting his career in fibre optic lighting as a technical sales engineer, then moving on to Light Projects where he was the Sales Manager. 

Tom Fairhall, Managing Director of KKDC, comments, “We are currently in what could be described as a hyper growth stage. Much of this role will be focused on establishing the sales distribution channel for the UK arm of KKDC worldwide to continue and support this growth. With Chris’ broad experience in sales and strategic planning, along with his access to the UK market, he fitted the description perfectly. We’re very excited about the future in the UK.”

www.kkdc.com.au

A crowd of 450 invited guests from across Europe gathered in the Palace's Cour Napoleonto see Louvre Director Henri Loyrette and Toshiba's President Norio Sasaki flick the switch to illuminate the Pyramid, Pyramidion and  the facade of the Pavilion Colbert.

As the conventional exterior lighting of The Louvre reached to end of its life, the museum recognised the value of replacing the old, high energy xenon lighting with energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LEDs. Toshiba has delivered and installed its latest LED products and fittings and designed the lighting to bring out the intrinsic beauty of the museum. Fittings include high beam-lamps to illuminate the Pyramid and the palace walls.
 
Work on replacing the museum’s old lighting will continue with the remaining facades of the Napoleon Court to be completed in the first half of 2012, and the museums second courtyard to follow in 2013. Toshiba will provide a total of 3,200 LED light fittings to replace 4,500 xenon lighting fittings, and they will cut annual power consumption for the exterior lighting by 73%, from 392,000 to 105,000 watts.
 
The Louvre project signals Toshiba's intention to take its new LEDs lighting system business to the global level. Toshiba aims to secure sales of 350 billion yen in FY2015.

www.toshiba.co.jp

Mr. Gelman was a member of the NY Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESNY) since 1950. He began his career as the Lighting Director of NBC’s Tonight Show with Steve Allen. While working at NBC, he met his future wife, Barbara Savini, a production assistant with the program. The two married in 1957.

In 1958, he left the network to launch his own consulting firm Lighting Services Inc (LSI) which had a motto of “everything in lighting from design to installation". Within a few years, realising that quality lighting equipment was not available in the field, Mr. Gelman changed focus and Lighting Services Inc became a full-fledged specialty manufacturer of accent and display lighting. Mr. Gelman told friends, “From day one we decided we wanted to be the best in the business.”  

When Mr. Gelman walked into a room, the first thing he did was look up at the lights. His passion for lighting ran deep. He thrived in his role as an entrepreneur and innovator in his field, introducing the world to track, accent, and display lighting. 

Mr. Gelman enjoyed describing the start of LSI, “I started the company with $400.”  In the early years of Lighting Services Inc, Mr. Gelman’s accountant called him up and said, “Marv, you’re not really making any money here, maybe you ought to bag-it.”  Astonished at what the accountant said, Mr. Gelman commented: “Bag-it … what? I refused to ‘bag-it’, this is what I wanted to do - lighting. So I changed accountants, I ‘bagged’ them.” 

He often said, “You have to do what you like, otherwise you waste your whole life.”

Installations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Hong Kong Museum of History and Walt Disney Theme Parks are among those lighted with LSI’s fixtures, as are display windows at Tiffany’s, Gucci, Bergdorf Goodman and other luxury retailers.

Born March 27, 1927, in New York, Marvin was the son of the late Jack and Lena Gelman. During World War II, he received training in electrical engineering while serving in the US Navy. After graduating from New York University, he began graduate studies in stage design and lighting at Columbia University.

Mr. Gelman was predeceased by his wife, Barbara Savini Gelman, who died in 1997. He retired from Lighting Services Inc in 2000 after 42 years as founder and President.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Education Trust at the International Association of Lighting Designers.

www.iald.org/trust/DonateHome.asp

The art piece will convert a disused oil silo into a wondrous light display and a civic space. Public will gain access to the vast interior of the 36m diameter 17 metre tall steel silo which will be dark red inside. Sunlight will fill the space with dappled shadows creating a spectacular daytime space.

At night 1280 white LEDs flicker and sway on the surface of the silo controlled by a bespoke software mimicking swarms of birds in flight – a reference to the silo’s seaside location. The prevailing winds, well known to those living in Helsinki, are used to trigger different light patterns in real time.

“The enduring fascination of the complex movement of light and the amazing location by the sea will make this a captivating experience for the visitors and the residents of Helsinki,” says Tapio Rosenius, Director of LDC.

The scheme will be unveiled in October 2012 when the city is celebrating the World Design Capital year. The win crowns a buoyant year for the Madrid and London based LDC following major design commissions in Asia, Europe and Africa.

www.ldcol.com

The city of Valladolid in Spain has been awarded the first prize in the 2011 city.people.light awards, the annual global competition organized by Philips and the Lighting Urban Community International (LUCI) to reward projects which demonstrate the contribution lighting can make to the well-being of those who live, work or visit a city or town.
 
At a ceremony today in Gothenburg, Sweden, Mr. Javier León de la Riva, Mayor of the city of Valladolid, was presented with the city.people.light award in recognition of the city’s ‘Rivers of Light’ project.
 
The Dutch city of Rotterdam and Kanazawa in Japan were named as runners-up in the competition, which attracted a total of 24 entries from municipalities around the world.

The ‘Rivers of Light’ concept by Rafael Gallego and Lara Elbaz of Aureo Lighting in Madrid, connects different areas of the centre of Valladolid, creating a new night vision of the city, which has had a big impact on citizens. Valladolid’s most important historic monuments and squares have been brought to life with light: some dressed in a new, more comfortable and elegant light, whilst others have suddenly emerged from the darkness.
 
“Valladolid shows that lighting has become more than simply a means of ensuring security and visibility: it is now regarded as an essential component of a city’s cultural identity,” comments Marc de Jong, CEO of the Professional Luminaires business within Philips Lighting. “All of this year’s 24 entrants have recognized this and embraced the concept in their projects. Philips congratulates all of them – and especially the prize winners – for demonstrating the contribution lighting can make to create livable cities.”
 
“Valladolid’s entry provided users of the city with symbolism and visual comfort – taking into account energy and economic factors,” says city.people.light awards jury president Anna Shakhparunyants. “The initiative is set out to give both visitors and citizens of Valladolid a wonderful aesthetic touch to their enjoyment of the bustling city centre, where people go to meet their friends, share ‘tapas’, relax in a café terrace, or simply stroll along its streets.”
 
Rotterdam in the Netherlands, received the second prize for Broken Light by Rudolf Teunissen, a project that was selected after a survey of wishes was conducted in the district which included: developers, housing corporations, the local district council, planning engineers and local residents. The project transformed Atjehstraat, a street that until a few years ago was rife with crime, and now has been rejuvenated through light. The project strengthens the bond between the residents of Atjehstraat and the surrounding streets. Atjehstraat has become through this project part of the social and cultural development of the neighborhood and contributes to the area’s economic development through the increased attractiveness of the street.
 
“This lighting project gives visual comfort and brightness to the street, leading to a new sense of pride for the residents. This once forgotten street now attracts people from all over the city to experience the multicultural celebration of light,” comments Shakhparunyants.
 
The Japanese city of Kanazawa had a different mission with its third prize-winning submission to the 2011 city.people.light awards – creating a lighting sequence that represented the history and culture of Kanazawa. The city has been developed as a castle town for 400 years and is known to have a strong historical aspect to its character. The lighting project will expand the visible hours for tourism and enhance the landscaping of tourist areas, which is likely to improve tourism, the economy and the vitality of the city.
 
“The lighting project in Kanazawa represents the image and identity of the city by creating a harmony between the nocturnal lighting scheme of the city of Kanazawa and Kanazawa Castle Park, enabling residents and visitors to share the historical and cultural experience of the city,” says Mrs. Shakhparunyants.
 
The 24 cities that submitted entries for this year’s competition were judged by a five person jury – made up of lighting architects, lighting designers and municipal lighting managers – deliberating over a number of criteria, including how a lighting project adds to the cultural and architectural heritage of a city, its night-time identity and environmental contribution.
 
Now in its ninth year, the city.people.light awards process has become truly global since its inception. With entrants initially being concentrated in Europe, the awards have now become a global competition, with an increasing number of entries coming from cities in emerging economies such as China, Brazil and Russia, as well as elsewhere in Asia and Latin America.
 
The city.people.light awards set out to recognize the efforts cities and towns make to ‘rehumanize’ their environments, applying the medium of light for the well-being of those who live, work, visit or do business in a city or town. Awards are given to cities which best integrate an appreciation of contemporary urban living needs with the notions of ‘city’, ‘people’ and ‘light’ in a consistent lighting strategy.
 
The awards are presided over by an international and independent five-person jury comprised of leading lighting architects, lighting designers and municipal lighting managers. The jury deliberates on a number of criteria, including how a lighting project adds to the cultural, architectural heritage and commercial life of a city, its night-time identity and its environmental contribution.
 
The awards were created by Philips in conjunction with LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International). LUCI is a unique international network bringing together over 65 cities and 36 lighting professionals engaged in using light as a major tool for sustainable urban development. By rewarding and putting forward cities which share this vision of urban lighting the city.people.light award participates in making cities within LUCI - and beyond – progress towards a better use of light.

www.citypeoplelight.com/award

Rajiv has been associated directly with the Havells-Sylvania operations, since 2009 and has been involved with the Havells group for the last 12 years in various capacities. He brings to the role a wealth of company and financial market experience coupled with an international view regarding strategic development.

Making this announcement, Anil Gupta, COO Havells India, Ltd said, “Rajiv’s proven track record in senior management at Havells coupled with his corporate financial expertise puts him in an ideal position to drive growth across our global business. I am delighted to congratulate him on his new position and look forward to achieving even greater heights.”

Rajiv Goel comments: “We are a fiercely ambitious company, currently operating in over 50 countries across the world; and growing consistently despite challenging economic times. This new role provides the opportunity to drive forward the business in terms of taking our award-winning lighting and electrical products to new audiences globally, building on our reputation for quality and expertise across the Havells, Concord, Lumiance and Sylvania brands.”

Havells is currently one of India’s fastest growing electrical and lighting manufacturers. The company expanded from being a one-shop enterprise in 1958 with 10,000 rupees to a multi-national business with over 94 branches and 8000 professionals in 15 countries. With a strong base inIndia, the organisation is on course to realise the vision of being a world-class manufacturer, offering innovative, best-in-class electrical and lighting solutions.

Havells, including the Havells-Sylvania operations, is now a $1.2bn global business.

www.havells-sylvania.com

Paul Coggins, MD of Thorn UK & Ireland, said “The exclusive partnership with Hess widens our product offer to consultants, architects, local authorities and landscape architects. We’re making a significant effort to re-establish ourselves in outdoor products and the addition of the Hess portfolio ensures that Thorn is back in the outdoor market – from functional street lighting to high-end specification. In fact, Hess’ high-quality decorative lighting and premium site furnishings are the perfect complement to Thorn’s product portfolio. It’s a partnership which will make us unique in the UK market.”

Christoph Hess, CEO of the Hess Group, explains “I expect the cooperation to improve Hess' presence significantly in the UK, where Thorn enjoys an excellent reputation and has an extensive sales network that provides municipalities with functional and technical outdoor lighting. This access to the market represents an excellent opportunity.”

The UK Hess team will integrate into the Thorn business, enabling them to contribute their expertise and contacts, whilst the Thorn sales force will also be responsible for Hess products, after extensive product training at Hess HQ in Germany.

Both Thorn and Hess expect steadily increasing growth in the UK and Ireland market. Besides the strong sales organisation and comprehensive product portfolio, the innovative LED solutions for street and architectural lighting are certain to play a significant role in the growth. Hess has been a driving force in the advance of LED technology use in outdoor lighting for years. In 2003, it introduced the world's first code-compliant LED streetlight. Thorn is also very much committed to innovation in its technical lighting, featuring innovative LED street lighting products, such as Dyana LED, StyLED, and the new Indra and Clan luminaires.

Thorn and Hess have successfully cooperated for two years in Germany, where Hess' subsidiary Vulkan markets Thorn's complete outdoor lighting range and Thorn France launched it’s partnership with Hess at Lumiville this year.

www.thornlighting.co.uk

Sutton Vane Associates created the lighting strategy for the park and public realm (PPR) aspects of the Olympics in 2008 as part of the LDA Design.Hargreaves team. Since then it has also worked on a number of PPR-related ‘workstreams’ including the lighting design in the post-Games transformation phase. The practice also designed the seven ‘Memory Masts’ - Halo light columns combined with a wind-turbine head - for the Olympic concourse.

Michael Grubb’s appointment was revealed during a keynote speech at Ecolight, the sustainable lighting conference running in a parallel with the LuxLive exhibition at London’s Earl’s Court.

‘The creation of Legacy Learning Ambassadors shows that the desire to create real benefits that last well beyond next year’s events is sincere and practicable,’ says Grubb. ‘I am honoured to be asked help spread the lessons learnt from such a enormous and complex project to help ensure that others in future are also a success.’

• ODA chairman John Armitt recently launched the London 2012 Learning Legacy website: www.london2012.com/learninglegacy. It contains more than 200 documents representing the first time intellectual capital of this scale has been captured by any Olympic Games or UK construction project, and covers aspects such as promoting biodiversity and restoring the Olympic Park waterways.

Learning Legacy Ambassadors will showcase, within the areas of their expertise, the work of the London 2012 programme, their personal experiences and lessons learned at more than 60 ‘dissemination events’ running from the end of October 2011 and throughout 2012.

www.london2012.com/learninglegacy

Palnikov joined Abacus as Commercial Director in June 2011, before which he headed up Russian offices for the Italian lighting manufacturer SIMES. In his new role he will head Abacus Russia LLC’s two offices, located in St Petersburg and Moscow.


“Abacus’ presence in Russia represents an important staging post for our global ambitions and continued development into Eastern European markets and under Anton’s strong leadership skills, I am confident these ambitions will continue to be realized,” said Andrew Morris-Richardson, Chairman of Abacus Russia LLC.


Abacus designs, manufactures and installs and maintains exterior lighting schemes ranging from road schemes, retail, airports and major sports grounds and has been involved in many high profile lighting projects in Russia. The teams in Petersburg and Moscow are currently working on several construction projects in preparation for the
international APEC summit in Vladivostok in 2012 and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

www.abacuslighting.com

The announcement was made during the Economic Times Acetech exhibition, an event dedicated to the construction industry that took place in Mumbai from November 3 - 6. Aldabra will be there with an exhibition space of 150 sqm.

Aldabra has been one of the success stories of the lighting industry this year, achieving a remarkable 40% increase in its turnover compared to the previous year. And thanks to this investment, the turnover in India is expected to quadruple in 2012.

The company, founded by Aldabra’s CEO Walter Gadda in 2000, is a well-known Italian business that develops and creates lighting systems with LED technology on a worldwide scale with 80% of its total sales being international and 10% coming from India.

Commenting on the launch, Gadda said: “India is a fast-growing industry as far as lighting design is concerned, that’s why Aldabra has focused on establishing tight links within the local network in the last year and a half.”

“The two Indian offices allow the company to provide better technical support to local clients during the entire project life cycle. Moreover, all the architects and lighting designers that are working on important local commissions will be followed directly on the spot by Aldabra, which will help and support the professionals with the utmost care.”
 
Aldabra’s Indian staff consist of 15 employees in Mumbai and New Delhi. Both venues feature Experience Centers, training areas for presentations and workshops for visiting architects and lighting designers.

www.aldabra.it 

Fagerhult is the largest company in the lighting industry in the Nordic Countries with operations in 17 countries. Greenlux will deliver LED luminaries suitable for general lighting to Fagerhult for marketing and sale under the Fagerhult brand name.

The move means Fagerhult can now meet the a growing demand for more energy efficient lighting in applications such as car parks, warehouses and cold storage facilities - areas for which the company has lacked suitable LED luminaires. The first targets for collaboration will include large-scale projects in which the number of units in a single sale, when completed, will be larger than the total number of units produced by Greenlux in three years.

“Our company has exceptional sites as references in realising general lighting with our LED luminaries, but the acceptance of our products among Fagerhult’s models removes the last vestiges of doubt about their functionality and reliability,” says Roope Ropponen, Sales and Marketing Director at Greenlux Finland. “When we take into account Fagerhult’s existing organisation, we can see that the agreement fulfils nearly all our goals for rapid international growth.” 

“Using our own sales organisation, we will achieve about 200% growth in turnover this year, and the belief in at least the same measure of continued rapid growth next year is strong, particularly when our collaboration with Fagerhult really gets underway,” Ropponen says.

www.fagerhult.com
www.greenlux.fi

OSRAM obtained a controlling 51 percent in Traxon, who specialise in applications for the architectural, retail and hospitality segments, in 2009 and operated under the name of 'Traxon Technologies – An OSRAM Company'.

"We are supporting our own development measures with selected acquisitions with a view to systematically expanding our business with LED and light-ing solutions, both technologically and regionally," said Martin Goetzeler, member of the Managing Board of OSRAM AG and Chief Operating Officer.

Headquartered in Hong Kong and in Paderborn, Germany, Traxon Technologies is a leading global supplier of professional LED systems and solutions which include luminaires and lighting control systems. LED solutions for the architecture, hospitality and retail segments are marketed under the brand names of Traxon and e:cue.

Over 4,000 installations and projects around the world, including the Worldwide Plaza in New York and the 'Christ the Redeemer' statue on Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, testify to Traxon's achievements in this field. Traxon operates worldwide in the key markets of Asia, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and North America.

OSRAM recently purchased the European luminaire manufacturer Siteco as well as Encelium – a US software manufacturer for light management systems. The acquisition of the remaining shares in Traxon will further strengthen OSRAM's portfolio, opening up new fields of application and further expanding the company's regional presence.

"Acquiring Traxon is an important step for OSRAM on its way to becoming one of the leading suppliers of LED lighting solutions. With our technology, we provide the right light, in the right amount, at the right place, at the right time" said Klaus-Günter Vennemann, CEO of OSRAM´s General Lighting business unit.

“This is great news for our team, our customers and partners. Being fully part of OSRAM will allow Traxon and e:cue to further strengthen our position in the market for innovative and flexible solid state lighting systems and solutions,” said Nicolai Wiest, CEO of Traxon Technologies.

www.osram.com

Despite previous media reports, it has become clear that XAL did not take over any assets other than Wever & Ducre's intellectual rights (trademarks and design), a Belgian core team for sales, product management and logistics and an Asian production company.

XAL plans to restructure the Wever & Ducré product range by rapidly adopting its latest LED technology and to distribute the new Wever & Ducré product range via its worldwide sales network. The headquarters of Wever & Ducré will stay in Roeselare in Belgium.

Andreas Hierzer, owner of XAL, is happy with the deal: “There is a huge potential of synergies between XAL and Wever & Ducré. We hired great people, got good products, and can pursue our strategy of growth.”

Greenwood will be responsible for leading the commercial organisation across Europe, focusing on increasing the company’s market share and customer base. 

Greenwood rejoins GE from his latest position as Group Sales Director at Dextra Group, one of the largest lighting fixture businesses in the UK. He started his career as a sales representative at City Electrical Factors and later joined Rexel Senate as a Technical Sales Engineer. His experience also includes positions at Marlin Lighting and Cooper Lighting and Security. He first joined GE Consumer and Industrial in 2007, as Sales General Manager for UK & Nordic.

On welcoming Greenwood back to GE, Phil Marshall, President & CEO for GE Lighting EMEA, said: “During the challenging economic climate and with the global lighting industry transformation underway, it is especially important that we maintain our customer focus and constantly improve our services. I am convinced that our high quality product range and Simon's experience and thorough knowledge of the market will help us to further expand our penetration in Europe.”

www.gelighting.com

Philips has announced a cost reduction programme that will include 4,500 job losses. The company announced the results after registering a fall in profits from 11.8 per cent in Q3 2010 to 6.8 per cent in the same quarter 2011, marginally below Q2 2011.

Although lighting grew by a strong 8 per cent, driven by LED sales at 32 per cent, investments in selling and R&D, higher raw material costs, and adverse Lumileds and Consumer Luminaires performance led to a decline in earnings.

The Accelerate! program sees Philips investing in growth, addressing structural change, focusing on execution, reducing overhead costs and adopting a new company culture. It is this programme that includes a cost-savings program that targets EUR 800 million in savings and aims to significantly decrease complexity and overhead costs, while at the same time reinvesting in innovation and customer-facing resources. About 60 per cent of the savings will result in the loss of 4,500 positions, 1,400 of which will be in the Netherlands. The remaining 40 per cent relate to other structural costs.

CEO Frans van Houten said: “Our cost reduction plan of EUR 800 million has now been detailed, and we are in the process of deploying it across the organization as we optimize all overhead and support costs not directly involved in the operational customer value chain. The cost savings program will lead to the loss of approximately 4,500 jobs, which is a regrettable but inevitable step to improve our operating model to become more agile, lean and competitive...

... We are not yet satisfied with our current financial performance given the ongoing economic challenges, especially in Europe, and operational issues and risks. We do not expect to realize a material performance improvement in the near term. Our renewed focus on innovation and customer intimacy, supported by a changing culture that embraces entrepreneurship and accountability, will unlock the full potential of our portfolio and set the stage for profitable growth. We are taking the right steps to achieve our 2013 mid-term financial targets.”

www.philips.com

Zaccour worked for a decade with swedish home furnishing giant IKEA as Director of Lighting business within the EMEA region.

According to Kundalini, Zaccour's broad knowledge and professional experience in terms of best practices and cross-cultural management will be a great asset in driving the company to become an international centre of excellence in the high end segment of contemporary Lighting Design.

www.kundalini.it

Frank joined Martin on October 1st and will oversee project activities in Martin’s southern German, Austrian and Swiss markets. Frank began his career as an electrical engineer and has been working in and around the electrical industry, latest as a key account manager, for more than 20 years.

Leif Orkelbog-Andresen, Business Area Manager for Martin EMEA Projects, commented on the new hire, stating, “Frank possesses a range of professional, qualified skills in working within strategic sales to high profile clients. We are excited to have him on board and are confident his knowledge and experience in project sales will be a great asset to our project sales team.”

www.martin.com

Philips received the award on 6 October during the Global Conference for Social Change: Turning Social Responsibility into Business Opportunity at the UN Plaza. Philips was one of 11 organisations and individuals to be so honoured.

“Philips has long been at the forefront of innovation to boost sustainability, and today we continue to be pioneers in light,” said Zia Eftekhar, CEO, Philips Lighting North America. “We are grateful to receive this prestigious Leader of Change Award. It recognizes our commitment to providing lighting solutions that enhance the health and well-being of humans everywhere while ensuring environmental and economic efficiency.”

Harry Verhaar, Senior Director, Energy & Climate Change, Philips Lighting, and Mr. Eftekhar accepted the award on behalf of Philips Lighting.

The Leader of Change Award recognises visionary companies and individuals that have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to the pursuit of sustainability, demonstrating that “doing good is good for business”. The winners have embedded sustainability, environmental concern and social performance as part of their competitive business strategy.

In 2011, Philips won the U.S. Department of Energy’s L Prize competition, which challenged the lighting industry to develop high-performance, energy-saving replacements for conventional light bulbs that save money for consumers and businesses.

www.lighting.philips.com

A new production building is to be constructed on the existing premises of its Schweizerstraße site at its Dornbirn headquarters by mid-2013. The EUR 20 million investment is linked with the integration of the current raw material and semi-finished product warehouse in Hohenems into the Schweizerstraße site and the transfer of the finished goods warehouse to an external logistics provider.

The decision to invest was motivated by the Zumtobel Group’s global growth strategy initiated by the Management Board in the spring. By 2020, the Group plans to increase production volume at the Dornbirn lighting factory by around 70% – which will include, amongst others, increasing numbers of LED luminaires. In order to achieve this, the production facility, which currently covers an area of 30,000 square metres, is to be enlarged by 30%. The investment will also have a positive impact on jobs. The workforce is expected to expand through the creation of up to 200 new jobs by 2020. As things stand, this increase in headcount is expected to be implemented on a continuous basis and will be dependent on economic development.

“With this investment, Zumtobel AG is making a clear commitment to its headquarters in Dornbirn,” emphasises CEO Harald Sommerer. “We see great potential in the Zumtobel brand for dynamic, global growth. The Dornbirn location has a key role to play in the implementation of this global growth strategy. Despite the fact that we are currently operating in a very uncertain economic environment, we have decided to invest in the necessary structures well in advance. We are, however, convinced that by building on the strengths of the Zumtobel brand as well as the on the growth drivers LED and energy efficiency we can expand our market shares worldwide.”

Plans envisage expansion of the Schweizerstraße premises on the north side (Erlosenstraße entrance) through the addition of a new building covering approximately 10,000 square metres, which will include more than 8,000 square metres of production space. The new hall will be directly connected to the prefabrication hall. The current office wing, already somewhat advanced in years, is to be demolished. The new building will provide 1,600 square metres of office space and will be ready for use by mid-2013.

As part of the investment, Zumtobel will also be pursuing the goal of significantly increasing the efficiency of material supply and production processes. To this end, the current external warehouse in Hohenems for raw materials and semi-finished products will be integrated into the Zumtobel plant in Schweizerstraße. In addition, part of the investment is earmarked for a new automated warehouse for small parts and the adaptation of the current automated pallet warehouse.

The planned growth will also mean huge challenges in the area of distribution logistics. As the current finished goods warehouse at the plant is already operating close to it capacity limits, this warehouse will be transferred to an external logistics provider. The company is currently in the process of holding discussions with various providers and the respective authorities. Zumtobel’s declared aim is to arrive at a solution in the greater Lower Rhine valley area in order to safeguard the jobs of affected employees. This decision will have a positive impact on local residents living close to the plant. It is estimated that the transfer of the finished goods warehouse will mean roughly 120 fewer truck trips through the area on a daily basis.

www.zumtobel.com

Durham Marenghi has accepted the position of curator of The ARC Show, London's dedicated architectural lighting design show taking place at the Business Design Centre on February 29th - March 1st, 2012.

Speaking to mondo*arc, Marenghi commented: “Initially I was invited to speak at The ARC Show by the IALD in 2008 and have been following the progress of the event ever since. I hope to be able to bring focus to an event about lighting design and not just product. Whilst product is of course of fundamental importance I want our event to touch on the more ‘fun’ aspects of our work and hopefully introduce and inspire architects to creative lighting design.”

Marenghi has created the lighting design for a wide variety of theatre, opera, dance, trade, heritage, concert, live event and television productions worldwide including the Winter Olympics and Paralympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Turin 2006 (thus becoming the first British Lighting Designer to have illuminated an Olympic event) and the London 2012 Handover at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Other lighting designs include Dancing On Ice - The Tour; the Royal Opening of London St Pancras Station; the naming ceremonies of the Ventura, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria luxury liners; a lighting extravaganza at The Pyramids in Giza; the 70th Birthday party of the Cinecitta Film Studios in Rome; 'Classical Spectacular' at the Royal Albert Hall London and Arenas in Australia, Switzerland, France, Germany and the United Kingdom; the New Year's Eve Light and Fireworks Show from the London Eye every year since 2004; the tour of 'Diamonds' for Holiday on Ice; the Royal Opening Ceremony of the Aspire Sports Complex in Doha, the inauguration of the Donbass Arena and the 75th Anniversary of Shakhtar FC in the Ukraine and the Opening Ceremony of the new headquarters of the Olympic Council of Asia in Kuwait.

In June 2002 Marenghi designed the lighting for the much acclaimed Her Majesty The Queen's Golden Jubilee Light and Fireworks Extravaganza performed at Buckingham Palace and along the Mall. Durham also specialises in the art of Virtual Lighting Design creating rendered presentation images of architectural and theatre lighting designs in a virtual world.

In 2006 Marenghi received an International Illumination Design Award of Excellence from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America for the interior speciality lighting of the Space Centre, Bremen at that time the largest indoor theme park in Europe.

www.thearcshow.com

A top Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 company and a leader in lighting design, manufacture and installation, Delta Group is also a major energy-saving solutions provider.

Delta is providing Abacus Group with a complete series of LED streetlights with power factor correction, high power efficiency, and an eco-friendly design using more than 90% recyclable components. This partnership brings together two trusted international specialists that are both looking to develop and market a range of technically brilliant and sustainable lighting solutions.

Andrew Morris Richardson, Group Managing Director of Abacus Lighting commented, “The lighting industry is constantly changing, driven by new technologies and a sustainable agenda. Abacus are keen to be part of this dynamic future and we are delighted to be working with world class, leading edge technology specialists Delta Electronics to help us achieve this goal. With their impressive research and development input and LED technology skills our partnership will go from strength to strength.”

Jackie Chang, President and General Manager EMEA of Delta Electronics said, “We are excited to work with Abacus, a company that has great knowledge, credentials and unrivalled access to the UK lighting market. We look forward to supporting Abacus’ existing customers and jointly developing new sustainable lighting products for a better tomorrow.”

www.delta-europe.com

Following a period of consultation with their members, both the LA and LIF held Extraordinary General Meetings on September 29th where a majority of members of both organisations voted to proceed with the merger of the two organisations.

It is expected that the new organisation, to be known as The Lighting Industry Association, will be incorporated early in 2012.

Rune Marki of MD of OSRAM UK and LIF President, commented: “LIF members believe  that the merging of operations of LIF and LA into one new expanded Association will be  beneficial to  the Members and the market generally, both in terms of better representation of the Industry and the provision of services to members, during a period of rapid technological change for the industry.”

Jonathan Lucas, MD of Elstead Lighting and President of the LA, said: “A great deal of work has gone into the proposal to merge during the course of this year and I am delighted that the members have voted in favour. A single stronger Association will better equip the whole industry for the challenges that we are facing in a rapidly changing business environment.”

www.lightingassociation.com

www.lif.co.uk

The deal accelerates Nualight’s expansion into the accent lighting market for food retail, an early-stage market which is predicted to grow rapidly as food retailers around the world continue to transition to energy-efficient LED lighting.
 
Nualight is already recognised as a pioneer in LED lighting for refrigerated displays in food retail. In recent years, leading global food retailers including Walmart, Tesco, Kroger and Supervalu have replaced fluorescent lighting with LED in their frozen food displays, yielding energy savings of up to 70%. Nualight’s customers include Tesco, Migros, Sainsburys, The Co-operative Group, Tengelmann, Stop and Shop and Carrefour.
 
Coupled with its existing refrigerated display lighting business, the acquisition allows Nualight to target a significantly larger combined market which is predicted to reach an estimated annual size of €1bn circa 2016.
 
Accent lighting – typically spotlights that are used to accentuate high-margin fresh food displays such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and salads – is expected to be the next opportunity for LED technology in food retail. Nualight’s LED accent lighting solutions are proven to save up to 40% on energy when compared with incumbent equivalent HID lighting at comparable cost. LED lighting also brings significant benefits in terms of the brightness, accentuation and colour-rendering of food displays, all vital attributes for retailers who want to make their displays as visually attractive as possible to showcase the quality of their food.
 
The acquisition, valued at just under €11m, provides Nualight with an instantly expanded LED accent lighting portfolio and complementary expertise in accent lighting technology.
 
Lumoluce, based near Amsterdam, also offers Nualight attractive growth opportunities in four additional markets: high-end retail, infrastructure, commercial lighting and drivers.
 
Dr Liam Kelly, CEO of Nualight, said the transaction is the latest move in his company’s drive to expand its reach and capabilities.  “Food retailers today are very focused on deploying new technologies to make their business models as sustainable as possible.  In terms of price and performance, LED technology is fast approaching the tipping point for accent lighting in food retail.  Through this acquisition, Nualight has acquired a portfolio of products and excellent technology expertise that allows us to move very quickly into accent lighting for food retail and doubles the speed at which we can bring new products to market.  It also offers us instant entry into complementary market sectors. We have high growth targets and expect to maintain and build leadership positions in our niche sectors.”
 
Gerard Kroone, current CEO of Lumoluce, who will remain in the company and joins the Nualight Board, said: “Lumoluce has established a strong track record in lighting technology since its inception over 30 years ago.  In recent years we have developed a particular expertise in LED technology which is underpinned by innovation and application-specific lighting solutions, just like Nualight.  This deal will create a combined company with an enhanced expertise, responsiveness and reach that will create new and exciting market opportunities.”
 
Nualight is the only LED lighting company in the world that specialises exclusively in lighting of food retail displays. Led by Dr. Liam Kelly, a leading authority in LED lighting, Nualight is chaired by Eamonn Quinn (formerly of the Superquinn chain). This unique combination of LED innovation, speed to market and applications expertise makes Nualight a powerful partner for retailers who wish to drive footfall to their food displays while delivering on their sustainability agenda. The acquisition was funded partly in Nualight shares and partly with an equity issuance led by existing shareholders Climate Change Capital Private Equity and ESB Novusmodus.

www.nualight.com

As the 60 watt lightbulb is phased out of use, 'Lighting the Future' exhibition in MOSI’s (Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester) Electricity gallery looks at the history of the electric light bulb, from the earliest public lights known as arc lamps in the 1880s and the ubiquitous incandescent General Light Service lamp, through to energy efficient LEDs. Examples include the award-winning Hulger Plumen curly lamp, the ACDC Storm Devil that uses an LED board with spiky fins to minimise waste, and the beautiful glowing Norlight bubble that uses colour-changing LEDs.
 
The exhibition, which was developed by Dwelle and the lighting designers of Troup, Bywaters and Anders in association with MOSI, shows the shape of lamps to come and demonstrates the significant energy savings over a conventional light bulb.
 
Nick Meddows, Lighting Designer at TB+A, said: “Lighting technology is constantly developing and now that the inefficient standard 60W bulb is no longer produced here in the UK, other lamp technologies such as LEDs will become common place in our everyday environments. It’s no longer the case that energy efficient lighting should be associated with poor light quality and unattractive luminaires and this exhibition  hopes to demonstrate just that.”
 
Exhibition Designer Ric Frankland of Dwelle said: “While many of the lamps on display are currently mainly used in commercial venues, we expect them to become increasingly attractive for personal use too. Around a fifth of all electrical use is on lighting and this rises to 40% in non-residential electrical usage. This could be more than halved if energy efficient bulbs were used throughout.”
 
MOSI Energy Curator John Beckerson said: “In the late 19th century the light bulb transformed peoples’ lives and continues to be perhaps the single most important electrical item in modern living. This inspiring exhibition is the latest update for our Electricity Gallery and is part of a wider drive at MOSI to encourage sustainable and environmental technology and recycling.”

www.mosi.org.uk

Artichoke, producers of extraordinary events, today announced the first details of LUMIERE 2011, the world-class biennial festival that celebrates artists working with light in all its forms. Over four nights, 17-20 November 2011, Durham residents and visitors will rediscover a city transformed into a magical nocturnal landscape. Artichoke has been commissioned to deliver the festival by Durham County Council, with funds from Arts Council England and a panoply of other funding bodies and sponsors. LUMIERE is the largest light festival in the UK focusing on works created by artists.

In 2009, the inaugural LUMIERE festival drew an estimated 75,000 people into the city, and generated some £1.5million for the local economy. For LUMIERE 2011, festival producers Artichoke will bring together a beguiling mix of international, national and local artists and designers, all using the medium of light to create artworks to delight, surprise, and stop people in their tracks. Over 30 artworks will be situated all over the city, and the Festival will include a programme of talks, lectures and lighting demonstrations.

Participating artists include Cedric Le Bourgne, Tracey Emin and David Batchelor. French artist Le Bourgne creates eerily-lit sculptures in human form that will be seated on top of buildings and hang suspended in the air as if in flight. The Festival will open with a lantern parade through the streets of the medieval city created by Jo Pocock and her Liverpool Lantern Company in collaboration with 200 schoolchildren from all over County Durham.

Back by popular demand will be Ross Ashton's Crown of Light, originally commissioned as the centrepiece for LUMIERE 2009. The piece, a huge projection that transformed the entire 120m span of Durham Cathedral into a vast animated screen, brings together the illuminated manuscripts of the Lindisfarne Gospels with ancient stained glass and artifacts from inside the Cathedral itself. The 12-minute animation is accompanied by a sound installation by Robert Ziegler and John Del' Nero.

The festival includes four pieces created by artists from the North East as part of Brilliant, an initiative funded by the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative and Northern Rock. The successful four projects were chosen from over sixty proposals and include a piece by local artists Bethan Maddocks and Verity Quinn that will be created in collaboration with mining communities to recreate traditional pit banners using fibre-optic thread; local builder Mick Stephenson; Dan Ziglam and Elliot Brook of product design agency, Deadgood; and The Global Curiosity Group, a collective led by lecturer Paul Goodfellow, based at Northumbria University.

Science and art will be a theme for this year's festival, as three European artists each team up with a scientist to explore the scientific and aesthetic aspects of light. The collaborations are part of Lux Scientia, a major three-way trans-European artistic collaboration with light festivals in the medieval cities of Torun, Poland and Tallinn, Estonia funded by the European Commission's Culture Fund. Three artists -- one from each country -- have each been commissioned to work with a scientist and create a work of art for the three festivals. Simeon Nelson (UK) is concerned with describing the interaction between mankind and nature through light sculpture. Dominik Lejman (Poland) experiments with 'urban light-painting'; and Leonardo Meigas (Estonia) will explore the scientific phenomenon of the Hartmann Grid.

The new website, launched today, has been built by ID Media and will become a rich, interactive resource, boasting video, audio as well as a mobile version sponsored by Visit County Durham. The full festival programme will be revealed later this Autumn.

Simon Henig, Leader of Durham County Council said, "At LUMIERE 2009, we saw not only how culture can bring people together but, just as importantly, how events like this can benefit the local economy. And as the countdown to LUMIERE 2011 begins, it is exciting to hear more about how Durham will be transformed by this year's event. I am sure LUMIERE 2011 will further cement Durham's position as a major cultural destination."

Alison Clark-Jenkins, Regional Director, Arts Council England said, "Our support for LUMIERE through our Grants for the arts scheme, will, together with other sponsors and funders bring this exciting event to the north east. The cultural aspirations and ambitions of Durham are reflected in the return of LUMIERE, and will give more people the opportunity to experience great art."

Helen Marriage, co-director of Artichoke and programmer of the festival said: "The hardest part of this job is choosing what to include. There are so many wonderful ideas, from the simplest intervention to the most startling possibilities, and it is a privilege to be able to present the work of so many extraordinary artists who have responded to the beauty of the city and the landscape in which it sits. The full programme will be announced nearer the time, and will include some breathtaking large-scale works."

www.lumieredurham.co.uk

An industry partnership of the UK's largest WEEE producer compliance schemes and reprocessors, ‘WEEE Connect’ aims to increase public awareness of the need to recycle WEEE.
 
The campaign includes a TV advert which is set to be aired nationally before and after Christmas. It shows how WEEE diverted from landfill is sent for recycling and seeks to encourage householders not to dispose of old electrical equipment in their residual waste, but to instead take it to their nearest recycling centre.
 
Viewers will see how their waste electronics are sent for reprocessing and recycling, eventually contributing components to new products. They are advised to use WRAP's Recycle Now site to find their nearest recycling centre.
 
Recolight will be joining a number of other recycling/waste compliance schemes and companies, all united in the challenge to educate the public about recycling WEEE properly.
 
Nigel Harvey, Recolight’s Chief Executive, said: “Raising public awareness of WEEE as a waste stream is vital. Most people are unaware of the need to recycle WEEE; for example our own research shows that only 18 per cent know that low-energy light bulbs need to be recycled through specialised recycling facilities.
 
“On a more positive note, research also shows that most people will recycle if they know they should, and if it is easy to do so. Whilst consumers might make a special trip to their local HWRC with an old television or fridge, when it comes to small WEEE (such as toasters, hair dryers and low-energy light bulbs) it is important to increase awareness of the need to recycle these items to stop them going to landfill.
 
In the next three to five years we expect large quantities of low-energy light bulbs to start reaching end-of-life. It is therefore essential that we raise awareness now of the importance of recycling these bulbs so that they don’t end up in landfill.”
 
Recolight is already working hard to foster greater awareness amongst consumers. It has established a number of partnerships with local authorities and retailers, such as Sainsbury’s, Homebase and Robert Dyas, to provide more facilities for consumers to recycle their old bulbs, making it easier and more convenient to do so.

www.recolight.co.uk

With floor space of 22,000 sqft, the new factory has the advantage of being very close to the company’s previous location, so that disruption has been kept to a minimum during the move. The building is equipped to the highest standard and the co-location of commercial and manufacturing operations is designed to further streamline operations and enhance Profile's ability to respond quickly and efficiently to customers nationwide.

Managing Director Tony Philpot commented: “This is a landmark event in the development of our company. Streamlining operations will generate efficiencies that directly benefit our customers. It will also help us to focus on the development of new and innovative lighting systems to meet the demands of the future.”

Founded in 1988, Profile Lighting has grown to establish itself as a leading supplier of standard and specialist lighting equipment. Working with end clients, consultants, architects and contractors in a broad range of market sectors, Profile has a team of experts with vast experience in product design and manufacture. Accredited to ISO 9001 Profile is a member of The Lighting Industry Federation and Electrolink.

www.profile-lighting.co.uk

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF - Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) played an important role with its OLED 2015 initiative. The purpose of OLED 2015 is to push the development of organic electronics forward.

“Today Regensburg is sending out an important message for the hightech location of Germany and the safeguarding of high-quality jobs,” said Wolfgang Dehen, chairman of the Managing Board of OSRAM AG. “The inauguration of this OLED production plant in Regensburg proves Germany's leading position in the introduction of this future technology,” said the German Federal Minister for Education and Research, Annette Schavan. “This is also a success for our innovation policy and good news for consumers.”

Over the course of one year, OSRAM has invested approximately 20 million euros in building up the production site. Currently it employs more than 220 people at its Regensburg West location. The new pilot production line enables OSRAM to manufacture transparent OLED-panels, to double the brightness of the OLEDs and to further strengthen durability and efficiency. In the last stage of expansion the manufacturing costs are expected to decline by 90 percent.

“Two years ago, we were the first company to offer serial OLED-products on the market. The new production is a major leap on the way to widespread use,” Martin Goetzeler, Member of the Managing
Board and Chief Operating Officer of OSRAM AG, stated.

OSRAM is the only company with production sites for both LED and OLED in Europe. Today, two thirds of OSRAM’s investments in research and development are made in the field of LED and OLED. In the past five years OSRAM has invested approximately 50 million euros in research and development of OLED. As with the light diode, OSRAM also covers all integration steps with regard to OLED. The portfolio includes OLED panels and modules as well as complete luminaires.

www.osram.com

Celebrating its 40th Anniversary, BULBRITE held a special event for customers, sales representatives and vendors at the company's headquarters in New Jersey on July 22nd. Guests were then taken on a private tour of the Thomas Edison Laboratory Complex in West Orange, New Jersey. Known as the “father of inventionˮ, Edison earned 1,093 United States patents (averaging a patent every two weeks during his working life).  He invented the first durable light bulb (40 hours), an electricity distribution system, a phonograph, a motion picture camera, a fluoroscope for x-rays, and a multitude of other innovations.

BULBRITE is a family owned business manufacturing energy-efficient light source solutions. Most recently Bulbrite President Cathy Choi received the 2010 Residential Lighting Industry Leadership Award and the Bulbrite Swytch LED Desk Lamp received the 2010 Home Furnishing News Award of Excellence.

The company has introduced many innovative and design award-winning products, including its exclusive KX-2000®, Dark Sky, Purify 02, and Halogen R111 GU10, as well as ADEX award-winning GU24 Twist & Lock lamps, the 2012 EISA-compliant Halogen A19 and TURBO LEDs.  BULBRITE offers an extensive line of light bulbs and lamping options including LEDs, HID, Compact Fluorescents, Fluorescents, Halogens, Krypton/Xenon, Incandescents, and a broad range of specialty lamps.

To help lighting professionals better understand the latest technology and developments, BULBRITE hosts a broad range of webinars, product training and seminars on light bulbs, LEDs and sustainable lamping options.  BULBRITE is an active member of the American Lighting Association, a Silver Sustaining member of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), an Energy Star Partner, a Lighting Facts LED Product Partner and a Member of the International Dark Sky Association.

www.Bulbrite.com

The addition of Foster to the executive management team is a continuation of the Company's organizational development strategy, which is intended to augment and streamline customer account management, coordinate sales coverage, promote customer retention, and uncover new sales opportunities.

In this new capacity Foster is charged with developing and implementing strategic initiatives to increase revenues and market share throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years experience in high technology sales with an emphasis on driving and growing the direct and indirect sales teams along with revenue at high tech start-ups. Prior to Xicato, he was with Gigle Networks where he built and managed the worldwide sales team including a network of independent sales representatives and distributors. Gigle was acquired in December 2010 by Broadcom Corporation. Prior to that Foster was vice president of sales at DisplayLink where he gained key customers at top tier display and PC OEMs. He was vice president of worldwide sales for Atheros Communications, Inc., where he was instrumental in leading the company to a successful IPO.

Foster has also held executive management positions at Hyundai Electronics America, Compression Labs and IBM/ROLM. 


"Tom will provide leadership and strategic direction as we continue our growth into new markets and our focus on delivering to our customers the highest level of products and customer service in the industry," said Menko de Roos, Xicato’s CEO.

"It's very exciting to have joined Xicato at a time when the company is uniquely positioned for unprecedented growth," said Foster. "This is an exceptional chance for me to leverage my experience in building global sales teams and growing the Company’s market share. I am committed to identifying growth opportunities, building awareness of the Xicato name and helping the company achieve its growth objectives." 


www.xicato.com

Aurora’s focus on energy efficient lighting lead them to purchase the sphere in order to accurately measure the total light output of their LED light sources.

The significant investment by Aurora is now displayed pride-of-place within their LightLab at the company’s Apex Park facility in Welwyn Garden City.  The two-meter-diameter integrating sphere is equipped with a Labsphere spectroradiometer providing precise performance data, more accurate than that of a traditional photometer. The system reports lumen output, colour temperature, colour rendering index, chromaticity and binning accuracy.

The refurbished facility, known as Alex 2.0, is designed to immerse visitors in an environment where they can experience the difference between halogen, CFL and LED light sources as well illustrating the colour temperature of the different sources.

Pro-Lite provides test solutions for the UK lighting industry, offering manufacturers the opportunity to verify the efficiency of their luminaires, helping to ensure they go to market with trusted, reliable products.

www.pro-lite.co.uk
www.aurora.eu.com

Nixon joined Gamma Illumination in 2007 before which he was a Design Manager at domestic appliance manufacturer Dyson. “I thoroughly enjoy working at Gamma Illumination,” he comments. “ It is a forward thinking company that continually brings innovative products to market and ensures the client gets the best lighting solution for their application, on time and on budget.  I was delighted when I was offered the position of Design and Development Director and I look forward to leading the Design and Development team with future product introductions.”
 
Craig Marney, Managing Director at Gamma Illumination, comments  “We are delighted to announce Andrew’s promotion.  He’s been a key player in the recent developments at Gamma Illumination and will continue to be the driving force behind the new product development schedule.  We wish him all the very best in his new role.”



www.gamma-uk.com

Topanga Technologies, a manufacturer of energy-efficient solid-state plasma lighting, has appointed Richard Craig as Chief Executive Officer.  Dr. Craig is a leader in the photonics and semiconductor field with a track record of building value in technology-based companies. With 25 years of experience developing photonic innovations as a scientist and engineer, and manager, Dr. Craig is known for bringing new technologies to market.

“Rich brings a deep engineering background to Topanga, which combined with his experience commercializing emerging technologies will help establish a streamlined mass manufacturing process that will strengthen the market adoption of Advanced Plasma Lighting,” said Mehran Matloubian, Topanga’s Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer.

Dr. Craig joins Topanga from Santa Clara University and San Jose State University where he was teaching physics. Previously he was the CEO of Kaai, Inc., and COO of Soraa, Inc., both Gallium Nitride based start-ups founded by Shuji Nakamura and funded by Khosla Ventures. He previously served as CEO of Santur Inc., and has held various engineering and management positions at Hughes Research Labs, SDL, Inc. and JDSU.  Dr. Craig has a PhD in Quantum Electronics from UCLA. Dr. Craig assumes his role as CEO immediately and will also serve as a Topanga Technologies board member.

www.topangatech.com

Maida moves from NDYLIGHT where she had responsibility for the design direction, management and business development at its London office. She has worked on a variety of projects including the award winning Brighton Library, Monsoon HQ in London and lighting masterplans for Manchester and London.

Maida started in her new role on August 2nd. “Together with Mark Hensman, as Senior Director, we are very much looking forward to elevating the place of lighting design consultancy in the design and construction industry,” she comments.

www.giaequation.co.uk

The acquisition is part of Cree’s drive to accelerate the global adoption of energy-efficient LED lighting products. Ruud Lighting will become a wholly-owned subsidiary and will continue to offer its current brands and product lines from Racine, Wisconsin, USA, as part of the Cree lighting business.

Ruud Lighting is a manufacturer and worldwide marketer of industrial, commercial and residential lighting fixtures, and manufacturer of BetaLED outdoor LED lighting products. Since 1982, divisions of Ruud Lighting have developed, manufactured and sold a range of products through various channels in locations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Mexico, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.



Ruud Lighting offers a line of traditional HID and fluorescent products for general illumination in a variety of outdoor and indoor applications. BetaLED offers a line of LED outdoor and industrial products and a growing line of LED indoor products.

Approximately 800 Ruud Lighting employees worldwide will become employees of Cree. The combined company will be known as Cree. The BetaLED and Ruud Lighting products and operations will continue as before, and customers will also continue to work with the same sales managers and customer service representatives that they have worked with in the past. 


www.betaled.com
www.ruudlighting.com
www.cree.com