70 YEARS OF WE-EF
Since it was founded in 1950, WE-EF has grown from Electrical installation company developed into a global lighting manufacturer. WE-EF stands for high-quality outdoor luminaires, independent in design and innovative in technology. And more than ever, the focus is on innovation and sustainability.
Light rise
1950: A young man graduates as a master electrician. Aided by his wife Gisela, he establishes an electrical installation company in Bispingen, Lower Saxony, a small town in northern Germany. His name is Wolfgang Fritzsche.
The idea that his initials – ‘W’ and ‘F’ – will one day christen a global brand is, as yet, beyond his wildest dreams. Yet, he still has the courage to take his first steps as an entrepreneur. Driven by his desire for independence and self-determination, he goes his own way, encouraged by the unwavering belief that anything is possible – as long as you are truly determined and work hard for your goals.
As an electrician, Wolfgang Fritzsche is often called to install luminaires from various manufacturers on farms and in the communities around Bispingen. He senses an opportunity for business – and says to himself:
“When others can do this, so can I! Why not create our own luminaires?” A few years later, this vision becomes reality, with the first luminaires carrying the ‘WE-EF’ sign.
Right from the start, growth and shared knowledge are important ingredients of WE-EF’s corporate philosophy – in the customer’s best interest, but also in the name of social responsibility. WE-EF has been training apprentices since 1955. In more than six decades, about 170 apprentices have been trained and started into their careers at WE-EF.
Many stay long-term. To this day, company affiliations of 15, 25 or even 40 years are nothing out of the ordinary at WE-EF.
Off the blocks
Innovative technology. Exemplary design. High-quality materials. Uncompromising customer orientation. These are the four pillars of urban light development at WE-EF – from the company’s earliest days to the present.
WE-EF builds its first aluminium sand-casting foundry in 1960. By the mid-1960s, the transition to aluminium gravity die casting is complete. Subsequently, 1972 marks the operational start of the first aluminium high-pressure die casting machines. At the same time, WE-EF establishes its in-house tool design and construction department.
To this day, most of WE-EF’s aluminium luminaire housings are produced in one of its three company-owned aluminium foundries in Germany and Thailand.
Tool-making expertise is one of several areas consciously kept in-house. WE-EF develops and manufactures moulds for aluminium gravity die-casting and pressure casting as well as injection moulds for plastic components – right up to the highly complex injection moulds for all optical lens systems currently used at WE-EF. Without exception.
The formative decade from 1960-1970 is also marked by the publication of the first WE-EF catalogue – a first which will be followed by many more. True to WE-EF’s down-to-earth-spirit, its initial format is a modest DIN A5. During the course of the 1970s, the steadily increasing volume of the WE-EF catalogue becomes an impressive metaphor for the company’s growth – finally making the leap to the current A4 format.
Then, as now, WE-EF remained committed to realising any customer request for customisation in a straightforward and competent manner. The key to keeping this commitment is sophisticated design – prepared for change, right from the start.
The brightening light of science
Marked by the 1973 oil crisis, the 1970s are an unforgiving environment for business. But for WE-EF, they are a period of substantial growth. A major driver – increasing exports to many Middle Eastern countries.
As WE-EF’s international trade thrives, there are also advances in R&D: The all-new technical and test laboratories set up in 1975 are testaments to WE-EF’s determination to drive progress through science – and to make lasting contributions to the global development of lighting technology. After all, urban light is no job for tinkerers.
Today, WE-EF runs almost all tests required for luminaire certification inhouse in these labs, which are continuously updated and kept up to speed.
Accredited to, and compliant with all relevant norms, they measure every imaginable aspect of light as well as heat, dust, water and impact resistance – and many more aspects.
A new generation
In quick succession, both Thomas and Stephan Fritzsche join their father’s company, and WE-EF’s corporate strategy receives further refinement.
The aesthetic and functional demands of lighting designers, architects and engineers get centre stage; the required service, including consulting and training, is a vital aspect.
Meanwhile, WE-EF’s reference portfolio grows – not only in number, but also in scope, complexity and impact. A central principle remains untouched – every job gets the same attention. No matter how big or small. On an equal footing with technology and function, WE-EF establishes design as a key corporate value. As off-the-peg solutions gradually fade in volume, modularity becomes a cornerstone of WE-EF’s development process.
By the mid-1980s, the formal language and train of thought shaping WE-EF’s products increasingly show their ties to the philosophy of Bauhaus and HfG Ulm: Functional, plain design as a fusion of the very best in craftsmanship, industrial production and progressive technology.
Thanks to this approach, WE-EF luminaires retain their aesthetic and functional value over their entire life cycle. Systematically thought through in every detail long before production, their design remains a fresh and timeless part of public space, in streets, squares and pathways.
As the successor to its Asian regional office, WE-EF establishes a dedicated Thailand branch in 1982. The goal – local manufacturing of WE-EF products for the Asia-Pacific region and Australia/New Zealand. Today, WE-EF Thailand employs a staff of 145.
Little by little, telex and typewriters make way for fax machines and computers. However, the first ERP system for computer-aided production planning is still years in the future.
During this decade, lighting-specific software is rare and expensive – too expensive for WE-EF. Undaunted, WE-EF’s engineers turn necessity into virtue and develop their own. Their code for calculating the statics of lighting columns and planning lighting projects, created as a side project, remains in use for many years, with convincing results.
International founding years
At the start of the 1990s, WE-EF founder Wolfgang Fritzsche gradually withdraws from day-to-day business.
He continues to serve the company as chairman and valued advisor. Thomas and Stephan Fritzsche become co-owners of the company.
WE-EF continues to grow. Alongside Bispingen (Lower Saxony), a second production facility is created in Neuendorf im Sande (Brandenburg). Finally, there is some space – a rare commodity in Bispingen; 70,000 square metres of land offer plenty of opportunities for growth. As a consequence, WE-EF’s pole production (including the associated powder coating line) and, later, all sheet metal processing are relocated. Not a single job in Bispingen is lost, while new ones are created in Neuendorf. WE-EF’s growth makes it possible.
In 1994, WE-EF LUMIERE turns the lights on at the new branch in France. Founded in Strasbourg, the company later moves to Lyon. Today, France is not only WE-EF’s most successful export destination, but also its biggest national market. What a success story – chapeau!
Also in 1994, Australia sees the foundation of WE-EF LIGHTING. The chosen location “Down-Under” is Melbourne in the State of Victoria. WE-EF’s service now covers the entire continent of Australia and Oceania.
The 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney become a showcase for WE-EF. Many buildings and facilities of the world’s first green Olympic Games are illuminated by WE-EF, using sustainable concepts.
Only six years after the foundation of WE-EF Australia, the brand has established a strong position in the public image of Australia’s major cities.
In 1994, WE-EF replaces wet with powder coating, resulting in a more environmentally-friendly process. One year later, the first CNC milling machines are put into operation.
Another milestone is the iF Product Design Award for the first luminaire jointly developed by WE-EF Germany and WE-EF Thailand.
In 1996, WE-EF’s design departments in Germany and Thailand fully transition to 3D CAD technology – in a very short time frame. A few years later, all processes in luminaire and tool design as well as tool construction will have been seamlessly digitized.
From the late 1960s onwards, WE-EF has regularly exhibited at the World Light Show in Hanover – at the time the world’s largest lighting technology fair. When the first Light + Building trade fair takes place in Frankfurt on the Main in 2000, it replaces Hanover as the lighting industry’s premier international gathering place – and, of course, WE-EF is there, right from the start (and up to the present).
In 1998, WE-EF’s trademark reliability is finally awarded an official letter and seal. The basis? A comprehensive quality management system according to ISO 9001, tailored to monitor and evaluate all company processes according to national and international standards. This not only includes production and engineering, but also training, qualification, motivation and environmental protection.
A new millennium
In 2000, WE-EF crosses the Atlantic. WE-EF LIGHTING, the new North American branch, is founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Big country, big challenges: America demands a long breath. However, time has proven the decision right, and WE-EF is proud to have stuck to its goals and beliefs. America offers a world of opportunity.
The year 2006 marks the beginning of a new technological era for WE-EF. At an early stage, the company recognises the potential of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for exterior lighting.
At the Light + Building fair 2008, WE-EF introduces the very first ‘butterfly’ lens for LED street lights. Greeted with reservations at the time, it is the nucleus of a concept that has long since been patented and recognised as the state-of- the-art in almost all street lights around the world – WE-EF’s OLC® One LED Concept.
The beginning of the 2000s also marks the start of WE-EF’s “Lightboxes” – next-generation training centres at various locations.
Differing in size, shape and equipment, they are all designed for one common goal – showing what light can do. Once experienced, it is never forgotten. Today, WE-EF Lightboxes have been installed in Bangkok, Melbourne, Sydney, Lyon and Neuendorf im Sande.
In the latter part of the new millennium’s first decade, WE-EF Germany’s aluminium pressure casting foundry moves in 2008 from Bispingen to Neuendorf im Sande – bigger, more modern and more productive than ever.
Switching to the future
In 2010, WE-EF creates its Swiss branch, WE-EF HELVETICA. Since then, a small but dedicated sales team has taken care of the wishes and needs of local customers and partners. Its commitment and reliability pay off – two crucial factors for success in Switzerland. WE-EF has it.
A life cycle analysis provides the framework for WE-EF’s first Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in 2013 – a quantitative description of the environmental life cycle of WE-EF luminaires, from production to operation and recycling. For an effective conservation of resources, both longevity and energy efficiency are of the essence. This view has always been at the core of WE-EF’s DNA.
In 2014, WE-EF LEUCHTEN in Bispingen opens its new head office – a modern office and laboratory building of glass and concrete, with edges and corners and a clear functional language. An architectural statement that truly expresses WE-EF’s corporate self.
A short while after, in 2015, WE-EF LUMIERE moves to its new premises on the outskirts of Lyon – a move made inevitable by the sustained growth in the previous decades. With its sophisticated architecture, the Lyon building is not only perfectly adapted to today’s workplace requirements, but also incorporates active environmental protection.
One year after WE-EF’s workforce moves in, the first bee colonies follow, inhabiting the factory premises and bringing the French head office in touch with mother nature. In summer, sheep graze in the meadows.
n 2015, company founder Wolfgang Fritzsche dies aged 91. His extraordinary character, as well as his profound impact on the company and its culture, are felt and appreciated to this day – much like the initials ‘W’ and ‘F’ that will continue to mark the WE-EF brand for many years to come.
End of 2015, the Fritzsche family and other shareholders of the WE-EF Group decide to take a major step for securing the long-term future of the company. They accept an invitation for negotiations to join Sweden’s Fagerhult Group. The agreement is signed in 2017.
In August 2018, Thomas Fritzsche resigns as Managing Director of WE-EF LIGHTING Thailand, ending his professional career after a total of 42 years at WE-EF, 36 of them in Thailand.
In 2019, Gisela Fritzsche, wife to company founder Wolfgang, dies in Bispingen at the age of 96 – in the very house that was once home to WE-EF’s first production site. She never wanted to move.
Welcoming a new light
WE-EF is more than a loose association of national companies carrying the same name. We are one family, one brand, worldwide.
One Family, One Brand – this is the joint motto for WE-EF’s international network from 2020 onwards.
All the WE-EF Group’s activities in product policy and communication focus on our corporate values of innovation, functionality and design. To us at WE-EF, this means a commitment to excellence in everything we do. The new corporate design connects the elements of the brand closer than ever, around the globe, for the entire WE-EF family.
Today, about 500 employees at six locations all over the world work for the WE-EF brand. They are the basis for everything we are and the foundation on which our success is built. Our sincerest gratitude and respect go out to them. 1950-2020: 70 years WE-EF. Congratulations! Stephan Fritzsche
