Image Courtesy BEGA-US 2012
Recently, one of TMS’s associate architects, Nicole Martineau, was fortunate to be able to visit a BEGA lighting factory in California. She shared this account of her trip with us:
I had the privilege to attend a BEGA lighting Factory V.I.S.I.T.S. Program this March. V.I.S.I.T.S. is an acronym for “Very Important Specifiers Invited to Santa Barbara.” In the spring and fall each year, BEGA hosts day-long seminars in their state-of-the-art 1200 sq. ft. showroom/training facility in Carpinteria, CA just outside of Santa Barbara. Attendees, who are eligible, earn five (5) CEU’s from the American Institute of Architects.
BEGA is a family held company founded in 1945 and is based in Menden, Germany. BEGA was first introduced in the U.S. market in 1961. Today BEGA-US employs 110 people, including a full engineering staff. More than 50% of their product content is U.S. sourced and many products are being 100% designed and built in their California facility, qualifying then as “Made in America”!
Topics discussed at the program included materials used for outdoor applications (metals, glass, etc.), competitive comparisons and new product developments (lamp and ballast discussions). The competitive comparisons were an eye opener. BEGA showed two similar exterior light products side-by-side, one from BEGA and the other from a competitor. They deconstructed each fixture to show the similarities and differences and taught the attendees what to pay attention for when specifying exterior fixtures or during the substitution process of value engineering.
BEGA pays close attention to detail; be it is their one piece silicone molded gaskets for weather tightness or their captive fasteners which cannot be lost when maintaining the fixture. BEGA has truly found a balance between form and function for their fixtures.
For more information, visit BEGA-US .com
Image Courtesy BEGA-US 2012
