Gemcell Australia

THORN Lighting, the well-established global brand and manufacturer of professional indoor and outdoor lighting, recently celebrated the opening of its exciting new Australian manufacturing, training and logistics facility at Wetherill Park. The new facilities demonstrate that Thorn has taken a bold step into the future, but its professional culture and industry support policy remain more than ever, firmly attuned to the needs of the present.

Thorn Lighting's impressive new manufacturing and distribution facility at Wetherill Park, NSW, represents a consolidation of Thorn's professional resources, providing a stronger, more cohesive operation in Australia designed to meet the challenges of the twenty first century.

With this brand new facility, the Thorn group underpins its dedication to the professional Australian lighting market and its specific needs. With sales offices and support functions in all states and a total of over 250 staff nationally, THORN is well established and has a proven record of serving the market and its customers at all levels of the building industry.

Dr. Juergen Koprio, Managing Director of the Zumtobel Lighting Division (ZLD) Australia /New Zealand is convinced of the potential and advantages of the new plant and facility: "In Australia and New Zealand, our operations activities are focused on the requirements of the local market, standards and application trends. The design of the production facility was geared towards higher flexibility, more efficient processes and procedures. Together with some new production equipment this will lead to improved response times in production, assembly and testing operations. We also have a certified lighting laboratory on site to enable us to test products and modifications locally and certify them accordingly."

The Newton Road facility represents an investment of more than A$20 million, and illustrates the long-term vision for the brand in this country. The new facilities incorporate a full suite of industry services including:

• State-of-the-art production facilities
• Warehousing
• ZLD Australia / New Zealand Finance IT & HR support
• National Customer Service Centre
• NSW Sales Team
• The Thorn National Sales & Marketing Team
• Lighting laboratory with photometry, EMC, thermal, safety and IP testing
• Lighting design lab specialising in indoor, outdoor, street & stadium lighting
• Training infrastructure for product and skills training for customers and employees

Company History

THORN was founded in the UK in 1926 by Sir Joules Thorn, and its Australian roots stretch back for more than 50 years. In the year 2000, the company became a prominent member of the Zumtobel Group, a global, publicly listed Austrian lighting company which today employs a workforce of about 7,500 and, in the 2006/7 financial year, posted revenues of EUR 1.23 billion (approx. AUD $ 2 billion).

Production & Logistics Facility, Customer Service Centre and Head Office

Construction of the new plant commenced in October 2006 with a turf-turning celebration. Then in April 2007, the first pallets started moving into the new warehouse facility. The new plant, located in the industrial park in Wetherill Park, NSW, covers a total area of 11,000 sq m. with production, warehousing and office areas covering two floors.

The location in western Sydney was primarily selected for its close proximity to the new M7 motorway, as the new warehouse also serves as the main hub in a network of logistics facilities across the country. With the close of Thorn's Smithfield facilities, Wetherill Park is now the sole Australian supply & manufacturing centre for both THORN and the locally produced Zumtobel branded products.

Besides enhancing Thorn's distribution and product development capacity, the new state-of-the-art Sydney facility allows THORN to optimise production processes. The production floor is organised according to modern "lean manufacturing principles" with optimised production processes and minimised distances between the different operations. The design of the facility was always about improving delivery times, efficiency and service levels of locally manufactured and adapted fittings, adding value to the Australian market.

The local supply chain is supplemented by specific imports supplied by the group's global manufacturing network including the European and Asian production centres. In total there are approximately 400 people employed in Australia and New Zealand. Over 200 employees will work at the new plant, which includes the headquarters of THORN Australia & New Zealand.

The building at Wetherill Park houses a state-of-the-art training facility. This faciitity will become home to the global Lighting education program named "Thorn Academy of Light" which has been established to provide harmonised company-wide education and training, initially for employees but also for customers in the not-too-distant future.

A key module of the program has great relevance and timeliness to the Australian market. Aptly named PEC (Performance, Efficiency, Comfort) the module combines energy efficiency, lighting performance and user comfort. This is achieved by optimally combining good lighting design principles, application knowledge and well designed lighting fixtures.

Products, Applications and Services

The strength of the THORN brand lies in its exhaustive product offering, its experience in illumination practices, lighting design and detailed application know-how. Combined with knowledge of local as well as international technical requirements, standards and trends provided by a global supply network, THORN provides reliable products using innovative materials, optics, lamps and gear combinations. Thorn Lighting supplies a full range of lighting fixtures in the areas of indoor and outdoor lighting, emergency lighting and lighting control systems as well as a broad assortment of modern lamps for a large range of applications.

Office and Education

Office and educational lighting must facilitate a wide diversity of tasks, from meetings or working on computer screens, to reading and writing on presentation boards. The emphasis is placed on good visual effectiveness and energy efficiency to enable users to concentrate and perform effectively without distraction and strain.

The MenloSoft SR is an example of a versatile, modern and fully recessed fitting with a choice of louver or diffuser optics in a sleek design. It delivers both a uniformly lit task area and an up-light component, providing a perfectly balanced illumination of office walls, task area and ceiling. This creates both a glarefree office work space, very important when using modern display screens and at the same time, a stimulating, harmonious atmosphere. MenloSoft SR is available with a large variety of accessories, gear/lamp combinations and light level controls.

Retail, Supermarkets and Hypermarkets

Generous lighting levels and good colour rendering are particularly important where food, drink and consumer products are presented. Other important performanceconsiderations are cleanliness, safety, efficiency and comfort.

Primata II, Thorn's new range of pre-wired continuous row systems is an optimal solution especially suitable for lighting large working areas efficiently and economically.

A patented turnbuckle concept provides for mechanical and electrical connection in a one step process, all without tools. The large choice of optics and accessories allows for excellent glare control and precise direction of light through narrow or wide beam distribution. This versatile solution is a combination of performance and ease of installation. Fast encomical assembly and installations is easily achieved due to the advanced, simple tool-free mounting system.

Industry / Technology

Thorn's product range caters for applications ranging from intricate component manufacture to heavy engineering and from computer production to passenger transport systems. In challenging surroundings it is vital to use products that ensure reliable operation and safety. A prime example would be the Concavia family, which has been designed with focus on functionality, combined with a unique aesthetic appearance, outstanding performance and exceptional technical aspects suitable for demanding environments as well.

Outdoor Lighting

In sports lighting, THORN can provide the equipment and skill to design the best lighting whether it's for a single tennis court or a complete Olympic complex. In Urban applications, the aim is to provide comfortable and healthy lighting that respects all users, to ensure safe and secure lighting of public and private places, while reducing energy, glare and obtrusive light.

Streetlighting is a specialised sector, concentrating on the efficient lighting of Motorways, city streets, bridges, residential roads, tunnels and transport terminals. These are only a few of the aspects of daily life where exterior lighting plays its inseparable part.

A noteworthy innovation is the newly developed low-level 'FlatBeam®' luminaire for lighting roads — an important step which could completely change people's thinking about traffic lighting. Orus incorporates a low wattage metal halide lamp and a bi-directional optic. The result is phenomenal and unique light distribution, uniformity, low glare, low energy consumption and - above all — a mounting height of 0.9 meters, definitively below the line of sight of most vehicles. Thorn's 'FlatBeam®' optical technology is optimized for 8 to 15m spacing using either a single-sided or twin opposite layout.

Electrical Gems

The Electrical Gems is published every two months and features articles, product reviews, jokes, cartoons and stories submited by readers, as well as the latest special prices and promotions at your local Gemcell branch.

Other features from Electrical Gems issue 82 include:

Articles

• Professional excellence a firm foundation for Thorn Lighting's impressive new facilities
• Cairns Electrical Wholesalers
• Lakes Electrical Distributors

Product Reviews

• Clipsal Audio Starter Pack
• Davis Lighting release new circular surface mount