Ledlenser
Ledlenser GmbH & Co. KG is a German technology company that manufactures portable lighting products (especially LED forehead and hand flashlights & inspection lamps) and mobile energy solutions based in the North Rhine-Westphalian city of Solingen in Germany. It was founded by Rainer and Harold Opolka, who developed the first commercially available LED flashlight.[1]
 | |
| Type | GmbH & Co KG |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founders | Rainer and Harald Opolka |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Thomas Willing (Managing Director) |
| Products | Flashlights, Handlamps, Headlamps |
| approx. 70M EUR (2017) | |
Number of employees | approx. 900 (January 2019, group-wide) |
| Website | |
At the beginning of 2019, the company had around 115 employees in Germany and around 800 in the production plant in China. The company is headquartered with product development in Germany, and the company has a 100% owned manufacturing subsidiary in the People's Republic of China.[2]
History
In 1993, the twins Rainer and Harald Opolka founded a trading company for knives, scissors and other steel goods under the name Stahlwarenkontor GmbH in Beelitz, southwest of Berlin. In 1997, the company relocated to Solingen under the name Zweibrüder Stahlwarenkontor GmbH, where it still has its headquarters today. The company's premises have been located in the Mathildenhütte, a renovated former glassblowing factory, since 2002. In 2002 the name was changed to Zweibrüder Optoelectronics GmbH.
In 2000, the Opolka twins built a 5 mm LED from Nichia into a housing. This resulted in the typical design for the following products with the perforated rim. The lamp, marketed under the name Photon Pump V8, went into stores in late 2000 and has sold over twelve million pieces in 80 countries around the world to date.
The products from the LedLenser series have received numerous design awards since 2001. These include internationally known design awards such as the Red Dot design award, the Design Plus, the Good Design Awards or the IF Design Award. Some of the lamps received several awards, such as the V8 or the Car Lenser Rechargeable. In addition, Ledlenser was honored with the German Brand Award in the category "Industry Excellence in Branding" in 2016. The company convinced the renowned jury in terms of the degree of innovation, consistent brand management and sustainable brand communication. Ledlenser has developed the Advanced Focus System especially for its flashlights (patented in the USA and Europe). The combination of lens and reflector creates a round light cone of excellent quality with every focus. Another innovation is the mechanical one-hand focusing on the basis of a sliding carriage. The Opolka twins have protected their own developments and products with over 100 patents, designs and utility models.[3]
The brothers developed the Ledlenser V8 flashlight and sold over 200 million Euros' worth of LED flashlights during their first five years in business. The Ledlenser V8 flashlight became one of the top-selling LED flashlights in the world.[4] The brothers sold three quarters of the shares in their company “to devote themselves exclusively to making art”. They invested €25 million into a sculpture and cultural center in Jagdsitz Hubertushöhe in Storkow, and Rainer started an independent project called “The Wolves Are Back?”[1]
In January 2011 Leatherman Inc., Portland / Oregon (USA) took over the majority stake in Zweibrüder Optoelectronics GmbH, at the same time the company name changed to Zweibrüder Optoelectronics GmbH & Co. KG.[5] Since December 21, 2017 the company name has been Ledlenser GmbH & Co. KG.[6]
On December 6, 2018, the company was sold by Leatherman Tool Group Inc. to several shareholders, in particular AFINUM Achte Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, which holds the majority shares. Additionally, other shares are owned by INVISION and the Ledlenser management team.[7]
Ledlenser has its own offices in Italy (Led Lenser Italia Srl), Switzerland (Led Lenser Swiss GmbH), Japan (Led Lenser Japan, Inc.) and the United States (Ledlenser, Inc.). In the United Kingdom Ledlenser is exclusively distributed by Ledco Ltd. from a headquarters in Sunninghill, Berkshire.
Production is handled by the 100% subsidiary, Ledlenser Corporation Ltd. in Yangjiang, a district-free city on the Chinese south coast in the province of Guangdong In January 2019, around 800 employees worked there.
Products
In addition to flashlights, headlamps, key lights and living room lights, the Ledlenser product range also includes explosion-proof lamps, diving lamps, and lamps that are tailored to the needs of fire brigade, rescue services, police and special units.
Flashlights
The Ledlenser program includes different flashlights of all sizes and for a wide variety of applications.
The products are divided into series, which differ in terms of design, different lumens and the technology used. For example, the P series models are operated without programming, the M series lamps (M = microcontrolled) are equipped with a microchip programming.
Ledlenser uses a proprietary measuring method for the runtime of the flashlights. The runtime specified by the manufacturer describes the duration the lamp takes for the brightness of the energy-saving level to drop to one lumen. For lamps without an energy-saving level (e.g. P3, P4, P5), the time is measured that elapses until the maximum brightness of the lamp has dropped to one lumen.[8]
Some Ledlenser models are also equipped with a floating charge system which enables inductive charging without small or fault-prone charging plugs. The lamps have a metal switch at the end, which acts as a magnetic contact to the charging station. By bringing the two poles closer together, the lamp slides into the holder and charging begins. Thus flashlights are always charged and always ready to hand.
Headlamps
Ledlenser also develops headlamps for sport, outdoor use and professional use. With the headlamp NEO, XEO 19R, the SEO and H series, there are individual solutions for all areas. The headlamps are equipped with different lumens and running times.
Sponsorship
Ledlenser supports a so-called PRO team with national and international athletes in extreme and fun sports as brand ambassadors, including long-distance runner Jan Fitschen and extreme runner Christian Schiester.
Corporate and social responsibility
In 2020, Ledlenser were an official partner with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). They also regularly donate food and school materials in various campaigns in the surrounding regions of the city of Yangjiang, help with English courses and have been supporting Yidong Primary School since 2016 with financial donations that enable renovations, and provide school materials.[9][10]
References
- "Fineartmultiple Art Magazine - Why Has a Pack of Wolves Descended on Berlin?". fineartmultiple.com.
- LedLenser | The Company (in German)
- Awards and test results for flashlights and headlamps | Ledlenser (In German)
- "About Us - LEDLENSER". LED LENSER.
- Zweibrüder Press Release 2011 (Archived via the WayBack Machine)
- Karl-Rainer Broch: Werbekunden von Neuheiten begeistert. In: solinger-tageblatt.de. (in German)
- AFINUM - AFINUM acquires a majority stake in Ledlenser. Dec 6, 2018.
- Battery life is stated until the luminous flux drops to 1 lumen (see footnote) (Archive of the original from July 18, 2011 in the WayBack Machine)
- Ledlenser Corporate and Social Responsibility
- Hardisty, Carin., Ledlenser helps Doctors without Borders, Sports Trader, March 31, 2020