SEAE was created by François Colombo and his sons in 1940. It consisted of a small family company of wrought-iron craftsmen manufacturing a variety of objects: gates, chandeliers, wall brackets and other artefacts showing the family’s innovative ability. All these objects had to be asembled using rivets or by fusing metal. The Colombo sons then heard about a new assembly process: electrical welding. They took up the manufacture of spot and arc welding equipment. The link was made with electrical applications and the company “Soudure et Applications Électriques” was born. Lighting by fluorescent lamps was introduced in the 1950’s, and SEAE began to manufacture fittings using this new source of light. As the years went by, the company concentrated on functional and industrial lighting and ceased all other activities. Today, SEAE has three manufacturing sites in France, Spain and Portugal, a design office, a research and development department, a SMT certified test laboratory, and a loyal, skilled staff serving customer’s needs to ensure capacity of production, service and quality.
Always eager for creation, Jean Colombo, the current company president, decided to diversify production by creating an architectural range of products. He chose to collaborate with independant designers, not tied to any tradition, to create an atypical and international collection. Fourteen of them and three ESAG architecture students identified by competitive examinations, cover a wide range of specifications: namely architectural, sober and unornamented forms with perfect proportions showing desire and imagination.
“To create is to love” the great creator of light fittings Gino Sarfati often said. The design and research department at SEAE brings in all the necessary technology to make each atefact a light fitting which respects the fundamental principles of eco-design and sustainable development.That is to say they meet the needs of today without geopardising those of tomorrow.
For light fittings, the main target is energy saving, replacing incandescent lamps by “low consumption” fluorescent lamps. Only specially developed fittings for fluorescent sources provide the very best way of saving energy: that is the case for all the light fittings in this catalogue. Using LED’s (Light-Emitting-Diodes) offer great potential for energy saving and sustainable development.
Other constraints – related to manufacture, use and recycling, quality assurance and conformity to standads (ISO 9000, V 2000) – are also taken into account. It should also be noted that SEAE is on the CELMA register. Ecological design at first seemed vague and complicated but it is now fully understood and accepted and is taken into consideration when manufacturing a good light fitting. The long, and often difficult dialogue between designers and a company, has been exemplary at SEAE due to the high professionalism on both sides: we thank them both. You will discover the results of this success story in the pages of this catalogue that we are very happy to offer you.The future of SEAE is already assured. Corinne and Frédéric Colombo work alongside their father and they have already taken lighting in hand and they have a sparkle in their eyes!
