Magazine

Businesses That Evolve Succeed

Barbican truly understands the needs of the interior designer - Client Testimonial

Barbican is one of North America’s leading manufacturers of energy efficient commercial and industrial lighting solutions. Founded in 1990 in Toronto, Barbican began as a manufacturer/distributor of die-cast residential mailboxes.

Eventually, mailbox demand diminished, so the related tooling was sold and Barbican entered a new product realm – custom lighting. The company grew into a strong new niche, designing and manufacturing stylish, European-influenced lighting fixtures for the North American market.

With this growth came a new facility in Fort Erie. The location close to the border was key. With 80% of its sales in the U.S., Barbican is able to service its primary market seamlessly.

Barbican truly understands the needs of the interior designer.” “When talking to clients on the phone, they often might not know where Fort Erie is,” says Steven Geiger, vice president of sales. “I just mention that I can see the Buffalo skyline from my window, and they understand right away how close we are to the States.”

From its Fort Erie base, Barbican can preclear product and warehouse it in Buffalo, ensuring quick order turnaround for all its American orders.

With 80 independent agents as well as showrooms in Chicago and New York, Barbican’s reach is considerable, illuminating offices, banks, hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, schools, community centres and hospitals across North America. Additional showrooms will be opening in Los Angeles and London, England in the near future.

Barbican’s 80 employees, which include many highly-skilled personnel involved in R&D, engineering and product design, work out of a 65,000 sq.ft. facility on Central Avenue and a recently opened second 90,000 sq.ft. facility on Phipps Street.

“We’re fully committed to operating in Fort Erie,” says Geiger. “Our new plant allows us to expand into new product areas such as ceiling systems that incorporate our patented 3D fiberglass printing technology.” This innovative system reinvents how spaces can be illuminated, diffusing LED lighting above the mesh material to create a consistent, shadow-free and glare-free lighting.  

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