Artist of the light Company News

Only with the right lighting can the water in the pool be set in an atmospheric scene. This is made possible by special underwater spotlights integrated into the pool body, the manufacture of which requires technical perfection and innovative ideas. Wibre is a true pioneer in this field. On the occasion of the company's centenary, the manufacturer is offering exclusive insights into its production at the location in Leingarten.

One hundred years have passed since Wilhelm Breuninger founded the company Wibre in Mecklenburg. A lot has happened since then: While the company initially manufactured electronic household appliances such as kettles, hairdryers, toasters and the like, it had concentrated on creative lighting solutions parallel to its relocation to Baden-Württemberg in 1953. With 50 employees at the head office in Leingarten and numerous other representatives in Germany and around the world, Wibre now offers a range of luminaires that leaves nothing to be desired: whether it's the illumination of buildings, parks, fountains or, above all, swimming pools - Wibre is a leader in lighting design under water and outdoors. The basis for this success is the high quality of the products and thus the manufacturing process in the company's own production facilities.

Since 1919, production has taken place exclusively in Germany. Wibre has always expanded and modernized individual manufacturing steps. In this context, active lean management, in which individual processes are continuously optimized, now guarantees an efficient design of the value chain. In addition, Wibre produces to order, which means that so that the storage of spotlights is not necessary. Each spotlight is therefore a "fresh" product, as explained to the haus+wellness* team during a tour of the production facility. Fast response times are guaranteed - also for large and special orders - not least by specially developed and built, product-specific assembly stations as well as short distances for the individual parts thanks to the directly affiliated Kan-Ban system. To enable Wibre to react flexibly to customer requirements, the company recently decided to integrate so called one-piece flow workstations. The existing employee-bound workflow up to the completion of the product is extremely progressive. For the employees, this work is particularly varied and demanding. Furthermore, several employees can produce at the same time. A true win-win situation. It almost goes without saying that the entire production at Wibre is ESD protected. This means that electromagnetic charges are minimized by using a special floor and their discharge to the environment is secured. Individual workstations with chairs, tables and so on are also designed to be ESD compliant.

But now to the manufacture of the product: spotlights for use in the pool. There is a separate assembly station for each group of spotlights. Depending on the size and nature of the spotlight, either dexterity or more physical strength is required here. Wibre mainly employs skilled electricians in this area to meet high-quality standards. The basic structure of a swimming pool spotlight, which has a modular design, is as follows: Stainless-steel housing, special underwater cable, LED board, stainless-steel cover, gaskets and toughened safety glass. Incidentally, all these components are sourced from German, mostly regional suppliers. A mandatory requirement for all underwater spotlights is absolute impermeability to water. As a specialist for the IP68 standard, Wibre fully conforms to all requirements.

The employees in the quality assurance department make sure that every product that leaves production conforms to all the high standards. One hundred percent of the headlights are inspected manually. Each product is thoroughly examined regarding optical, electrical, mechanical and lighting parameters, considering the ISO standard, before it receives a quality seal. After this inspection, the product is usually on its way to the customer on the same day - and thus on its way to the pool oasis at home.

Wibre also pays the maximum attention to the topic of development. The headlamp development department works directly with sales, marketing and production. In this way, demand and production possibilities can be precisely coordinated. Here, the development department performs the balancing act between classic handicraft methods and the latest research technology such as 3D printing. Special products or new ideas can thus be produced and integrated as prototypes in a wide variety of versions.

Somewhat nostalgic, but extremely precise, the in-house metalworking presents itself. When you enter these premises, it immediately becomes clear that German craftsmanship is still visible here. Using the highest quality stainless steel, Wibre has the possibility to manufacture very variably and also to quickly realize individual customer wishes.