AUNDE and MENTOR establish joint venture MUNDA for textile lighting systems
AUNDE and MENTOR combine their core capabilities and establish a joint venture to work together on the development, production and delivery of textile lighting systems. The two companies are to become equal partners with 50 per cent shares each in the new joint venture. The German competition authority, Bundeskartellamt, has already given its approval. AUNDE’s expertise in technical textiles and MENTOR’s experience in LED lighting technology come together at the Erkrath site in the newly founded MUNDA Textile Lichtsysteme GmbH. New opportunities for innovative technical lighting applications in the automotive industry as well as in many other industries are developed here. Previously, more functional perspectives, such as good orientation, were the focus of automotive interior lighting, but today emotional aspects such as atmosphere, well-being and character are also given much thought. And the desire for individual lighting that adapts to the preferences of the respective driver, for example, or that can be adjusted by the driver according to mood is also gaining in importance.
In future, there will be an even greater fusion of functional and emotional aspects, with new functions emerging that are becoming more and more dynamic. This development is set to gain a lot more momentum during the current mega trend towards autonomous driving, with virtually no area of a car’s interior being left out. “The textile lighting systems from MUNDA will meet these new requirements and help create entirely new customer experiences,” says Rolf Königs, CEO of the AUNDE Group.
But it is not just the automotive industry where state-of-the-art lighting solutions are used. Demand for product-integrated lighting is also on the rise in many other industries for their increasingly multifunctional products. The aim is to generate practical added value in the products of tomorrow through functional, aesthetic and emotional aspects.
In either case, the technology of textile lighting systems offers huge benefits and creates entirely new possibilities. Requiring hardly any component-specific tool costs, this technology enables short development times and is suitable even for quantities where a tool-based technology is no longer cost-effective. As they allow for easy assembly and draping, i.e. they can be folded into (almost) any shape, textile lighting systems provide designers with new design options and give developers greater flexibility in how to use installation space, which is often very tight. “The technology under development at MUNDA will open up new areas of application and further growth opportunities in many industries,” says Wido Weyer, Managing Director of MENTOR.
About AUNDE
Founded in Mönchengladbach in 1899, the AUNDE Group with its brands AUNDE, ISRINGHAUSEN and FEHRER produces yarns, technical textiles, foams, seat covers, seats, technical springs and interior modules for leading automotive manufacturers worldwide. AUNDE has more than 24,000 employees, with its products being produced in 115 factories in 29 countries worldwide.
About MENTOR
Founded in 1920, MENTOR is a recognised development partner and series supplier for key automotive manufacturers and renowned OEMs of other industries. With production sites on three different continents and representations for over 40 countries, MENTOR develops and produces LED-based lighting systems for ambient and functional lighting as well as state-of-the-art control and display elements for housing fronts and other mechanical, electronic and opto-electronic HMI components.
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