INNOVATIVE INSPIRING AND
2 | Concept Lighting Architecture INNOVATIVE INSPIRING AND Concept Lighting Architecture is one of the leading forces in the New Zealand lighting industry. Since 1975, they have been locally manufacturing quality luminaires. As incandescent light sources advanced to halogen, fluorescent, and now LED, Concept Lighting has evolved with the technology and expanded to the industry forerunner they are today. “We’re the fastest growing manufacturer of luminaires in New Zealand,” says Leon Baard, General Manager. “We consistently endeavour to inspire our customers to achieve more than they have before. We help them use light in new and varied ways and achieve designs they may not have thought possible.” Today, Concept Lighting works alongside engineers, architects, designers and other invested parties. They provide design support services and technical expertise on a vast array of projects. From heritage refurbishments to hyper-modern
Concept Lighting Architecture | 3 green revolution developments, Concept Lighting leads the way in providing locally manufactured lighting solutions. FOCUSED AND FLEXIBLE Concept Lighting first opened in Grafton, Auckland in 1975.The company was founded by Geoff Maunsell, a longstanding member of the lighting industry in New Zealand and one of the first in the country to establish a large-scale light manufacturing operation. Soon after, however, cheap Chinese imports gained prominence in the market, forcing New Zealand’s entire manufacturing base to evolve in order to remain competitive. Concept Lighting met the challenge of competing with imports by turning their attention to the specification market, where their advanced technical skills and flexibility are highly valued. Today, they only work in that market. They avoid residential work except for occasional
4 | Concept Lighting Architecture projects that come through one of their architect clients, and they stay away from most industrial work as well. “Because of that focus, we are able to respond to the market very quickly and with the right type of product,” says Baard. “Most of what we produce is made to order for a specific project, designed by a specification engineer. There’s no way the larger Chinese companies can keep up with that kind of flexibility and service.” Baard credits the ongoing success of Concept Lighting to their flexibility – as well as the strength of the company’s partnerships. “We work with people that are on the cutting edge of developing the new generation of light fittings in our market,” he explains. “We’ve fed off of the technical developments they have produced over time, and vice versa. We’ve been able to seed them business and technical input as well.” Over the years, Concept Lighting has worked closely with suppliers such as Alanod, Ullrich Aluminium, Tridonic, Vossloh Schwabe, Alux-Luxar, BjB and York Plastics – all leaders in their respective fields. “We demand a high tolerance product, and we don’t have room for mistakes when it comes to extrusions,” Baard says. “The margin for error is quite low. Aluminium is very soft and needs to be handled very carefully, so we need to be sure our suppliers have the same high of standards as us.” “We’ve developed some very strong relationships with those that have stayed with us,” he adds. “Our clients trust us to deliver only the highest quality product, and we trust our suppliers to deliver the components to do it.” Carterton Events Centre NZ
Concept Lighting Architecture | 5 Leon Baard (General Manager), Emmet McAteer (Upper North Island Sales Manager), Chris Steele (Operations Manager).
6 | Concept Lighting Architecture Carterton Events Centre Claudelands
Concept Lighting Architecture | 7 A HISTORY OF QUALITY Concept Lighting also enjoys very close relationships with their clients – most of whom they have been working with for many years. “We have a history with them, and we have a history of delivering quality projects,” Baard says. “And when there’s a problem, we make sure we go back and sort it out. Our clients know that modern buildings are complex, and that issues arise – it’s whether they get sorted out or not that matters. We’ve gained a reputation for being part of a team that gets a good result in the end.” Concept Lighting’s reputation for reliability is particularly valuable in an age of shoddy imports, Baard explains. “There are many companies that bring container loads of inexpensive goods from Asian markets. They arrive here, they get dispatched, and no one takes responsibility for them afterwards. Clients quickly learn that that’s not cost-effective in the end.” In addition to being reliable, Concept Lighting’s service is also comprehensive. They offer a fully-involved design process to their customers, starting with initial meetings between the client, architects and engineers. Then – as a result of their many years of experience – they are able to quickly customise or develop luminaires to meet a project brief. Those abilities are also invaluable when it comes to engendering client loyalty, Baard says. Finally, when it comes to their positive customer relationships, Baard also gives credit to the strength of the company’s sales team. “We have one of the most experienced sales forces in New Carterton Events Centre
8 | Concept Lighting Architecture
Concept Lighting Architecture | 9 Zealand in the specification lighting industry,” he says. “They’re a top team – they are actually one of the reasons I joined the company.” MEETING CHALLENGES Over the years, Concept Lighting has applied their skills to a plethora of landmark projects in New Zealand. In a recent example, they completed the Geyser office building in Auckland – the first building in the country to be awarded a 6-Star Green Star rating. The engineering consultant on that project was eCubed Building Workshop, another company Concept Lighting enjoys a longstanding partnership with. “That’s a landmark building inmany ways,” Baard says of the Geyser project. “And it’s a standout building from a lighting point of view because of the extremely tough brief by the architect and engineers. It turned out to be an extremely challenging job, but we pulled it off.” Overcoming challenges is a specialty of Concept Lighting. In 2011, they also completed a difficult project at Jellicoe Street, on the Auckland harbour front. For that project, Concept Lighting was asked to take a standard luminaire design and incorporate the latest DALI addressable Phillips Cosmopolis control gear into them, along with extra cable entries and other site-specific modifications. Additionally, they had to incorporate a stainless steel LED in-ground luminaire in between the existing disused railway tracks – and it all had to be built to withstand the trucks and fishing equipment that still used the wharf. “The project was operating on a very tight time frame with completion,” Baard says. “As part of the brief, it needed to be finished before the Rugby World Cup proceedings. It is unlikely any imported product would have been able to undergo such a fast R&D, testing, approval and fabrication process.” GROWING STRONGER Since changing ownership in 2008, Concept
10 | Concept Lighting Architecture
Concept Lighting Architecture | 11 Lighting’s growth has been strong and steady, despite the challenging economic climate. In the past four years, they have established a Wellington office in order to better service their lower North Island customers, as well as a new Concept Manufacturing Plant in Auckland so they could further grow their New Zealand-made product range. Moving forward, Baard sees the company’s growth continuing. The next step, he says, is strengthening their offering to the Australian market. In the next six to 18 months, the company aims to increase their capacity to export overseas and hopes to add value to more Australian projects in the future. Additionally, Concept Lighting has always sought to offer innovation to the market. In today’s age – where 25 per cent of modern buildings target high Green Star accreditation – that innovation is in the form of efficiency. Working with their key partners, Concept Lighting is constantly aiming to provide fresh ideas and new ways of thinking to encourage the use of efficient luminaires. Towards that end, Concept Lighting recently embarked on a “digitization program.” By the end of 2014, Baard anticipates the company will have converted all of their products to LED, and fluorescent lights will be supplied by request only. “That’s the future of lighting, and the future of our company,” he says. For more about Concept Lighting and their services, you can visit their website at http://www. conceptlighting.co.nz/ Project - Geyser, Parnell Auckland
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTYzNTg=