BEGA Catalog 15

To appreciate the history of BEGA North America, it's helpful to know a bit about the story of BEGA, an international company based in Menden, Germany, and its relationship to our team here in California.

BEGA, a third-generation family-held company, was founded in 1945. At its inception, BEGA began producing the world's finest architectural lighting solutions. Quality above all… from the very beginning! Over time, through organic growth and the acquisition of other manufacturing operations, BEGA has developed into a vertically integrated manufacturing company with an international presence, now employing roughly one thousand people around the world.

BEGA was first introduced to the U.S. market through a licensing agreement with an interior luminaire manufacturer in 1961. This agreement provided for certain products to be sold under a different brand. In 1985, founding partner, Larry Routh, formed a joint venture partnership with the managing directors of BEGA, so the entire BEGA portfolio could be brought to the U.S. This partnership was the origin of BEGA North America, a U.S. corporation, and we credit our founding partners with the core values that guide us still today.

From our modest beginnings, essentially converting a limited number of European designs to U.S. standards, BEGA North America has grown into a multimillion dollar corporation servicing all of North and Central America. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and corporate headquarters are located just south of Santa Barbara in Carpinteria, CA.

Our vision is to illuminate what matters. To accomplish this we approach product design as innovators, not followers. BEGA designs not only blend with, but complement all manner of architecture. We achieve this through our commitment to engineering practicality, combined with using only the highest quality materials. The resulting attention to detail, when it comes to fit, tolerances, and installation methods, is second to none.

Over seven decades of time honored tradition and innovation bring us to where we are today. Through the years, people have often asked “what does BEGA mean?” While there is not a literal definition for this word, we feel BEGA can be summed up as follows. We have been, and always will be, committed to quality above all. By consistently staying focused on what matters, whether it’s our products, our work environment, our family of employees, or our continued growth, we have built a company that not only stands the test of time – but will always define excellence as we move into the future.