Vulkan to market Thorn outdoor lighting products

Vulkan to handle sale of Thorn outdoor lighting products in Germany

Dornbirn, Austria / Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, 22 June 2009  - Vulkan Außenleuchten GmbH, part of the Hess Group of Germany since 2007, and Thorn Licht Ges.m.b.H., part of the Zumtobel Group of Austria, have agreed a long-term sales partnership for Thorn outdoor lighting products in Germany. In line with this agreement, with immediate effect, Vulkan, who specialise in technical and decorative road lighting, will handle sales of Thorn products in the German market on an exclusive basis. The products in question make up a well-rounded assortment of innovative and energy-efficient outdoor luminaires. The portfolio is centred on technical road-lighting lanterns such as Oracle, Civic and Celest, as well as decorative lanterns such as Avenue, Legend and Plurio. Vulkan will also be adding LED-based architectural floodlighting, sports floodlighting and urban amenity lighting products from Thorn to its sales range. Marketing will be handled by the Thorn brand, supported by Thorn Licht Ges.m.b.H. in Vienna.
"As we see it, this sales partnership with Vulkan provides an excellent basis on which to exploit the potential of the German road lighting market for our Thorn brand," said Zumtobel Group CEO Andreas Ludwig. "Particularly in the field of outdoor lighting, the market has a lot of ground to make up in terms of the innovative technology now offered by energy-saving luminaires. The current wave of investment by local authorities in the modernisation of infrastructure - to help revitalise the economy during the current crisis - is sure to generate additional demand in the field of municipal outdoor lighting."
Christoph Hess, the CEO of the Hess Group and Managing Director of Vulkan, also agreed that the sales partnership with Thorn offers great potential: "Thorn is beyond doubt one of the best luminaire manufacturers in the world and a brand with an exceptionally well assorted portfolio. For our part, Vulkan has been an established player in the German market for decades now and has everything it takes to forge a successful future with the Thorn brand."
The sales partnership between Vulkan and Thorn also represents the next step in the longstanding successful cooperation of the two parent companies: for eleven years now, Zumtobel, a specialist for integrated indoor lighting solutions, has also been offering Hess outdoor luminaires to complement its own portfolio in Switzerland. Sales of Thorn's indoor lighting products are not affected by the new sales partnership and sales of Thorn indoor luminaires in Germany will continue to be handled by TL-Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG, in Wickede.
Left: Thorn Oracle, High performance street and road lighting in a timeless design Middle: Thorn Plurio lanterns, especially designed for urban and residential spaces Right: Thorn Contrast LED floodlight
About the Zumtobel Group
The Zumtobel Group, based in Dornbirn in the Vorarlberg region of Austria, is one of the few global players in the lighting industry. The Group, which started life as Elektrogeräte und Kunstharzpresswerk W. Zumtobel KG in 1950, today employs a workforce of some 7,500 and in the 2007/08 financial year posted consolidated revenues of EUR 1,282.3 million. Under the leadership of its Management Board of Andreas J. Ludwig (CEO) and Thomas Spitzenpfeil (CFO), the Group is made up of the following divisions: the Zumtobel Lighting Division deals with the luminaire business and comprises the Thorn and Zumtobel brands. The Zumtobel Components Division with its TridonicAtco brand handles the lighting components business, while the Zumtobel LED Division supports the LED activities of the other Group brands, as well as opening up new customer segments through the Ledon brand. The financial year of the Zumtobel Group commences on 1 May and ends on 30 April. For further information, please visit www.zumtobelgroup.com  and www.thornlighting.com  
About the Hess Group / Vulkan
The Hess Group ranks among the leading international manufacturers of designer outdoor luminaires. With a broad-based luminaire portfolio, the company can meet all requirements for lighting design for urban spaces, as well as indoor and outdoor architectural lighting. Hess employs a worldwide workforce of 400 people and in 2008 posted operating revenues of EUR 53 million, while consolidated revenues totalled EUR 75 million. In Germany, the Group is represented by three companies: Hess Form + Licht, Vulkan Außenleuchten GmbH and Lehner WerkMetall, each operating autonomously in the marketplace. In addition to luminaires, the Hess Group manufactures urban furniture, making it one of the few manufacturers to offer integrated design solutions for urban and public spaces. Vulkan Außenleuchten GmbH is one of the oldest luminaire companies in Germany, with a total of some five million luminaires currently in operation. Nationwide sales activities in Germany are handled by ten field sales staff and coordinated from headquarters in Hanover. The company maintains longstanding connections to the major energy suppliers and local utilities. Head of Sales Mario Schacht, a member of the Vulkan Board of Management, is responsible for the successful introduction of Thorn products in Germany. For further information, please visit www.hess.eu  and www.vulkan.eu  
Download Vulkan Thorn PDF (PDF, 247.93 KB)
Contact person in the company:
Hess AG
Peter Geilen
Tel: 0 7721/920-0
Fax: 07721/920-250
pr@hess.eu
www.hess.eu
Contact for press:
CC Communications GmbH
Dr. Stefanie Haug-Grimm 
Plettenbergstraße 15 
70186 Stuttgart
Tel: 0711/48 06 4-16
haug@cc-communications.de
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