BEGA-US Home & Garden Catalog 01

Book excerpt: To fully understand the history of BEGA-US, you should first be aware of the history of BEGA, an international company based in Menden, Germany, and its relationship to our company here in Carpinteria, CA. BEGA, which is a family held company, was founded in 1945. At its inception BEGA began producing outdoor lighting with just 50 employees. Over the years, through the growth of its product sales and acquisitions of other manufacturing operations, BEGA has developed into a vertically integrated manufacturing company with an international presence, now employing over 1000 people worldwide. BEGA was first introduced to the U.S. market through a licensing agreement with Prescolite in 1961. This agreement provided for certain products to be sold under the Prescolite name. In 1985, former Prescolite president, Larry Routh, formed a joint venture partnership with the managing partners of BEGA in order to bring the entire BEGA product offering to the U.S. This partnership was the inception of BEGA-US, a U.S. corporation. After a modest beginning, essentially converting a limited number of European designs to U.S. standards, BEGA-US is now a $50 million corporation with a state-of-the-art 120,000 square foot manufacturing facility with corporate offices located in Carpinteria (Santa Barbara), CA. BEGA-US employs 110 people, which includes a full engineering staff as well as an in-house powder coat paint facility. More than 50% of our product content is now U.S. sourced, with many products being 100% designed and built here in our California facility. This means that BEGA-US products qualify under the "Made in America" Act! Additionally, all products offered by BEGA-US bear the UL label and carry a three year limited warranty. Our approach to product design is to innovate, not follow. Each product family is conceived to satisfy a general or specific lighting task as defined by its architectural or exterior surroundings. BEGA designs are intended to be classic, to blend with and complement all types of architecture, whether old or new. To accomplish this goal, we use only the highest quality materials. Our approach to engineering emphasizes practicality. At BEGA, our attention to detail, fit, tolerances, and installation methods is paramount.