Lighting is major industrial driver in Spain.

A top Chinese lighting manufacturer, Yaohua Lux of Ningbo, has made a promising start in the Spanish lighting sector - considered one of the Iberian peninsula's major new industrial drivers - with a profitable first five years of supplying trademark outdoor lighting goods.

Yaohua's exhibitor status at the Lighting International Fair 2005 (FIAM) in Valencia was provided by its Spanish representative, Silumin Lighting, joining some 400 exhibitors representing about 2,500 brands.

The show, which was held over six days to the 24th September, had parallel opening arrangements with an international furniture fair (FIM) and a decoration and fixture event (DECO), both of which ran at the same venue and were apparently aimed at maximising overlapping opportunities.

EU visitors in the majority.

The largest numbers of visitors to the three fairs were from the EU, followed by Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, Mexico and the UAE. Among new entrants this year were representatives from Armenia, Cape Verde Islands, French Guiana and Kazakhstan.

Among the more arcane statistics available at FIAM, 54% of the products on display were in "classic style" while 46% were "modern" - and it transpired that attending Spanish companies carried out about 25% of their annual deals at the show.

The lighting sector has an important role in Spanish manufacturing, accounting for 859 companies and around 12,200 directly related jobs. International sales are focused mainly on the EU, which absorbs 66% of Spanish lighting exports.

The sector is also luminously healthy overall. Spanish production last year hit €1.1 billion, while exports were worth around €460 million.

Classic chandelier among many displayed.

During the period when the three fairs ran, a room in a picturesque downtown building in Valencia was set aside for meetings and conferences, where it was possible to see a demonstration of table lamps (called Mila Lightning), presented by Spanish firm Casa Bella.

Among the more innovative features of the Casa Bella lamps was the fact that they are cordless, with more than 120 hours of life in the batteries provided. The batteries come with LED bulbs, and the latter are charged up. The batteries are of type C and at 1.5 watts.

The range of finishes for the lamps was varied and included cloth, natural stone and metals.

The display appeared useful, allowing attendees to choose a model for each corner of the house. Designs for the screens were in crafted painted paper and the bases were made of marble, amber or bronze.

Casa Bella intends to also apply the same technology and opportunities to its wall lamps.

A Spanish industry that will have to light the path abroad

Chairman of the Spanish Federation of Industrial Lighting Apparatus, Antonio Almerich, said China has set a benchmark for low prices and the Spanish lighting industry will have to further develop its international trade using its strength as an innovator in the field.

Almerich: China set a benchmark for low prices.

Medium to high quality goods sought.

Almerich said the Spanish lighting industry has perfectly identified where it stands in the international market place, being for medium-to-high quality items.

But the Federation's chairman said the process by which Spanish industry players subcontracted and moved specific production to Asia has to continue, to maintain competitive pricing.

Tastes of southern European consumers for house lighting have generally returned to conventional lines, with some companies expanding their catalogue with classic models at more attractive prices, according to experts at the show.

Ethnic glass table lamps.

Chill out ambiance.

Additionally, with furniture fashions moved by ethnic inspirations, there is also a consumer move towards lamps from Africa and India, lamps with gypsy or Berbers tribal accents (for example) and featuring dark brown, red, ochre, orange in all its shades, as well as green and blue tones.

The prevailing decorative model, noted by experts as "a return to essential values", has as its practical manifestation wicker, woodcarving, hand-dyed cloth, clay and natural fibres as clear examples. Natural fabrics are combined with wood and stone to form exotic and so-called "chill-out" ambiances.

Wall light along conventional lines.

African tones from Hipercor.

Specialisation in outdoor lighting

Outdoor lamp from Silumin.

The presence of pieces produced in China were most strikingly shown by Silumin Lighting, which for the past five years has represented Chinese outdoor lighting firm, Yaohua Lux.

Gregorio Salmeron, from the sales department of Silumin, explained that Yaohua's products have the advantage of being manufactured through aluminium injection and have replaced Italian-sourced outdoor products for being both longer-lasting and comparatively better priced.

Salmeron said its target for Yaohua was to consolidate its position and build on its novelty items with technologically driven features.

Although the number of visitors at FIAM 2005 was lower than in previous years, the response has still been positive, Salmeron believed.

According to him, the main features of Yaohua's items, apart from the quality-price ratio, is that the Chinese company always meets delivery deadlines and has a thoroughly efficient and professional approach to supply contracts.

Globes for summer houses.

In Spain, Silumin has a 1,200 sqm warehouse which allows for distribution throughout the country on a regular basis, including Madrid, Andalucia and along the Mediterranean coast. This distribution path is particularly significant during the key sales seasons in February and October of each year, said Salmeron.

Pre-tax retail prices for Yaohua products range from €12 for an aluminium, rustic wall lamp to €195 for a three globe street lamp combining black and copper colours. Simple wall lamps are priced at between €12 and €35, while three globe street lamps cost between €150 and €210 and globe-shaped street lamps can add up to between €114.1 and €132.1 per piece.

Novelties in shop windows

Rustic-style ceiling lamp.

The latest lighting trends during Autumn 2005 in Spain were evident in shop windows, and mainly focused on modern, functional lighting in a price-maintained environment.

Ceiling lamps are priced at €23.9 generally, while four point halogen spotlights with built-in mountings and with glass bevelled edges cost €32.9.

Three halogen spotlight ruler lamps with glass bevel edges cost €23.9, while halogen built-in lights with glass bevel edges retail at €7.9. By contrast, two halogen spotlights ruler lamps with glass bevel edges cost €16.9.

Table lamps with cloth shades are priced at €11.9, while halogen table lamps with cloth shades are slightly more expensive at €12.9.

Of the more trendy standing lamps, with white or orange shades, retailers are asking prices of €69.9.

from special correspondents Isabel Herrero and 
José Alarcon, Valencia