Arnhem Centraal Station opened its doors in November 2015, fulfilling the expectations of a long-term project that sought to consolidate itself as a new icon of Dutch and European architecture. The project is led by UN studio, the main architecture firm in the country. The lighting section of Arup, the world leading brand in urban engineering, was directed by the prestigious Dutch light designer Irish Dijkstra, founder of Atelier Lek. The presence of “Lighting Designers” in the project team allowed the implementation of an independent strategic lighting technology capable of responding to the foundations of modern architecture, and so enhancing its essence: the meeting of light and form. Since 2007, Atelier Lek contributed to the creation of an avant-garde vision of the station, later translating it into an executable master plan capable of integrating total cost of ownership, visual comfort and aesthetic harmonisation. Following a benchmark of the most advanced and versatile alternatives on the market, the Lined luminaire from Setga was the design selected to illuminate the access roads and the surroundings of this futuristic railway station.

Technological reliability

The applied luminaire stands out for its APS (Argon Pressurised System) technology with IP68 rated seals, whereby the optical-electronic module is pressurised in an inert atmosphere of argon gas in order to prevent the entry of moist air from outside. A phenomenon caused by the pressure reduction experienced within the interior of any standard LED luminaire at the time when it is switched off. By creating such an inert atmosphere, the destructive effects of moisture, salinity, volatile organic components and sulphurisation in LED semiconductors are therefore avoided, all of these being elements which are present in the external environment of a city.

It should be noted that recent studies by Samsung Electronics [1] [2] and the Harbin Institute of Technology [3], presented empirical evidence on premature flow degradation and variations in colour temperature and CRI due to the impact of such agents SETGA argon gas technology (APS) was therefore a particularly valued aspect when analysing the potential for lifespan, yield and colour stability of the product in a country where relative humidity indices are above 80%. In order to minimise the total cost of ownership (TOC), the Lined luminaire incorporates a long-term replacement programme whereby the manufacturer has the ability to update LED technology inside the optical-electronic module by reusing the rest of the components of the luminaire. According to a thesis produced at the prestigious ESADE business school, LED technologies based on inert atmospheres and in this L/P maintenance model would entail an additional 40% reduction in the total cost of ownership of the EU public lighting infrastructure with respect to the existing LED standards in the market, from -50.46% to -70.58%. 

Avant-garde and conceptual versatility.

According to the SETGA project team, composed of Jesús Saveedra, Jorge Lameiro, and Francisco Paz, “the Arnhem Centraal Station project was an opportunity for co-innovation, from which the elementary form of the Lined Luminaire demonstrated once again its ability to adapt to the essence of each urban challenge.” On this occasion, Irish Dijkstra was looking for a symmetrical column capable of providing continuity to the form, avoiding arrogant design in order to preserve harmony with a modern environment, based on a principle of aesthetic honesty. From this vision, the Arnhem column series was born.

 

[1]Costantini.A; Sulfurization – Samsung LED technology, Samsung Electronics

(2015). 

[2]Lee.S; Case study of LED PKG fieldfailures, discoloration.

Samsung Electronics (2015). 

[3]Zhao, S., Caers, J., Hang, C., Fei, J., Tian, Y ., Zhang, W., Wang,C. (2013). Theeffects of

humidity and temperatureon flexible packagingled modules. Philips Research High Tech

Campus 34, Harbin Institute of Technology, p 1126 – 1129

 

In mid-2017, Pro-Rail, the Duth equivalent of the Spanish Adif, launched a contest for the supply of LED luminaires for lighting in all stations in the country. Many manufacturers participated in an arduous process of pre-selection and approval, but only three brands were selected by the Dutch railway management company to participate in this tender: Dutch company Philips, Belgian company Schréder, and Spanish company Setga.

The Galician manufacturer was the winner of the project to provide the exterior lighting of the platforms with a value of 1.8 million euro. Despite the complex technological requirements, SETGA achieved the highest score in technical terms and total guarantee.

Its patented anti-humidity technology applied to the LED module, based on high-resistance IP67 and IP68 seals with Argon gas have been highly valued by Pro-Rail when estimating a longer life cycle and the consequent reduction in total maintenance costs. Equally important was the speed of supply achieved through a production system based on native manufacturing of 97% of the value added in components through a JIT system (“Just in Time”) composed exclusively of auxiliary industries throughout Galicia and further afield in Spain.

This scheme has allowed this tender to be submitted with a maximum delivery period of five weeks, which has even been beaten in supply of the first nine stations, achieving a record period of four weeks. Stations such as Rotterdam, Zuid and Rhenen, among nine others, have already been equipped with the TSD LED luminaires manufactured by the Pontevedra factory since last November. This is undoubtedly the beginning of a project that will cover a significant part of the 397 stations of the Dutch Rail Network over the next five years.

With this milestone, this thriving Galician manufacturer demonstrates not only that it is consolidated in the municipal market of the Netherlands with the presence of its technology in over 84 municipalities, including Amsterdam and its metropolitan area, Almere, Nijmegen, Assen and the Hague; it also reaffirms its capacity in the market of the great governmental infrastructures of Holland, after illuminating the expansion of the port of Rotterdam between 2016-2017, as well as various infrastructures of the Dutch defense ministry.

On November 25, Het Financiee le Dagblad (fd.nl), the leading Dutch financial newspaper, published the headline “Spanish LED lighting conquers the streets of Holland”. This article highlighted the surprising progression experienced by Spanish manufacturer Setga in the Dutch market, the founding cradle of the European lighting industry, where between 2013 and 2014 they obtained two consecutive contracts to illuminate the most emblematic areas of Amsterdam, a success which contributed to the subsequent adoption of Galician LED technology in over 30 cities in the country during the course of 2015. This recognition in the Dutch national press explicitly mentioned the cities of Nijmegen, Almere, Arnhem, Aalsmeer, Amsterdam, Wassenaar and Bergen, and included the testimonies of several engineers from these municipalities, who highlighted the high technological value of the Galician manufactured LED luminaires.

Of all these projects, the completion of the integral change to LED in the historic centre of Bergen took on a particularly nostalgic dimension for the world of Spanish industrial design, as the icon inspired by the gas lamps that characterised the Atlantic and Cantabrian cities of the early nineteenth century, was managed to be imposed on luminaries of French tradition and central European inspiration. In this way, the lamp developed jointly by Pontevedra architect Jesús Folé and Setga for the historic centre of Pontevedra, is consolidated in the map of European urban design, even being earmarked within the urban plans for the German city of Berlin.

The most relevant milestone of the year for the Galician lighting industry, however, took place after the publication in Het Financieele Dagblad. Against all odds, at the beginning of December, Setga LED technology began to illuminate the exterior of Arnhem Centraal Station, currently the most avant-garde station in the Netherlands. The project is led by UN studio, the main architecture firm in the country. The lighting section of Arup, the world leading brand in urban engineering, was directed by the prestigious Dutch light designer Irish Dijkstra, founder of Atelier Lek. Finally, the Lined LED luminaire from Setga, whose first pilot tests began in the cities of A Coruña, Vigo and Pontevedra over four years ago, was the design selected to illuminate the access roads and the surroundings of this futuristic station. The ability of its patented argon gas technology to completely neutralise the destructive effect of moisture and salinity on the electronic components of the luminaire, was a particularly valued aspect when analysing the potential for lifespan, performance and colour stability of the different alternatives that were considered for this project. The first of the projects, in Bergen, achieved a relative saving in consumption (Kw/h) of 78%, whilst the second project in Arnhem achieved 81%, levels that are very close to the Spanish record of an 82% energy saving, achieved by one of the first ESES implemented with LED technology in the municipality of Catoira, in the northwest of Spain, which was fully equipped with Setga technology.

In order to continue to increase its growth in the Dutch market over the next few years, Setga has secured an investment agreement in early December with Modernista, its exclusive distributor in the country for 6 years. The joint conquest of the most emblematic projects of the country in the last two years: Amsterdam Red Carpet, Amsterdam XXI century, Bergen and Arnhem station, together with an average sales growth of 270%, and entry into over 30 municipalities, have been the main drivers of this acquisition.  The main objective of this strategic decision is to build upon the co-innovation, agility and continuous technical support model developed successfully during the last 25 years in Spain. With this objective, its subsidiary Setga Nederland and Modernista have created a project centre for the Netherlands, which has meant a 100% growth in the operational workforce in the country. With a project portfolio of over €5 Million, Setga has now achieved 3% of the Dutch market share, in an industry where the largest local players individually achieve less than 15%. With the financial strengthening of Modernista, Setga expects to achieve at least 10% market share in the next three years. Continued focus on innovation and technological intelligence will be a key factor in consolidating Setga’s position in the Dutch market.  The development of its latest generation LED luminaires equipped with Argon gas technology has meant a total investment of €2,700,000, including machinery and equipment, R&D costs and the requirement for over 25 international approvals from the energy institutes of the 11 countries in which Setga operates. During 2016 and 2017, the annual investment level in R&D will grow by 220%, which will make way for the third generation of LED luminaires.

Despite its diversification towards international markets, Setga remains committed to retaining over 95% of its component value chain in Spain, and at least 80% in Galicia. Of the 50 mechanical and electronic components that make up a luminaire on average, 40 are manufactured less than 50 kilometeres from the Pontevedra headquarters of Setga.

Source of Dutch article:

http://fd.nl/ondernemen/1128790/spaanse-ledverlichting-verovert-nederlandse-straten