What was once known as GE Lighting is now Tungsram

CarCare Business magazine sat down with Joerg Bauer, President and CEO of the new Tungsram corporation at this year’s AAPEX Show, for a clearer understanding of the brand and what the auto industry can expect.

Tungsram is the result of a management buyout of part of GE Lighting, which includes the global automotive lighting division, as well as Europe, the Middle East, and Africa for general lighting.

According to Bauer, the company is more than 120 years old. “This is more of a re-startup for us,” he explained. “We’re headquartered in Hungary, so it’s all about premium European quality. A hundred percent of our products are made in Hungary.

“North America is the biggest market for us for automotive,” Bauer added. “It’s also the market where we see the most potential. We are hiring new people and we’re very serious about winning this market.”

Bauer also explained what this change will mean for the auto industry in Canada. “For a certain period of time we have the chance to run parallel as GE Lighting and Tungram, but obviously it’s in our interest to phase out GE Lighting eventually and our aim is to make that as smooth and as easy as possible for our partners.

“If you look at the packaging it will be the same quality and the same look and feel that you had before, plus we’re filling in a number of gaps that we had in the portfolio. So we are currently working on developing new products, and we’ll be coming out with them in January.”

In short, Bauer says not much will change, besides the name, for now. “It’s the same quality, the same people, the same factories, the same machines, but with a new name and a new focus on lighting. As a smaller company than GE Lighting, our focus is on our customers because our customers pay our salaries. So if they’re looking for a partner, focused on lighting, with premium products, then it’s going to be Tungsram.”