KIM LIGHTING HISTORY
Kim Lighting has a rich culture founded on innovation. Established in 1933 by F.B. Nightingale, Kim has maintained a culture of continuous innovation. Nightingale fathered many of the landscape lighting techniques in use today. Moonlighting, Birdhouse fixtures, and In-grade Up-lighting are just a few Nightingale inventions still in use today; many still in the Kim catalog.
Throughout the 1960's, Kim innovated luminous body products. Modern designs incorporated graphics and integrated pole designs. During this time, Kim continued to expand its landscape offering to include cast components in bronze and aluminum. In 1963, building on the success of its in-grade lighting fixtures, Kim introduced the first direct-burial landscape light.
In the 1970's, Kim was one of the first to introduce a square pole-mounted area luminaire (shoebox). Incorporating extruded aluminum components, a robust lens seal, and cutoff optics; they changed how architectural sites are illuminated. In 1979, Kim developed the first recessed wall mounted floodlight. Called the LLF, the combination of a high performance optic into a compact housing produced a potent package. This innovative product provides area, stair, and path illumination from mounting heights as low as 24 inches.
In the 1980's, Kim invented the Architectural Floodlight. Combining aesthetic detailing, die-cast construction, and fabricated optical systems, the AFL series was the first to address the special needs of architectural facade illumination. Today, the AFL series includes over 21 optical distributions. In 1988, Kim entered the parking garage market, with the PGL. This innovative product combines asymmetric indirect illumination with cutoff wide down-light distribution, to revolutionize how parking structures are illuminated. In 1989, Kim re-addressed area lighting. Combining industrial and architectural design aesthetics, die cast construction, fabricated optical systems, and the first sealed optical chamber, The Archetype® revolutionized area lighting.
Throughout the 1990's Kim has continued to innovate, beginning with the Neosphere®, a spherical shape incorporating modern cutoff optics. In 1998 Kim introduced its latest in-grade luminaire, the Lightvault®. Built on over 30 years experience in landscape product design, the LTV provides the widest range of optical choices in the industry. Also in 1998, Kim introduced two new landscape products, the Ravenna® and Scarab®. The Ravenna combines organic design with MR16 halogen lamps for a completely new path/accent approach. Scarab is a complete line of landscape accent lighting. In 1999, the Lightvault was expanded to include solid bronze bodies, covered by a 25 year limited warranty. The century closed with the introduction of Kim's latest area luminaire, the Era™. Incorporating international styling with Kim's well-proven optical systems, Era includes the integration of complementary pole designs.
For Kim, the 21st century began with the addition of two more luminaires to the landscape line, the Bell™ and Step Lights. The Bell combines integrated design and application flexibility to accent and illuminate paths, in all landscape settings. Step Lights provide high levels of visibility and security for walks, stairways, and landscape perimeters. 2000 also marked the introduction of Structural™, a unique area luminaire offering versatility in complementing architectural design. Further, the addition of Kim's latest classically styled luminaire, Solitaire™, combines elegance and grace with familiar high performance optical systems.
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