The strategically important development project is one of the most ambitious in the company's almost 75-year history. Zumtobel therefore wanted to enter into a cooperation with a company that would approach the project from a neutral outside-in perspective, cover various specialist disciplines and ultimately show ways and means of optimizing the user experience. “It was also very important for us to find a partner that shares the same corporate values of a holistic product development philosophy,” explains Bernd Walser, who was responsible for the development project. “Pininfarina convinced us all along the line during the design pitch and clearly came out on top. I have rarely experienced anything like this and I have been with this company for 30 years. Pininfarina's professionalism and expertise in collaboration are unique to me.”
The focus of the partnership is the expansion and development of the TECTON continuous-row lighting system into a product that will set new standards in the field of continuous-row lighting systems. The first step was therefore to determine the areas of application and the needs of the customers. The particular challenge here was to create continuity and at the same time raise the user experience to a new level. The ambitious goal was ultimately to develop a new product that would build on the success of TECTON. “It's clear that the market for continuous rooflights has grown significantly in recent years. This is mainly due to the fact that applications in which continuous rooflights are used are booming, for example in the logistics, retail and data center sectors,” adds VP Central PLM & R&D Klaus Vamberszky.
Thanks to its multidisciplinary expertise, Pininfarina was able to provide optimum support here. “The development of TECTON II is a paradigm shift for us, as new partners, a new methodology and new technologies are being used,” says Bernd Walser. “A project like this always has a certain ambivalence: on the one hand, it represents an enormous challenge for companies, while on the other hand, there is also a lot to learn and take away. We are still reinventing ourselves every day and things come up that we haven't seen before. On the other hand, many predictions are coming true because we work very closely with the market. These are exactly the things that make our job so exciting.”
The development teams are looking forward to the market launch of TECTON II with excitement and anticipation. “We want to surprise our customers with TECTON II: with the possibilities that this product opens up, with the completely different approach and the mechanics, flexibility and openness in terms of digitalization. We used to talk about a trunking system, but with TECTON II we are now talking about an infrastructure with open interfaces,” explains Bernd Walser. For Zumtobel, one thing is clear: the project with Pininfarina is not just about the one-off development of a product that is completed with the market launch. Rather, the partners have defined a guideline for the design and further development over the next few years. It will be interesting to see what developments the team has in store.
