The two organizations representing the lighting industry in Europe, ELC and CELMA, are merging to form a new organization named LightingEurope, which was launched on December 5, 2012 in Brussels.

Billing itself as “the voice of the lighting industry in Europe,” the new association will represent Europe’s many national lighting associations, as well as European lighting companies of all sizes – including SMEs – that are active in consumer and/or professional lighting.

ELC is the European Lamp Companies Federation, and CELMA is the Federation of National Manufacturers Associations for Luminaires and Electrotechnical Components for Luminaires. Going forward, LightingEurope will replace both these organizations.

ELC and CELMA have worked closely for several years to present a united position for the European lighting industry. For the past two iterations of Light+Building, they have held joint seminars on LED legislation and market development (see Related Stories, right). The two organizations have also presented jointly at the Strategies in Light Europe events in 2010 through 2012.

LightingEurope says that it will “unify the strengths of the industry to meet the challenges and opportunities created by the current unprecedented change in lighting technology and production caused by the introduction of LED lighting.”

The organization also aims to serve as a platform for “development and communication of industry positions while shaping the future of lighting in Europe and globally.”

The founder members of LightingEurope (shown below) include 8 of the 12 companies that are current ELC members – familiar names such as GE, Havells Sylvania, Osram, Philips and Toshiba – as well as Panasonic and Zumtobel. Many of the national lighting associations that are currently members of CELMA will also participate in LightingEurope.