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Strand Lighting
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryStage & Television Lighting
Founded1914 (London)
HeadquartersDallas,Texas, United States
ParentSignify, N.V.
Websitehttp://www.strandlighting.com

Strand Lighting is an international theatre and television lighting company founded in 1914 in London's West End that supplies lighting fixtures and controls for the entertainment industry. Strand's products have been used on countless theatre productions and TV shows worldwide.

History

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Strand Electric and Engineering Company, as it was originally named, was created in 1914. Arthur Earnshaw and Phillip Sheridan were both London theatre electricians when they set up their company.[1][2]

In 1932, Frederick Bentham joined Strand. He would go onto revolutionise theatre lighting with his designs.[3] The Light Console was the first remote control theatre lighting console, while Pattern 23 (the first mass-produced spotlight) and Pattern 264 spotlights were further creations.[3] The company incorporated as Strand Electric Holdings in 1936.[4][5]

In 1968, Strand Lighting was purchased by The Rank Organisation and thus became Rank Strand.[1][6]

In 1969, Rank took over Century Lighting (Started in New York in 1929) which became Strand Century in the US.[1]

In 1976, Rank acquired Stagesound Ltd from Theatre Projects and created Rank Strand Sound.

In 1986, Rank Strand bought Quartzcolor, an Italian-based manufacturer of TV & film lighting.[1]

In 1990, Strand Lighting became the first company (and only North American company) to achieve ISO9500 Quality certification.

Strand was bought from Rank by a venture capitalist group called Schroder Ventures in 1996.[7]

On 11 July 2006, the Genlyte Group, a US company, announced its acquisition of Strand Lighting. Genlyte was acquired by Royal Philips Lighting in 2008.[8] The lighting division of Philips was spun off from the parent company in 2016, and in 2018, Philips Lighting became Signify.[9] Strand Lighting is run as an independent brand within Signify, along with Vari-Lite, and continues as a leading name in stage, television, motion picture, and architectural lighting and services. Following the shift from Philips to Signify, Vari-Lite and Strand regained their standalone brand status in 2019, with a renewed commitment from the business to innovate and support the visions of creative artists worldwide.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2022, Strand Lighting, LLC. voluntarily filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in a Dallas, TX court. When asked about the filing, Signify stated that this filing is a part of the ongoing unifying branding effort to centralize its entertainment lighting products in a single legal entity, Vari-Lite LLC, and with focus on the Vari-Lite brand for all new entertainment products.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Mort. S (2015). Stage Lighting: The Technicians' Guide.
  2. ^ Briggs. J (2015). Encyclopedia of Stage Lighting. pp. 300–301. ISBN 9781476603001.
  3. ^ a b Pilbrow. R (31 May 2001). "Frederick Bentham - Obituaries". The Stage. p. 11.
  4. ^ "Strand Electric Holdings". The Times. 13 February 1936.
  5. ^ "Strand Electric Holdings". The Economist. Vol. 122. 1936. p. 378.
  6. ^ "Rank buy Strand". The Times. 10 April 1968.
  7. ^ "A History of Light and Lighting" (PDF). Lighting Associates Inc. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Philips Completes Acquisition of Genlyte" (Press release). 28 January 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
  9. ^ "Philips Lighting is now Signify". Philips. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Signify Rebranding Strategy Covering Strand, Vari-Lite, and Zero 88". PLSN Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
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