Research

Berger does not just use its know-how to implement complex tasks, but also
creates new know-how through own research in the field of lighting technology.
One example from the more recent past:
Together with four medium-sized companies and four universities and with
financial support from the Federal Ministry of Research Berger has been
developing energy-efficient, mercury-free low-pressure lamps. The aim of
the national research project is to create a pollutant-free product, which is
not dependent on temperatures, that owing to its low construction depth
(maximum thickness of 2cm) offers architects new possibilities for design in
order for example to integrate neon writing into façades in an even more
harmonious manner. The approaches for energy-saving and pollutant-free
discharge lamps which are known from lighting technology, such as xenon
lamps for automobile headlamps are also examined with regard to their
suitability for the purposes of light advertising and further developed. The
disadvantages of customary lights such as for example the restricted degree
of efficiency, the dependency on temperatures or the use of harmful materials
such as mercury are soon to be a thing of the past. In the test series we test
using the inert gas xenon, that so far has been used in automobile headlamps
and does not contain any pollutants. The four companies which are integrated
into the tests respectively assume responsibility for one sub-area. The internal
luminescent materials are produced in Greifswald, the necessary ballasts in
Aachen and the housing in Kamp-Lintfort. The universities in Jena, Greifswald,
Aachen and Karlsruhe on the other hand are occupied with the scientific tests
of the lighting appliances.
Thomas Berger, qualified physicist runs the tests at Berger. Also involved is the
Master of Engineering [Dipl. Ing.] Egon Seelbach, who has extensive experience
in the field of plasma physics and vacuum technology. After completion of the
project the aim is to be able to fit beautifully designed façades with filigree neon
signs, which in future after even brighter, safer and free of pollutants. And Thomas
Berger, managing director of the Bergerit company, hopes that it may even be
possible to also apply the knowledge to conventional lamps.