August 1, 2025
[UPDATED] Zumtobel Ends U.S. Production, Refocuses Strategy
$1.3 billion European firm shutters NY factory, stays active in Americas market
In a 244-page annual report released last week, Zumtobel quietly acknowledged that its U.S.-generated revenue share is “very low.” That brief line was uncharacteristic for a company that often touts global reach without dissecting regional struggles. Today, that passing comment has new context.
Zumtobel has announced it will cease manufacturing operations at its Highland, New York facility, a plant long tasked with serving local U.S. market demand. While this marks a significant shift in its American footprint, Zumtobel is not exiting the U.S. market. Sales and distribution will remain active, and the company plans to continue supporting specifiers, agents and customers through a new regional structure.
UPDATE: August 4, 2025
On Monday morning, Zumtobel Lighting Inc. clarified that production at the Highland, New York facility will wind down by December 2025, offering a more specific timeline for the transition. In a message to partners, Graham Whittaker, President of Zumtobel Lighting Inc., reaffirmed that the company’s U.S.-based sales, customer service, engineering, and technical support teams will remain fully staffed.
Cited as part of its broader FOCUSED[+] strategy, Zumtobel will split its Americas business into two distinct units: North America and South America. Future deliveries to American customers will be fulfilled through the company’s global production network — eight remaining factories, including seven across Europe and one in China. These plants support Zumtobel’s trio of core brands: Zumtobel, Thorn, and Tridonic.
A Strategic Retrenchment, Not a Withdrawal
The Highland closure reflects a sharpened strategy rather than a retreat. For years, the facility operated below capacity, and management described it as “structurally unprofitable and significantly underutilized for some time.” The company will take a one-time €9 million charge, mostly in the 2025–2026 fiscal year, but expects the long-term savings to outweigh the short-term impact.
Roughly 70 employees across manufacturing, logistics, R&D, and administration will be affected. The facility, located 80 miles north of Manhattan, had long served as a symbol of Zumtobel’s commitment to North American production. That symbolism, however, gave way to the hard math of a strained global economy and a fragmented architectural lighting landscape in the U.S.
Despite high brand recognition, Zumtobel never secured a dominant foothold in the American architectural lighting market. The company’s aesthetic sensibility — sleek, minimal, unmistakably European — earned it admiration but limited reach in a competitive, spec-driven environment.
A Local Transition, A Global Context
The leadership shuffle that preceded this announcement now reads as more than coincidental. Rolland Mok, who led Zumtobel’s Americas region for six years, departed in February and resurfaced two miles down the road as CEO of Selux Corporation, another European-based lighting brand with a New York manufacturing presence. Mok’s successor, Kevin Thompson, stepped in as Interim Americas CEO while also overseeing the Middle East, India, and Africa.
Selux seemingly continues to invest in its U.S. operations. Zumtobel, meanwhile, is recalibrating — not disappearing. Its U.S. sales teams remain in place, the brand still active in specification, and its global plants now tasked with delivering to American clients.
The lights aren’t off for Zumtobel in the U.S. — they’re simply no longer being wired in the Hudson Valley.
