Louis Poulsen is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

lighting manufacturer that was founded in 1874. Louis Poulsen Lighting is represented by subsidiaries, distribution offices and agents around the world. Their key sales regions are

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Some of Louis Poulsen's best designers were

Arne Jacobsen Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple we ...

and

Poul Henningsen Poul Henningsen (9 September 1894 – 31 January 1967) was a Danish author, critic, architect, and designer. In Denmark, where he often is referred to simply as PH, he was one of the leading figures of the cultural life of Denmark between the Worl ...

. Some of their signature products are the PH-Lamps.

History

In 1874 Ludvig R. Poulsen set up a wine importing business under the name Kjøbenhavns direkte Vin-Import-Kompagni (The Copenhagen Direct Wine Import Company). The firm closed down in 1878. In 1892 Ludvig Poulsen opened his second business, this time selling tools and electrical supplies. In 1896 Ludvig R. Poulsen hired his nephew, Louis Poulsen. Ludvig R. Poulsen died in 1906. His nephew Louis took over the business and, two years later, moved it to Nyhavn 11. In 2019 the headquarters moved to Holmen, in Copenhagen, which is the location of the company's head office. Five years later, Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen became a partner in the firm, whose name is changed to Louis Poulsen & Co. In 1914 Louis Poulsen & Co. published its first catalogue – featuring machines and tools. In 1917, Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen bought Louis Poulsen's share in the firm for 10,000 Danish kroner and became the sole owner of Louis Poulsen & Co. Designer

began working together with Louis Poulsen in 1924, with a view to taking part in an international exhibition for decorative art to be held in Paris called "Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs & Industriels Modernes". A competition was held to find qualified participants: Henningsen was one of the winners. Next year, Poul Henningsen's lamps earned Gold medals in this exhibition. In 1926 Louis Poulsen and Poul Henningsen were awarded a contract to provide lighting for the newly constructed Forum building in Copenhagen using the now-legendary PH lamp with three shades system. Louis Poulsen started marketing light fittings, and its first lighting catalogue was published with descriptions in Danish, German, English and French. In 1941, at the time of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Louis Poulsen & Co. A/S acquired the Laurits Henriksen metal goods factory in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and became a manufacturer of lighting fittings. Henningsen designed a blackout lamp for the

Tivoli Gardens Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...

in Copenhagen which allows the Gardens to stay open until midnight: the light from the lamps cannot be seen from aeroplanes flying over the city. The PH5 lamp was launched in 1958: the 5 in its name refers to its 50 cm diameter. The first lighting subsidiary outside Denmark was set up in Western Germany in 1962. Other subsidiaries were established in France, in 1964 and in Sweden, 1975. In 1967 the partnership I/S El-Salg was founded. After 2 years Elpefa A/S moved to a new factory building at Sluseholmen and took over all production and assembly of fixtures and fittings. In 1977 Elpefa A/S merged with Louis Poulsen. Louis Poulsen class B shares were quoted on the

Copenhagen Stock Exchange The Nasdaq Copenhagen, formerly known as the Copenhagen Stock Exchange ( da, Københavns Fondsbørs), is an international marketplace for Danish securities, including shares, bonds, treasury bills and notes, and financial futures and options. ...

for the first time. 1985, a lighting subsidiary in the

, a wholesale electrical supplies business in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, and JO-EL A/S were set up. In 1987 a lighting subsidiary in Norway was established. Louis Poulsen Group sales passed the 1 billion DKK mark. Subsidiaries in Australia and Netherlands were opened the following year. In 1989, Louis Poulsen purchased Skandia Havemann's El A/S, thereby acquiring 16 wholesale electrical supplies outlets. Poul Henningsen would have turned 100 years old on 9 September 1994. Louis Poulsen & Co. A/S celebrated the occasion by publishing a book on the history of the PH lamp, by recreating the PH table lamp and TREPH pendant of the late 1920s, and by arranging an exhibition of old PH lamps at the Design Museum Danmark ( Kunstindustrimuseet) in

. In 2004, Louis Poulsen Lighting,

Fritz Hansen Fritz Hansen, also known as Republic of Fritz Hansen, is a Danish furniture design company. Designers who have worked for Fritz Hansen include Arne Jacobsen (1902–1971), Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980), Hans J. Wegner (1914–2007) and Piet Hein ...

Royal Copenhagen Royal Copenhagen, officially the Royal Porcelain Factory ( da, Den Kongelige Porcelænsfabrik), is a Danish manufacturer of porcelain products and was founded in Copenhagen in 1775 under the protection of Danish Dowager Queen Juliane Marie. It is ...

and

Bang & Olufsen Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is a Danish high-end consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products, television sets, and telephones. It was founded in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, who designed a radio to work with alt ...

cooperated on an exhibition in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

on the occasion of Queen Margrethe's official visit to Japan in November. The exhibition titled "Styling Danish Life" was created by the world-famous architect Tadao Ando. In June 2018, an investment subsidiary of Investindustrial VI L.P. (“Investindustrial”) acquired Louis Poulsen A/S. The transaction was subject to customary regulatory approvals and closed in Q3 2018.

References

* http://www.louispoulsen.com/ * http://www.louispoulsen.com/int/about-us/history.aspx * https://www.louispoulsen.com/usa/media-press-room/press-release/investindustrial-acquires-louis-poulsen/
Louis Poulsen
Background information on the history and design drafts at the design agency TAGWERC

External links

* {{Danish modern Danish brands Lighting brands Furniture companies of Denmark Manufacturing companies based in Copenhagen Danish companies established in 1874