10.07.2020
Our product development process is guided by leading principles, such as appropriateness, ease of use, safety, durability and aesthetic appearance of the product.
The product development, manufacture, sales, marketing, installation and maintenance activities all take place under the same roof at Lumon
Over the decades, we at Lumon have believed that we can benefit significantly from a full control over the entire process, as we can then develop our operations flexibly, in accordance with needs prevailing at the time in question. The management of the entire chain has enabled our continuous interaction at each process stage with different players and, above all, with our customers. This is how we have received direct feedback that has allowed for a rapid and continuous improvement of our solutions. Each innovation is a solution that fulfills the needs that have been set by our customers. Over the past decades, it has been rewarding to participate in several common innovation meetings, at which we have developed something new, together with our customers and other interest groups. With content, we can today admire various balcony and terrace facades in different parts of Finland, as well as in other European countries and North America.
For example, it is a pleasure to mention Tripla in this connection. It is a major construction project that was chosen to represent the Glass Structure of 2020 in Finland. The glass balcony facade of the object with 400 apartments was implemented with a combination of integrated Lumon glass balcony and balustrade systems. The implementation method of the balustrades at Tripla shows our new product development innovation that makes it possible to use a solution with no rail posts in multi-purpose balconies, too. The successful end result of the Tripla project was attained by working in a seamless cooperation with the orderer of the object and the designers.
Design from Finland
Lumon is a family-owned company that has been in business for more than 40 years. We are proud of the fact that our products are still designed and made in Finland. We at Lumon have made a great deal of persistent research work and studying over the decades and passed several important milestones. We have been able to define the identity of a building product item that was earlier unknown on the market: the retractable, frameless balcony glazing product. To mention an example, the Lumon balcony glazing system was the first of our products to get a CE marking.
The persistent attitude to our product development in the corporate history also manifests itself in the intensity of the commitment shown by our personnel members. For example, an employee who took part in the development of the first Lumon glazing version at the beginning of the 1990s is also taking part in the development of the sixth Lumon glazing version. It is true that Lumon has reinforced its R&D team over the years. In fact, we can find a chain of three generations in the composition of our R&D team, as representatives of three successive generations have worked for Lumon. This is how it is possible to make full use of the tacit knowledge that has been obtained over the years.
It is quite clear at Lumon that the final visual appearance of all our product solutions must be ensured through a seamless cooperation between our own R&D team and the distinguished, recognised Finnish product designers. We set great store by the recognition that allows us to use the mark “Design from Finland” in the marketing endeavours of our products.
“The mark ‘Design from Finland’ makes Finnish excellence in design visible. The mark recognises that the product or service has been designed in Finland and the company has invested in the professional design of the product.”
Being up-to-date
On one hand, digitalisation and, on the other hand, a growing concern about the environment are the major megatrends today.
Our purpose is to make the use of Lumon products very easy in the plans. All the necessary design information is any time available on our websites through a downloadable ProdLib application in the Lumon product library. It is easy for you to get updated information about our products automatically through our product library.
We have also recently completed our Virtual Reality tool that allows us to present glazing ideas without a real product, or products through the Internet without meeting the customer in person. Together with our customers and interest groups, we aim to develop “a digital connection” to enable the transfer of our product information, starting from those that relate to architectural plans up to those that relate to the manufacture of the product. It is also important to transfer all necessary product information through site operations back to the customer in the form of a digital as-built model. We believe this can be done, in cooperation with our long-term customers and interest groups.
The planned serviceable life of the balcony glazing product is, as long as, 30 years. The goal is achievable, provided that the product is kept in condition by means of the work performed by our maintenance service staff at regular intervals. After the serviceable life, almost all product materials can be further recycled. The glazing installation provides the balcony with a warm “buffer”, as compared to unglazed balconies. This makes it possible to achieve energy savings of even more than 10 percent in the heating of the apartment, depending on the implementation. Thanks to these energy savings, the carbon footprint of the product is typically paid back in less than four years. As regards the planned serviceable life, the glazing solutions act, in fact, as carbon sinks, and, thus, they should be regarded as obligatory accessories in all apartments with balconies.
In addition, the glazed balcony provides residents with more comfortable housing conditions. According to another viewpoint, it is possible to build smaller apartments more cost-efficiently and more ecologically, without impairing their functionality, through ideal planning of the housing activities and by providing the multi-purpose balcony with a glazing solution. This could have a significant effect on the ever increasing housing construction costs and support the principles of sustainable development in the construction sector.
It is now a well-known fact that glazing systems have a significant effect on energy savings, but very soon we want to present product solutions that also make it possible to generate energy!
I believe these development principles and the large-scale cooperation between various parties will enable us to create new, fabulous innovations for housing construction in the future. Do you have any balcony or terrace-related development ideas to enable us to make better homes together?
