EUROPEAN GLOW
Does that still exist? Lights that are produced 100 percent in Europe? The answer is simple: no. Asian technology companies are too good at producing circuit boards and LEDs quickly, in large quantities, to a high quality and at a good price. But light is not just about technology. The traditional European lighting industry has been able to retain its core competencies: developing the overall concept of a luminaire, designing the luminaire body and manufacturing it in high quality and from selected materials. Although countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan are indispensable suppliers, lighting quality remains a European asset.
Text: Katrin Brücker-Pfeifer
Some examples from the MAGAZIN range, from long-established family businesses with a wealth of knowledge to start-ups with vision.
Brilliant lighting systems from Germany
The lighting manufacturer mawa from Brandenburg supplies high-tech products for professional lighting design: the small, light-enthusiastic crew is an indispensable part of museum, retail and hospitality lighting and has been producing lighting solutions in a clear design language and using selected materials since 1977. In Seddiner See near Potsdam, mawa operates a unique mixture of design studio and manufactory. Here, planning, development and production go hand in hand.
French custom-made products
The French manufacturer Sammode originally specialized in lighting solutions that are used wherever it is too hot, too cold, too dusty, too wet or even explosive for conventional luminaires - in industrial plants, laboratories, cold rooms, outdoor areas, museums and libraries. Because the aesthetics of the tubular luminaires have aroused the interest of architects, the company has also been making a name for itself in the residential sector for several years. To this day, all products are manufactured in Châtillon-sur-Saône in the Vosges, where the company was founded in 1927 as the "Société d'Application des Méthodes Modernes d'Éclairage électrique".
Northern lights made of porcelain
Ifö Electric in Bromölla in southern Sweden has been known for its porcelain products for over 100 years. What began in 1919 with the production of electrotechnical porcelain continued from 1934 as Ifö Electric: the company became an important part of Swedish industrial history with porcelain fuses and lights. The company's classic products have been in continuous production for decades and can still be found in numerous private households and public spaces today. Production still takes place in the company's own factory in Bromölla.
Spanish individualists
The young Spanish company GOFI was founded in 2018 with the idea of developing individual lighting solutions for various architectural and interior design tasks. For example, the team around the two founders and designers Álvaro Goula and Pablo Figuera designed the FA floor lamp especially for an exhibition at the Barcelona Opera. In collaboration with local craftsmen and using regionally sourced materials, the young visionaries design and produce their products exclusively in Barcelona and the surrounding area. A real added value for the region.
Images: Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Joachim Grothus, David Foessel, Kauppi & Kauppi, Goula Figuera Studio
Discover more products
Bright red is only available from us: MAGAZIN regularly launches well-known and tried-and-tested products in exclusive special editions. Because whether it's a coat rack, chair or pillbox, good design can sometimes be special.
When surgeons hang their surgical shoes on the hook after their work is done, it is not uncommon for them to come from Coesfeld: for 155 years, Hupfer Metallwerke's products have been ensuring smooth processes in places where cleanliness is paramount.
Langlebig und gut gestaltet: Das Geschirr von Schönwald aus Oberfranken ist eigentlich den Profis aus Gastronomie und Hotellerie vorbehalten. Doch für MAGAZIN macht der traditionsreiche Hersteller eine Ausnahme.
