Earlier this month we had Florian Foger, International Sales Manager, from Austrian manufacturer Planlicht visit our sunshine state.
We sat down with Florian to find out more about upcoming technologies and the world of Planlicht.
What did you enjoy about visiting Australia?
It's my first time here and it’s been a completely new experience for me. From a business point of view, it’s been wonderful meeting the team at Lumen8 and seeing the fantastic potential of the Australian market.
What is your favourite thing about working at Planlicht?
Planlicht is a family-owned business and the philosophy and team spirit throughout the company are amazing. The feeling that you are striving and working towards a common goal makes you want to perform to the best of your ability.
What are the trends in lighting we should look out for the next few years?
As luminaires are reducing in size, one of the main concepts is to design in discrete ways. This allows the fittings to integrate seamlessly into architectural environments. With open-plan spaces becoming increasingly popular, office lighting systems are going to become more flexible and easily adaptable based on the needs of a client.
How has technology influenced luminaires designed and manufacture by Planlicht?
With the momentum of LED technology, we have to adapt quickly to trends in the lighting industry. Currently, the sizes of fittings are decreasing but as technology is improving. We can ensure we still have the necessary output in terms of lux levels and uniformity.
How important is Human Centric Lighting going to be in the future?
5 years ago, there wasn’t a large emphasis on Human Centric Lighting (HCL). Our executive board decided that’s an area we wanted to focus and set our energies on. The company has invested a lot to prepare our products for HCL. And build our knowledge in that specific field. Our opinion is that if you don't capitalise on this trend it will be the same mistake as dismissing LED technology 15 years ago.
What is a project that you’re most proud of being involved in?
Two notable projects, one in Russia which was one of our biggest individual projects to date. Everything went smoothly from the design to the supply and install. The other was in Luxembourg with a total of 300 of our Halo fittings. It was fantastic to see the result and the lights in action.
What is your favourite Planlicht fitting?
This would have to be our flagship range the Skai. We pride ourselves to be technical manufacturers of architectural lighting. No luminaire in our range demonstrates this better than the Skai. From a technical and design point of view, it is one of the best fittings on the market for office lighting. Another great range is Pure 3. You can now combine Pure 3 with the Sinus segments, making it an extremely flexible product for various applications.
What is something we wouldn't know about Austria unless we lived there?
It is a typical thing for us Austrians to put marmalade and cranberry jelly on our Wiener schnitzel. It all goes well together!
