In a world of constant change, Zumtobel is setting new standards: With the evolution of the successful TECTON light system, Zumtobel, together with design experts at Pininfarina, has created a visionary new generation—one that stands out for intuitive handling, flexibility, sustainable design, and future readiness. In this monthly blog series, you’ll get exciting behind-the-scenes insights.

In 2001, TECTON was presented at ineltec in Basel with the customer promise of future-proofing and simple installation. After more than 20 years and numerous adaptations to new technologies later, Zumtobel is developing the next generation of the continuous-row lighting system in collaboration with Pininfarina: TECTON II. The development with the Italian design studio and engineering company Pininfarina represents a paradigm shift all along the line.

From its beginnings as a continuous row with fluorescent lamps, TECTON has been developed into a system that combines general lighting, safety and emergency lighting and lighting controls, sensors and IoT components in a single, integrated solution. Over the past 20 years, TECTON has been reinvented again and again, and the technology it is based on has been developed and refined to meet market requirements. The Zumtobel continuous-row lighting system has also gone from being solely used for industrial applications to becoming a versatile lighting tool for almost all sectors. While some products might claim to be future-proof as marketing spin, for TECTON this is the reality.

Pre-painted, galvanisedsheet steel - that's the stuff of which TECTON trunking is made. At theZumtobel production site in Dornbirn, Austria, around 1,300 tracks are producedper shift. Lined up end to end, this corresponds to a total length of 250kilometres per month - the equivalent of almost six marathons.

On the market for more than 20 years, with a timeless design, unyet, still at the forefront of new technology - even today: In 2001, Zumtobel presented the TECTON continuous-row lighting system to the public for the first time at the ineltec trade fair for the electrical industry in Basel, Switzerland. A major sensation! Equipped with an 11-pole integrated trunking system, the universal continuous-row lighting system already formed the basis for customised configuration of general, safety and emergency lighting as well as lighting control. The particularly fast installation and flexible positioning of the luminaires on the trunking was then, as it is now, one of the main selling points of TECTON. Over the years, technological progress has led to the addition of sensor and IoT components on the trunking. This shows how future-proof TECTON was designed from the outset. We look back at the beginnings and principles of success - and have identified seven characteristics that are crucial to the continued market success of our most popular continuous-row lighting system. Take a look back with us - and see how it all began: "Once upon a TECTON ..."