Peter Johansen, who originally piloted Martin Professional to become the world’s most influential lighting manufacturer, takes on the role of Director of SGM R&D. Based in Aarhus, Denmark, with eight of his former R&D team, Johansen will oversee parallel development of a series of conventional discharge moving lights and LED fixtures.

The Dane says he had no intention of re-entering the lighting industry once his ten-year noncompeting contract had expired; however, after meeting Arturo Vicari, Managing Director of the RCF Group (of which SGM is a part), the deal was struck. “I could see they would be great guys to work with - but I only agreed to join SGM on the understanding that I could get my old team back,” said Johansen. “I asked them whether they were ready to do it again - and they were immediately hooked on the idea, which was very exciting.”

A further stimulus to the new SGM R&D team was the belief that there was huge potential for development. “You are still seeing copies of products dating back to 1993-94. If this had not been the case I would have had no intention of coming back.”

Johansen will be starting from scratch with a new set of products for SGM, the first of which is ready - a new strobe light. The aim is to develop a new product every 40 -50 days. The products, which are likely to include LED fixtures as well as moving heads, will utilise new technologies, and many will be suitable for both entertainment and architectural projects, indicative of the crossover between the two markets. A whole family of new products is due for release during Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt, with even more set for the months that follow.

Summing up, Johansen says: “It’s really exciting to be able to give my old team the opportunity to work on developing exclusive products. They are extremely enthusiastic and I can see the progress we are making from day to day.”

Several R&D engineers were members of what he calls his ‘dream team’ back in the mid-‘90s, and among products already on the drawing board are a revolutionary moving head with new features built in. Meanwhile, Giorgio Radice, who brokered the deal, paid tribute to the Johansen’s accomplishments and sees his return as a spiritual homecoming. “He was one of the giants of the industry when I was just a young guy starting out. I considered him a genius with his crazy ideas about lighting - he was one of the people who changed the lighting industry and increased the size of the market.

“This is a really exciting time as we are not in a start-up situation - and we are already seeing the results.”

Taking up the story, SGM and RCF Group Managing Director, Arturo Vicari, stated: “When RCF Group went public in 2007 the goal was to grow and to reach a significant position within our business.

“Our main business has always been audio - but last year we decided to look for some other synergies and decided to acquire SGM, a manufacturer of lighting systems mainly for the professional market. “

While SGM was a consolidated brand in the lighting market it needed a significant restructuring. This we did, and although SGM can now successfully compete in the market, the growth of SGM, as it was, still did not have the momentum that we wanted.

“We started to look for someone that could drive the company out of that situation and when I had the opportunity to talk to Peter Johansen, I knew that he was the person we were looking for.

“To meet someone like Peter at just the right time was pure luck, and we are delighted to welcome such an iconic figure to head up our new R&D team. He and his engineers in Denmark are already well into an exciting development programme and we look forward to showing the first results of this at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt next spring.

“It’s great to have him on board with us.”

Peter Johansen: The Interim Years

After leaving the lighting industry in 1998 Peter Johansen spent his time working mainly in the de luxe yachting and wind turbine industries.

However, his first venture was to set up Nitram Dental (‘Martin’ spelt backwards), which he eventually sold to Siemens. Converting smoke machine technology, he developed a product to clean, lubricate and sterilise dental hand pieces and turbines in a single working process.

He also started Royal Denship, a company making luxury yachts, and Dencam, which became the biggest manufacturer of large-scale milling and plugs for the wind turbine industry, which he sold in 2007.

Peter developed several other successful companies, including Lantic Systems, which provided entertainment systems for super yachts and for private homes, Royal Tender, making luxury accessories for mega yachts and Camcom, which offered plugs, moulds and other components for the wind power industry.

Along the way he set up a factory in Thailand where windmill blades were made under the Martin Industrial Group brand. His manufacturing resource is also likely to be used for some of SGM Lighting’s future production.

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