Thorn, a leading brand of the recently floated Austrian lighting group Zumtobel, has secured a £2.1 million order from Beijing Capital Airport Expansion Project Headquarters to provide lighting for their new Terminal Three (T3) building.The airport extension is one of Beijing's major infrastructure projects for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Beijing Capital, the busiest airport in the People's Republic of China, currently has two terminals and the 420,000 sq.m extension is expected to handle an extra 25 million passengers per annum, with over 5 million a month arriving during the 2008 Olympics.
A number of factors combined to clinch the order: Thorn's proven expertise in handling major international projects, the UK is currently lighting Heathrow's gigantic Terminal 5, and a lighting scheme that made excellent economic and environmental sense considering that the airport will be one of the world's most sustainable.
The specification, developed in conjunction with a joint venture design and engineering team comprising Dutch airport planners NACO, architects Foster and Partners, engineers Arup and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design and Research, involves over 70,000 luminaires. It is expected that deliveries will commence in the first quarter of 2007, with completion anticipated later that year. The Thorn supplies will cover the architectural lighting of the new terminal buildings, T3A and T3B, and the Ground Traffic Centre.
Commenting on the announcement, Johannes Burtscher, Managing Director of Thorn Asia said: "I am delighted that the Thorn Asia team has secured this order, our largest ever in China, in the face of intense international competition. It demonstrates our expertise and delivery capability in the Chinese domestic market, supported by our plant in Guangzhou which will supply much of the contract. With this significant achievement we will put the Thorn brand on the entrance to the capital city of the People's Republic of China."
Zumtobel Lighting Division Group Executive Vice President - Marketing & Sales, Peter Matt, said: "Asia plays a crucial role in our position as a global player in the lighting industry and we intend to build further on our already established strengths. Strategies for growth are firmly in place and taking effect, as this prestigious order by our Thorn brand illustrates so well. Overall, Thorn is positioned to fulfill people's growing aspirations for professional lighting in the midst of rapid development and increasing confidence throughout the region."
Thorn Lighting Asia Today – Targeting Growth Opportunities
By applying strategic growth initiatives and unrivalled industry knowledge Thorn Lighting Asia has become a growing contributor of Group earnings (in the past financial year, ending April 30, 2006, the Group posted consolidated sales revenues in Asia of EUR 80.4 million, 11.5 per cent up from the previous reporting period; growth in the first quarter of Financial 06/07 reached 32.8 per cent in the Asia region). These results confirm that Thorn Lighting – lean, strong and internationally focused – is well on course to exploit the positive market environment and grow market share.
Two main thrusts spearhead implementation of the strategic growth initiative: experience, technology and product spread combine with skills in systems design and application to provide lighting for people and places, supported by competitive local production facilities. They are fast helping Thorn develop its international capability. Its ambitions are based on very sound foundations. The Thorn brand has a strong pedigree in Asia, dating back to 1988 when it joined forces with Jardine Matheson to open a sales office in Hong Kong, a successful joint venture which established the basis for today's sales and production activities. Now with seven sales offices and established trading partners the scene is set for growth. Notable recent successes range from complete shopping malls and commercial centres, through hotels and hospitals, to motorways, tunnels and sports stadia.
A new factory in Guangzhou, southern China, started operations during autumn 2005. The facility has now enlarged production capacity to 20,000 sq.m, which will be fed through into the Asian territories, plus Australasia, the Middle East and Europe. Efficiency improvement initiatives continue at the plant.
Concentration on the vigorous promotion of established product lines and routes to market, particularly the China domestic business, are paying dividends, combined with modernisation of the Thorn brand portfolio. Attractive new products range from energy efficient fluorescents through low glare floodlights to innovative road lanterns.
