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Lighting for harder times

Glamox expands its military project business

13.07.2026 | 17:31

By: Ronny Waburek

Tommy Stranden of Glamox and Lyndsey Eriksson of Consolite outside the UK company’s premises. The acquisition strengthens Glamox’s business in specialist lighting for naval and security applications. Photo: Glamox

While the interiors industry debates circularity, material transparency and carbon footprints, growth is emerging from a market few would describe as a welcome economic story: military infrastructure. Rising defence expenditure is creating business not only for traditional arms manufacturers, but also for suppliers of lighting, building services and technical equipment.

Glamox is responding with another acquisition. The Norwegian lighting group has acquired UK-based Consolite Technology, a specialist in lighting and optical communication systems for naval vessels, submarines and military facilities.

This is Glamox’s second UK defence acquisition within two years. In August 2024, the group acquired MARL International, a specialist in LED and electronic systems for naval and defence applications. Consolite will now work closely with MARL within Glamox’s Marine, Offshore & Wind division.

When a luminaire becomes infrastructure

Consolite’s portfolio demonstrates how far military lighting has moved beyond conventional building equipment. Its products include night-vision-compatible luminaires and filters, specialist LED systems and military LiFi technology, which uses light for wireless data transmission.

In this environment, lighting is no longer simply required to illuminate a room. It must operate alongside night-vision equipment, withstand shock, vibration and extreme climatic conditions, and remain reliable during critical missions. The luminaire becomes part of the security and communications infrastructure.

Consolite also brings references that cannot be acquired overnight. The company supplies almost the entire lighting package for the UK Type 31 frigate programme and participates in Royal Navy fleet replenishment projects. Such programmes provide technical credentials, customer access and a potential route into later international tenders.

Europe opens its budgets

The timing of the acquisition is hardly accidental. EU member states’ defence expenditure is estimated at €381 billion in constant prices for 2025. That represents an increase of almost 63 percent compared with 2020. Around €130 billion is expected to be directed towards investment.

The beneficiaries extend well beyond manufacturers of ships, vehicles and weapon systems. Naval bases, barracks, command centres and other critical facilities require power distribution, ventilation, lighting, acoustics, furniture, modular rooms and digital building systems. The contract market is therefore gaining a client segment with rising budgets and projects that can run for many years.

For suppliers, this business is attractive but far from easy. Military projects involve high technical barriers to entry, lengthy qualification procedures and strict requirements covering reliability, security and documentation. Once a supplier is established, it cannot easily be replaced.

That is where Consolite’s strategic value lies. Glamox is not merely buying additional luminaires. It is acquiring specialist knowledge, qualifications, engineering capability and access to major UK naval programmes. Together, MARL and Consolite form a specialised British technology cluster within the group.

For the interiors and contract sector, the deal is a signal. Public infrastructure spending in the coming years will not be limited to schools, hospitals, government buildings and transport projects. Security and defence schemes are likely to account for a larger share of institutional construction.

That does not mean sustainability suddenly becomes irrelevant. Energy consumption, maintenance, material documentation and service life still matter in military infrastructure. They will, however, increasingly sit alongside resilience, security of supply and operational readiness.

The commercial logic is clear. Long-running programmes, public budgets and high switching barriers promise more predictable revenue than some volatile office, hospitality or residential markets.

The social logic is less comfortable. The growth of this market is not good news about Europe’s security environment, but a response to its deterioration. Glamox did not create that environment, but it is positioning its strategy around it at an early stage.

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Lighting for harder times

Glamox expands its military project business

13.07.2026 | 17:31

By: Ronny Waburek

Tommy Stranden of Glamox and Lyndsey Eriksson of Consolite outside the UK company’s premises. The acquisition strengthens Glamox’s business in specialist lighting for naval and security applications. Photo: Glamox

While the interiors industry debates circularity, material transparency and carbon footprints, growth is emerging from a market few would describe as a welcome economic story: military infrastructure. Rising defence expenditure is creating business not only for traditional arms manufacturers, but also for suppliers of lighting, building services and technical equipment.

Glamox is responding with another acquisition. The Norwegian lighting group has acquired UK-based Consolite Technology, a specialist in lighting and optical communication systems for naval vessels, submarines and military facilities.

This is Glamox’s second UK defence acquisition within two years. In August 2024, the group acquired MARL International, a specialist in LED and electronic systems for naval and defence applications. Consolite will now work closely with MARL within Glamox’s Marine, Offshore & Wind division.

When a luminaire becomes infrastructure

Consolite’s portfolio demonstrates how far military lighting has moved beyond conventional building equipment. Its products include night-vision-compatible luminaires and filters, specialist LED systems and military LiFi technology, which uses light for wireless data transmission.

In this environment, lighting is no longer simply required to illuminate a room. It must operate alongside night-vision equipment, withstand shock, vibration and extreme climatic conditions, and remain reliable during critical missions. The luminaire becomes part of the security and communications infrastructure.

Consolite also brings references that cannot be acquired overnight. The company supplies almost the entire lighting package for the UK Type 31 frigate programme and participates in Royal Navy fleet replenishment projects. Such programmes provide technical credentials, customer access and a potential route into later international tenders.

Europe opens its budgets

The timing of the acquisition is hardly accidental. EU member states’ defence expenditure is estimated at €381 billion in constant prices for 2025. That represents an increase of almost 63 percent compared with 2020. Around €130 billion is expected to be directed towards investment.

The beneficiaries extend well beyond manufacturers of ships, vehicles and weapon systems. Naval bases, barracks, command centres and other critical facilities require power distribution, ventilation, lighting, acoustics, furniture, modular rooms and digital building systems. The contract market is therefore gaining a client segment with rising budgets and projects that can run for many years.

For suppliers, this business is attractive but far from easy. Military projects involve high technical barriers to entry, lengthy qualification procedures and strict requirements covering reliability, security and documentation. Once a supplier is established, it cannot easily be replaced.

That is where Consolite’s strategic value lies. Glamox is not merely buying additional luminaires. It is acquiring specialist knowledge, qualifications, engineering capability and access to major UK naval programmes. Together, MARL and Consolite form a specialised British technology cluster within the group.

For the interiors and contract sector, the deal is a signal. Public infrastructure spending in the coming years will not be limited to schools, hospitals, government buildings and transport projects. Security and defence schemes are likely to account for a larger share of institutional construction.

That does not mean sustainability suddenly becomes irrelevant. Energy consumption, maintenance, material documentation and service life still matter in military infrastructure. They will, however, increasingly sit alongside resilience, security of supply and operational readiness.

The commercial logic is clear. Long-running programmes, public budgets and high switching barriers promise more predictable revenue than some volatile office, hospitality or residential markets.

The social logic is less comfortable. The growth of this market is not good news about Europe’s security environment, but a response to its deterioration. Glamox did not create that environment, but it is positioning its strategy around it at an early stage.

Want to read the full article?