AL celebrated this week the 100 th anniversary of electric automotive lighting.
Around 25 experts and managers from all German car makers were invited last Tuesday to Reutlingen to participate in AL’s festival for the first century of our community’s stock in trade, and DVN Editor In Chief Hector Fratty gave a lecture.
AL presented a wonderful history of lighting from 1912 to 2012 in 6 booths where historic products represented significant milestones. Such a museum is very important for the company—for customers, suppliers, and employees alike—because it shows the roots of the company; the future is often forecast by the past.
AL also presented in a large area a great selection of their current products and mock-ups hinting at what the future will bring. Some of the rear lights, in particular, were quite fascinating.
CEO Eugenio Razelli started the lectures by a presentation of the market, the company and the noteworthy great increase in R&D activities.
Six presentations followed:
• “Past, Current, and Future technologies” by DVN Chief Hector Fratty (parts of this lecture will be published soon in DVN)
• “R&D at AL” by Kamislav Fadel, VP R&D director. Fruitful information on the five main drivers of automotive lighting: performance, styling differentiation, quality, cost, and energy consumption.
Then came four very interesting lectures on the history of front and rear lighting, optics, and electronics.
After a nice dinner, the attendees were invited to drive 6 cars equipped with cutting edge new lighting technology. To entertain the attendees between night tests, a 4-metre giant robot driven by 4 people, “LEDs replacing blood”, made some dance steps and realistic body movements.
